Fiction: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

     I didn’t just read Demon Copperfield, I experienced it.  At times, when the story got harrowing, I had to stop.  But I couldn't stay away from young redheaded Damon (nicknamed “Demon”) and his adventures. 
     The novel is a modern re-imagining of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens set in a modern, opioid-ravaged Appalachia.  I watched a BBC series based on the Dickens novel years ago, but didn’t remember much of the story.  I suspect readers will enjoy Kingsolver’s book whether or not they’re familiar with the Dickens version.  
​     Demon is a Melungeon, a brown-skinned, green-eyed person of mixed Cherokee, Black, and white ancestry.  

    In the story, Demon experiences foster care, child labor, life as a high school football star, young love, heartbreak, despondency, and—ultimately—redemption.  Some of the adults in Demon's life are cruel or indifferent, others kind and loving.  Through it all, he’s a survivor, trying to do right by those he loves.

     Rural Appalachia feels lived-in throughout the book.  Snippets of history provided by supporting characters illuminate the long legacy of corporate exploitation and political neglect that burden the inhabitants.  But knowledge is insufficient to keep even informed characters from internalizing “hillbilly” stereotypes and suffering from low self-esteem as a result.

The supporting characters are endearing:

• Demon's childhood friend "Maggot" (Matthew) Peggot wears make-up and earrings early on, much to the dismay of his grandparents. 
• June Peggot crusades against the pharmaceutical corporations flooding the area with opioids.
• Two of his teachers, Mr. Armstrong and Ms. Amato, mentor Demon and encourage him to stay in school.
• Fellow orphan Tommy reignites Demon's love for drawing. ​
• And Angus is his one friend who never turns away.

     The book doesn’t shy away from showing drug abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and child abuse.  Nothing gratuitous, and there are plenty of characters providing context on tragic events, but it was still a tough read at times. 
​     At other times it was laugh-out-loud hilarious.

     What pulled me through the rough patches was the main character Demon’s unique voice as he narrated his tale:

• “First, I got myself born.  A decent crowd was on hand to watch, and they’ve always given me that much: the worst of the job was up to me, my mother being let’s say out of it.”
• “My thinking here is to put everything in order of how it happened, give or take certain intervals of a young man skunked out of his skull box, some dots duly connected.”
• “Crickson was a big, meaty guy with a red face and a greasy comb-over like fingers palming a basketball.”
• “What I remember most about that year is food.  Not eating it, thinking about it.”
• Maybe some kids are told from an early age what’s what, as regards money.  But most are ignorant I would think, and that was me too, till I was eleven and started pulling down a paycheck.”

     It’s hard to write about the story without giving the ending away, but I will say the last act definitely makes the book an exceptional read and the closing chapter in particular brought tears to my eyes.  I reread it the next day to re-experience the final scene.
     Demon Copperhead won the Pulitzer Prize and topped most best-seller lists.  An extraordinary story from an incredibly talented author.

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