What readers think of Demon Copperhead, plus links to write your own review.

The audio version of the book was wonderful! The actor portraying the authors words brought it to life! That sounds trite but her mastery of visualization and his vocal interpretation were beyond wonderful! Story was beautiful, sad, heart wrenching ! I’m definitely finding more of this author, Barbara Kingsolver. 5 stars!!

Masterfully read by Charlie Thurston, I’m not sure I even relate to some of these other reviews. He gave so much life to Demon that I would say the book was hopeful above all else. As a character, he goes through so many ups and downs, and when he’s down, he’s really down. But Demon’s voice and perspective always carry a wry humor and very little self pity. He takes things as they come, has a rock solid moral core, and even when he’s making some bad choices, he loves and tries to take care of the people around him.

So yes, there are a lot of tragedies in this book. And a lot of stories about good people who help each other just because someone needs it. Who stumble and make mistakes and fight to change because they’ve seen what happens to people who don’t. Who take whatever joy life has for them in the moment, even when they have problems that could sink a person’s spirit. It’s absolutely heartbreaking in its portrayal of foster kids, child abuse, drug addiction, and cycles of poverty — but Demon shines bright through it all, and it’s impossible not to root for him. He has so much personality and so much goodness in him, it was an honor just to get to spend so many hours listening to him tell his story.

Get the audio version if you can. You won’t regret it.

Demon grows up orphaned and poor in the midst of a drug-centered area of rural Virginia. His relationships are detailed and his ingenuity highlighted as he overcomes the worst of situations to finally find love and happiness.

If you're looking for a character-driven story, I highly recommend Demon Copperhead. It beautifully walks the line between tragic and hope. Offers a window (albeit cracked) into a community betrayed by both the mining companies and big pharma. Demon's wry sense of humor and the love of a few good people who are on his side keep this story from being too painful to bear.

Loved it.

This was a different book of Kingsolver’s but I soon understood that it was another amazing book by her.

I can’t remember many books that have nearly devastated me reading about this sweet, good child that goes through horrible circumstances most of his life. I grew up in Appalachia. I left. My brother is so tied to our hometown and his “football” life that happened 50 years ago that he can barely leave the area. About 25 years, I drove through that little part of western VA and actually remember thinking that this area has been forsaken. It seemed as if kudzu covered everything, it looked worn out. I looked up the geographic locations mentioned in the book and they exist - even Devil’s Bathtub! I will continue to grieve for the lost children - real and in the book.

The first chapter of David Copperfield is titled: "I Am Born."

The opening sentence of Demon Copperhead: "First, I got myself born."

Barbara Kingsolver had wanted to write a novel about the human individuals behind the statistics of the opioid crisis in Appalachia. She'd been thinking for some time about how to do that, and hadn't been satisfied with her ideas. And then she happened to stay in Bleak House, one of the places Charles Dickens had lived in Kent, UK. Dickens inspired her to tell her modern story based on the plot of his old one, David Copperfield.

I've read a handful of Dickens, but not that one. Now it's definitely the next classic I'll read.

In Kingsolver's novel, Demon (nicknames are common in this region, apparently) was born in the caul, and this is what he has to say about that:

"It was a Wednesday this all happened, which supposedly is the bad one. Full of woe etc. Add to that, coming out still inside the fetus ziplock. But. According to Mrs. Peggot there is one good piece of luck that comes with the baggie birth: it's this promise from God that you'll never drown. Specifically. You could still OD, or get pinned to the wheel and charbroiled in your driver's seat, or for that matter blow your own brains out, but the one place where you will not suck your last breath is underwater. Thank you, Jesus."

What a voice! I'm in awe of authors - like Kingsolver, Ruth Ozeki, Ann-Marie MacDonald - who express the voice of their fictional characters so well that it's hard to believe those characters aren't real people.

Here's Demon talking about reading novels: "Likewise the Charles Dickens one, seriously old guy, dead and a foreigner, but Christ Jesus did he get the picture on kids and orphans getting screwed over and nobody giving a rat's ass. You'd think he was from around here."

The story follows this wonderful character from his childhood to early adulthood, with highs and lows, love and hate, success and failure, kindness and cruelty (plus neglect).

Along with the wonderful characters, the great story (Dickens knew a thing or two about plot), and the brilliant use of language, I also appreciated learning along the way. I learned about Melungeons, the origins of the term "redneck" (it's badass, by the way), the whisky rebellion, Purdue Pharma, mining companies, dopesickness... But never does anything feel like a lecture. Kingsolver is too good a novelist for that.

I hope you'll read this wonderful and important novel.