Demon Copperhead Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Find out what we thought of this award winning novel and if you should read it too!

Demon Copperhead Summary

Damon Fields is the only son to a single mother living in a trailer home in Lee county in Virginia. She is a recovering drug addict and they both live in the trailer home owned by the Peggots, who live beside them. Damon, or better known as Demon because of his hair color, is best friends with Matt Peggot. 

Things take a turn for Demon when his mother starts dating a biker who abuses Demon and leads to Demon’s home life being hell. Throughout the novel, Demon faces many obstacles and finds himself alone and has to grow up fast if he wants to survive. 

The novel is a modern take on Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield and Kingslover captures the raw beauty of what life is like as an orphan and growing up in the total south and how that shapes Demon and the millions of others like him. 

Commentary

Demon Copperhead might be the best book I have read in a while. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2023 along with Trust by Hernan Diaz. It also won the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction. And the awards are well deserved.

Yes, the novel was inspired by David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Kingsolver gives a modern take on it in rural America. The novel tackles themes such as orphanages, child poverty, drugs among other things. If you have never been to Appalachia region, then you will be in for a trip as Kingsolver makes the setting come alive with her vivid and detailed descriptions.

The novel is a heartbreaker and will pull on your heartstrings constantly. Demon goes through a lot and knows that there is nobody there to save him of he falls through the cracks. And yet, the novel is also hilarious and will make you laugh often.

There are so many amazing quotes in this novel and you can tell that Kingsolver feels for Demon and kids that have been in similar situations. One of my favorite lines in the novel that summarizes the book as well as the characters is “a good story doesn’t just copy life, it pushes back on it.” 

Conclusion

Looking back at the year 2022, (it feels forever ago!) I would say that this is my favorite novel released that year. I do think I am done reading books from that year for the most part. But new books always appear on your radar. Still, this might easily be the best book I’ve read this decade. This is the one novel I would recommend to all book lovers and is easily a classic in my opinion. Happy reading!

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