Demon Copperhead
WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE • WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
A New York Times "Ten Best Books of 2022" • An Oprah’s Book Club Selection • An Instant New York Times Bestseller • An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller • A #1 Washington Post Bestseller
"Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick
"May be the best novel of 2022. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” (Ron Charles, Washington Post)
From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.
Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.
Reviews
Love the style of writing and story telling.
By beneaththesewesternskies
Is Demon and all his people real? By the end of this book I seriously questioned if I could live without his voice and I’d be wondering in a month what everybody was up to including Mrs Peggot, and Woody the baby. I want to cry for saying goodbye and the joy of seeing Demon be a human.
By Conlippert
As with all of her books, this is so well written that you feel like you’ve known the characters your whole life. It is a more modern and harsher version of David Copperfield. It does take you inside a whole society most of us never witness. And it makes your heart bleed for the children that are the victims of that society.
By redhead2115
Oh my gosh. The character development of Demon drew me in from the first chapter. I felt like I knew him and fully understood his struggles in life. Loved this book!
By Idahocoyote
This author did a great job in depicting the difficulties and hardships that people( children and adults ) went through in the Appalachian area. There struggles, with addiction, poverty, and dysfunction in their lives.
By D, OT