06-10-2025, 03:25 PM
Anyone who watched Dopesick or Painkiller, or who watched the news or followed the People vs. Purdue Pharma case will be familiar, to a degree with the world of Demon Copperhead, its still there, the Purdue case didn’t make the opioid crisis go away. I can’t remember which of the two series began each episode with a real life interview with someone who had been affected by opioid addiction, and the devastating effects it had on lives. Those snips were heart wrenching, it guaranteed I’d start watching with tears in my eyes and in a way, the whole of Demon Copperhead was a bit like that, I felt on the verge of tears for much of the book.
Simply presented it is a biography of the traumatic young life of the books namesake Demon. From day one he was dealt a rough hand tainted by addiction, violence, abandonment, despair, neglect… my goodness this is not an easy read. But it is a beautiful read, Barbara Kingsolver’s writing is nothing if not beautiful, even when it is about ugly things. Filtered through all that hardness are almost unbelievable yet tenacious hope, moments of joy, an aching sense of the beauty of rural Appalachia which even Demon, clouded by everything bad in his life, still sees and still holds on to.
The opioid crisis is there as a theme and an actual palpable demon that plagues young Demon’s existence but the book is not ‘about’ the opioid crisis. That is a lens, one of several, that the book might be seen through, or rather that Demon is looking out through. Family, the ones you chose, the ones you don’t, adoption, fostering etc that’s one strand, but the book is not ‘about’ that either, again its part of Demon’s life but one doesn’t ever feel that that is the focus. The decline of rural America another – and one particularly poignant today with all the noise around Trump who I imagine is disproportionately supported in these rural communities today, and who does absolutely diddly squat to actually address the mine-deep troubles that run through these areas. The book is authentically about Demon Copperhead and he is the focus, at no point does it read like a morality tale about those other bigger issues, though they are right there loud and clear. This focus on the main character and his world view kept the story at a very human scale and the main character’s observations and unique voice drew me along, almost crying yes, but rooting so strongly for him to pull through even when it seemed like it couldn’t possibly come right.
I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!
I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!
Simply presented it is a biography of the traumatic young life of the books namesake Demon. From day one he was dealt a rough hand tainted by addiction, violence, abandonment, despair, neglect… my goodness this is not an easy read. But it is a beautiful read, Barbara Kingsolver’s writing is nothing if not beautiful, even when it is about ugly things. Filtered through all that hardness are almost unbelievable yet tenacious hope, moments of joy, an aching sense of the beauty of rural Appalachia which even Demon, clouded by everything bad in his life, still sees and still holds on to.
The opioid crisis is there as a theme and an actual palpable demon that plagues young Demon’s existence but the book is not ‘about’ the opioid crisis. That is a lens, one of several, that the book might be seen through, or rather that Demon is looking out through. Family, the ones you chose, the ones you don’t, adoption, fostering etc that’s one strand, but the book is not ‘about’ that either, again its part of Demon’s life but one doesn’t ever feel that that is the focus. The decline of rural America another – and one particularly poignant today with all the noise around Trump who I imagine is disproportionately supported in these rural communities today, and who does absolutely diddly squat to actually address the mine-deep troubles that run through these areas. The book is authentically about Demon Copperhead and he is the focus, at no point does it read like a morality tale about those other bigger issues, though they are right there loud and clear. This focus on the main character and his world view kept the story at a very human scale and the main character’s observations and unique voice drew me along, almost crying yes, but rooting so strongly for him to pull through even when it seemed like it couldn’t possibly come right.
I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!
I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!