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Finally, Demon became a character that I cared about, and I gladly read his story for many hundreds of pages to find out what happened to him. Kingsolver also makes scathing points about the foster care system, opioid drug companies, and the world’s perception of Appalachia. I’d say that Kingsolver hit most of the big plot points, but in ways that fit perfectly with her new time and setting. It is a good retelling of David Copperfield. Bad things happen, and more bad things happen until Demon can start building his own life back up again. An unfortunate knee injury leads to opioid addiction that has been enveloping the entire community for some time. His life changes for the better, but Demon still feels the need to prove his worth. Demon’s heartbreaking attempt to stay with his neighbors is one of the more memorable scenes in the book.Īfter a harrowing trip across the state, Demon finds his paternal grandmother, who gets him a new place to stay–with the highly esteemed high school football coach and his daughter. When his mother dies,* he is thrown into the foster care system, which is negligent at best. His father is dead, his mother is an addict, and his new stepfather is abusive. Demon is a unique, fully realized character with an incredibly hard life. I even went back and looked at my review, and it didn’t jog my memory.

Like David Copperfield, it is written from Demon’s point of view and begins with his birth. I read David Copperfield, but it was so long ago (2011) that I barely remembered any details. However, Demon’s story takes place in contemporary southern Appalachia. I wasn’t sure if Kingsolver was a good author for me anymore, so I picked up Demon Copperhead with relatively low expectations.Īs the blurbs will tell you, Demon Copperhead is a retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. However, I was disappointed in one of her latest books– Unsheltered and didn’t finish it. She was one of my favorite authors for many years, and I’ve read most of her books. I’m very familiar with Barbra Kingsolver. And then my book club chose it as our next book.

I first noticed it on NPR’s Best Books List. All of a sudden, I was seeing Demon Copperhead (2022) by Barbara Kingsolver all over the place.