Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is our book group’s next pick. A modern-day take on Dickens’ David Copperfield, Kingsolver’s book explores the complexities of poverty in Appalachia.
Demon (Damon) tells his own story in a way that is scathingly honest and engaging — he has a way with words that will make you laugh. Even so, it is a story that is painful to read. Demon was born to a teenage single mother who was in and out of rehab. For a short time, he has an abusive stepfather. Then he is shunted into the foster care system where he is neglected, exploited, and abused. The horror of his everyday life is shown with such detail that it forces awareness upon the reader. This is fiction but based on situations that are all too real.
Demon does make friends as he journeys to adulthood. Some of these are helpful to him but many are detrimental. Drug abuse is rampant and the complicity of pharmaceutical companies is realistically portrayed. Kingsolver delves into the intergenerational causes of rural poverty and does not shy away from exposing the harm inflicted by coal interests and by the stereotyping of rural culture in the media. At the same time, she brings out the love of the land and the intertwining family and social supports of these communities, contrasting the richness of rural life with the more sterile cities.
The novel is multi-layered and should provide lots of room for discussion at our book group meeting. A long book, it is nevertheless a quick read. Highly recommended.
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