Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead (2022) has been on my 'to be read' pile since it was published. Winner of the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction and the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this critically acclaimed novel appeared on countless 'Best Books' lists and the New York Times list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. I was eager to read it, but wanted to re-read David Copperfield (1850), the Charles Dickens classic which inspired Kingsolver. Having completed my prolonged re-read of Dickens, I was ready to immerse myself in Kingsolver's Appalachian coming-of-age story.
Damon 'Demon' Fields was born into poverty in Lee County Virginia. His teenage mother is addicted to drugs and alcohol; his father died before he was born. They live in a trailer on the Peggot family's land. Demon befriends the Peggot's grandson 'Maggot', whom the elderly Peggots care for while his mother is in jail. Demon's mother remarries a vicious biker named Stoner, and when she relapses into addiction he is placed in foster care. He stays on a tobacco farm where he meets other boys in the foster system - Fast Forward and Tommy. After his mother overdoses, as an eleven-year old orphan, he is sent to the McCobbs who take him in for the carer's allowance. They exploit the boy - sending him to work and garnishing his wages - and fail to provide for him.
Demon eventually runs away to find his paternal grandmother Betsy. She arranges for him to live with Coach Winfield and his daughter Agnes, allowing Demon a semblance of normal life, schooling and a chance to play football. But addiction runs in his family and access to opioids is easy in Lee County. Soon Demon finds himself into the destructive world of Oxy. But this kid is resilient, and has some good people championing his success. Will he turn his life around?
Demon Copperhead is an absolute triumph of a novel - worthy of all its accolades and acclaim. Kingsolver gave Demon a distinct narrative voice, peppering the tale with colloquialisms, and I particularly liked how Demon would often end sentences with 'so'. Other characters - Aunt June, Agnes, Coach, U-Haul and Tommy - are vividly drawn, inspired by but not copies of their Dickensian counterparts.
Taking a Victorian novel and transplanting it in 1990s Appalachia was a wonderful idea. Just as Dickens used his novel to critique poverty, child labour and the plight of the working class, Kingsolver turns her social justice lens to the opioid crisis, big pharma, education, the child welfare system and economic inequality. I particularly appreciated the way in which she commented on the denigration of the people of Appalachia and showcased the ways in which country-folk cared for one another. She gives an example of Peggot's 'Hillbilly Cadillac' bumper sticker on the back of his truck:
"The world is not at all short on this type of thing, it turns out. All down the years, words have been flung like pieces of shit, only to get stuck on a truck bumper with up-yours pride. Rednecks, moonshiners, ridge runners, hicks. Deplorables." (p78)
Demon and Tommy understand their position in the world and how they have been looked down on:
"This is what I would say if I could, to all smart people of the world with their dumb hillbilly jokes: We are right here in the stall. We can actually hear you." (p329)
As Demon learns from Mr Armstrong, 'A good story doesn’t just copy life, it pushes back on it' (p531). With Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver has pushed back, reflecting the intelligence, love and courage of the people in Lee County. This is a big, gripping novel full of heart.
I am so pleased I chose to read this while listening to the audiobook. Brilliantly narrated by Charlie Thurton, the audio version brings the story to life by using the local accent and word emphasis. It was such a delight to listen to and added to my enjoyment of the novel.
While you don't need to have read
David Copperfield to enjoy this novel, familiarity with the source material will greatly enhance your reading experience. It also made me appreciate Kingsolver's skill as a writer even more. In many respects she improved upon the original story, not dissimilar to what Percival Everett achieved with
James (2024).
