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Original poster

Demon Copperhead...

27 replies

GingerCoi · 19/07/2023 20:55

Can someone who has got through this please tell me when it gets good? I'm reading rave reviews but have just found the characters difficult to engage with and the relentless misfortune frustrating. Bearing in mind that I actively like books with emotional up and downs and don't shy away from trauma in fiction, it is saying something for me to have had enough of the persistent misery... I got about 40% of the way through, to the point where things seem to be on the up for Demon, only to read a spoiler (mistakenly) which told me that it's all about to come spectacularly crashing down again, and I had to give up.

Without giving too much away, as I may go back to it, please could those of you who've loved it tell me what it is about it that is garnering all this effusion?

OP posts:
Offredismysister · 19/07/2023 21:02

I loved it, it is miserable, but I think I could relate to Demon as I’ve had a parent die from addiction issues. I also work in an area that sees this story play out on a loop. So for me it was enjoying him finding joy in the little things & willing him on. I also liked the description of some of the other characters, Aunt June, fast forward & Angus.

bookworm14 · 19/07/2023 21:05

I loved it and found it completely gripping, particularly the exploration of the US opioid addiction crisis. Perhaps it helps to have read David Copperfield first so you can see all the parallels. Things do eventually get better for Demon (as they do for David) but it does take a while to get there!

pollyhemlock · 19/07/2023 21:10

Well, it closely follows the trajectory of David Copperfield, which is its inspiration. That book too has lots of ups and downs and it’s fair share of misery. What I think is so clever is the way she maps the Victorian poverty and deprivation in the Dickens book on to the opioid crisis in modern Appalachia. But if you are finding it utterly depressing I should give up- no point in reading a book if you’re hating it.

Littleoxforddictionary · 19/07/2023 21:19

Loved it. I hadn't read david copperfield but did read a synopsis of it to understand the parallels and reassure myself that there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

Tadpolle · 19/07/2023 21:24

I absolutely loved Demon Copperhead and Barbara Kingsolver is my favourite author so I hope I can help you.

I don't think you need to know the story of David Copperfield but I did check out the synopsis of it and something really stuck out to me- The point of D Copperfield partly is David is a really unfortunate orphan born into the ills and dangers of Dickensian England (which has just been updated for Demon to 1990s Appalachia and it's just as harrowing I think.) Anyway David/ Demon is a good soul. An innocent, a gentle human who's truly good and the story takes you all around the sharp edges of society through the story of the good orphan child.

I'm nearly crying again just typing this! I found it incredibly moving. Makes me want to fight hard to make the world a better place. Barbara Kingsolver is from Appalachia and this is a lot to do with her background. I just loved it.

Arewehumanorarewecupboards · 19/07/2023 21:59

I really want read this so interested in replies!

gingersnappz · 19/07/2023 22:13

I loved this too!

Can also really recommend The Lacuna by the author too, beautiful book.

Tadpolle · 19/07/2023 22:28

Flight Behaviour, Unsheltered and The Bean Tree by her are all brilliant

AgentProvocateur · 19/07/2023 22:49

I loved this book so much. I roughly knew the story of David Copperfield, but hadn’t read it. If you’re expecting an uplifting ending, OP, read no further!

PersisFord · 19/07/2023 23:01

I loved it so much it was a few days before I could start another one after I finished it. Still thinking about it. And Demon is such a brilliant character. But I love Barbara Kingsolver, have loved all of her books and loved DC right from the start so if it's not for you I'd just stop - plenty of other books out there and we don't have to all like the same ones (I hated Where The Crawdads Sing and felt like a social pariah for a bit!!)

Original poster
GingerCoi · 20/07/2023 09:17

Thanks, all. It's interesting to know what it is that is gripping people and I think I probably won't go back to it, so it's been helpful to read your thoughts. I have read David Copperfield, but a very long time ago. Like others, I've looked up the characters and plot to see the parallels but actually find this off-putting and annoying.

OP posts:
mimbleandlittlemy · 20/07/2023 11:50

I didn't love it, but I really admired it. Found it pretty hard going and incredibly depressing but ultimately worth reading as an insight into both the way of life in Apalachia and the opoid situation in the US. I do love her books though so was naturally inclined towards it and I'm one of those boring people who go on and finish a book once I've started it - but if you aren't enjoying it, I'd stop, especially as it gets to be a tougher and tougher read as you progress (in a pretty unrelenting way).

Sausagenbacon · 20/07/2023 18:56

I hated the Crawdads too!
Demon Copperhead is a fantastic read, and clever. It helped me to have read David Copperfield, as I really enjoyed seeing how she brought in the parallels (though is there a parallel character to Maggot?)
Oh yes, an absolute tragedy as well, as I feel no assurance about Demon's future.

TheOpeningActofSpring · 22/07/2023 07:27

I struggled through it and did not find it easy to engage with but realise I am in the minority. I found it too long and some sections just dragged. I wasn’t moved by it at all.

JulieHoney · 22/07/2023 07:32

Her writing is so beautiful it carried me through the difficult times. Just superb.

