Title: Demon Copperhead*
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Rating: 3.75 stars / 5 stars
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Favorite Quote: “Live long enough, and all things you ever loved can turn around to scorch you blind. The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with hinthing, and lose so much in between.” Kingsolver, Barbara. Demon Copperhead. HarperCollins, 2022, pg. 468.
Review: Okay, to get this out of the way first - yes, I do recognize this is probably a lower rating than anticipated for a novel of such esteem. But, I want to start this review by recognizing that I’ve spent years telling myself I was not going to read another Barbara Kinsolver book because of how much I detested Poisonwood Bible. I think that is probably my least favorite read of all time. In contrast, I genuinely enjoyed (not sure if that’s the right word, given the content) large swaths of Demon Copperhead. I’ll talk about my complaints later, but just wanted to preface this review with where my journey with this novel began.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about what’s working. Kingsolver is obviously a talented writer. Her popularity and acclaim speak to that. This book is certainly exemplary of that fact. Kingsolver uses her skill and evocative language to force readers, especially American readers, to reckon with the world that has been decimated by the opioid epidemic. Kingsolver also does something that is necessary in the documentation of this epidemic - her characters humanize the struggle. Folks suffering from substance addiction often do so under the criticism and disdain of the communities/media around. Kingsolver’s characters are painfully human - they suffer unimaginable traumas, grow up in circumstances many people may never experience, forge communities and loving relationships that pour out on the page. And in between all of that - opioids.
At its core, Demon Copperhead is a bildungsroman. It begins at Demon’s birth and ends with what is [SPOILER ALERT] symbolically, at least, his rebirth. He returns to his home, newly sober, reconnects with a person critical to the family he built, and begins a journey towards the ocean, the place he’s longed to visit for the entirety of his life. In between, his mother ODs, he is bounced between foster homes, is homeless for a while, moves in with a community hero and begins to find success in school and in football, gets injured, is overprescribed medication, becomes addicted, falls in love, loses her to an OD too, and witnesses his childhood hero become a monster before he, too, dies. All before Demon turns eighteen. Kingsolver captures these moments in Demon’s life with gut wrenching detail and a focus on empathy and Demon’s humanity and the humanity of the people around him.
So, what’s not working? There are two major issues with Demon Copperhead, and one of which is a carry over complaint from my dislike of Poisonwood Bible. And that is that Demon Copperhead, much like Poisonwood Bible, centers a white voice in a situation that is inherently not just white. Now, should Kingsolver, a white woman, be the one to tell the story of how addiction has impacted BIPOC communities? Probably not? Or, at the very least, that’s a much more nuanced conversation than can happen in this review (and I, another white woman certainly shouldn’t be the voice leading that conversation). But a key component of the opioid epidemic in the US is the different way white addiction is often treated (as a tragedy) versus how BIPOC, particularly Black, addiction is often treated (as a crime). Demon Copperhead doesn’t even try to address this issue, even though small, rural towns do have BIPOC communities, just as all other American communities do.
The other criticism is the ending. Demon spent much of the formative years of his life in a sibling relationship with Angus, and yet the final paragraphs of the novel hint at a growing romantic relationship…and that seemed, out of character, to say the least. So much of Demon’s growing up was spent desperate for a family - first seeking stability with his mother, then begging for the Peggots to let him into their home, and then risking his life trying to reach his paternal grandmother. And finally, with Angus (and Coach), he finds at least a semblance of what he was seeking. So, to then have him showing a romantic interest in her in the last few moments of the book is jarring and doesn’t seem in line with his character arc so far.
About that Quote: This is a long book. Well-written and evenly paced, but admittedly long. And this fairly short quote sums up the critical message of this book.
Incomplete list of TWs for Demon Copperhead: substance use, implied SA, child labor/exploitation, OD, death, injury, DV, child abuse
Have you read Demon Copperhead? Share your thoughts below!
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