HighlandCowbag · 23/07/2023 19:50

I finished this last week while on holiday. I am very good at saying 'nah, not for me' when something just isn't worth it. I liked the forst 20% or so, then got a bit mired in misery for about another 25% then DC really began to grow on me and I raced to the end and absolutely loved it ❤️. Had not read anything by the author before and will definitely look for another.

But loved this one so much I just need to let it sit for a while first.

Fudgewomble · 23/07/2023 19:52

I skipped over some of the worst bits. And the ending does tie things together : overall a good read as it’s so well-written.

Creepybookworm · 24/07/2023 18:49

Its unrelenting in it's misery though not like A Little Life. Its just realistic with shades of light and dark.

SadCelticBunny · 27/07/2023 07:07

I am listening to Demon Copperhead on Audible, the narration is really good.

I love Barbara Kingsolver's writing and find her work really gripping.

I am struggling with DC only because I find it so real and so heartbreaking. I was a youth worker for many years and many of my friends, including DW, still work in support services. I have seen young people like Demon so many times.

I keep listening to a few chapters, then stopping when I know a difficult situation is approaching. It is ridiculous but I can't bear the hurt and the powerlessness. I always struggled with finding the detachment you need to work efficiently with clients with such awful life experiences.

(I read Unsheltered when it came out and I loved it, has anyone else read it?)

lilyfire · 28/07/2023 20:27

SadCelticBunny · 27/07/2023 07:07

I am listening to Demon Copperhead on Audible, the narration is really good.

I love Barbara Kingsolver's writing and find her work really gripping.

I am struggling with DC only because I find it so real and so heartbreaking. I was a youth worker for many years and many of my friends, including DW, still work in support services. I have seen young people like Demon so many times.

I keep listening to a few chapters, then stopping when I know a difficult situation is approaching. It is ridiculous but I can't bear the hurt and the powerlessness. I always struggled with finding the detachment you need to work efficiently with clients with such awful life experiences.

(I read Unsheltered when it came out and I loved it, has anyone else read it?)

So agree with you! Have nearly finished it on Audible and really loving it - the characters are very engaging. My work involves children in the care system and the way she writes about it is heart wrenching and true. Found it really hard to listen to the chapters where Demon is using - am at the bit where he’s in rehab and am breathing a bit more easily. Am presuming he’ll be ok as it follows a David Copperfield trajectory but it’s been hard to listen to but gripping.

HermioneWeasley · 17/08/2023 13:41

I thought it was good and has a hopeful ending, but for stories of traumatised, unloved and unwanted teenage boys being neglected and using drugs, I preferred the Goldfinch. Her writing is fabulous though, really draws you in and it has so much authenticity about it

cariadlet · 25/08/2023 03:09

I listened on Audible. I loved the narration but for about half of the book I saw it through the prism of David Copperfield and couldn't get into it as a book in its own right.

Sometimes I admired the way that she had updated characters or events. Other times, I felt protective of the original character eg David Copperfield's mother was very different from Demon's mother (apart from the poor choice in 2nd husband/partner and loving her son).

Knowing David Copperfield meant that most of the plot twists and turns were expected which is a shame when you read something for the first time.

I started appreciating it for itself about the time that he went back to school and the teacher was talking to the children about Apelachian (sp?) history and how the area had been exploited for so long. I thought the portrayal of the causes and the effects of the opioid crisis were really interesting and well done.

Btw, after reading it, I wanted to tefresh my memory of David Copperfield. I'm about halfway through the audio book and no, (I can't remember who asked), there's no equivalent of Maggot.

sleepwhenidie · 26/08/2023 22:25

I absolutely loved it. Haven’t read David Copperfield. Main difference between me and OP is that I found the character of Demon very engaging and likeable, his intelligence and sense of humour was key to that. I found it less unremittingly miserable than A Little Life (though I did almost cry at the bit at the gas station with the jar 😞)!

Cornishclio · 26/08/2023 22:45

I have just read this book for my book club and I am with you OP and was not a fan at all. I like Charles Dickens David Copperfield and the parallel characters in Demon Copperhead just annoyed and frustrated me. I get it is a modern take of poverty, racism, drug abuse and child exploitation etc of Appaluchian people in the Mid West whereas Dickens version is poverty and child abuse in Victorian England but it just seemed contrived and boring to me. If it hadn't been a book club choice I would not have finished it. I was in the minority though.

I don't have an issue with the quality of her writing and may read another which does not follow the plot line of a classic as this one did.

CatNeedsFed · 27/08/2023 22:49

I don't read very much these days (trying to rectify that) but it's been a long time since I've been so affected by a book. I loved The Poisonwood Bible which I read years ago and has stayed with me since and I fully expect Demon Copperhead to do the same.

I found it hard going emotionally at points with the constant traumas, losses and setbacks, especially when he was a young boy. I've a background in working in Social Work/education and this book felt absolutely spot on. I especially found the sections about the fostering system heartbreaking.

I haven't read David Copperfield so I don't know how well it relates to that and I don't know whether I will. But it's given me an insight into the opioid crisis in the US and given me some context to the stereotypes of the region, which makes me want to read further into it.