Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

25 reviews

bigolscrewup's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You lie down with snakes, you get up with the urge to bite back. All I’m saying

Good people don’t give up on the ones they love

4/5 ⭐

I've always wanted to read Barbara Kingsolver's works before and there were times where I've tried to get "The Poisonwood Bible", only for it to be sold out in almost every place I could get it in my place. So when I got my hands on this book, I thought "Finally!!".

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, which was heartbreaking at times, exploring Demon's life from the beginning, which was one hardship after another. I loved the way Peggots took care of him and his mother, the trips to cities, trying to teach him things he wasn't willing to listen, living with Angus. It was fascinating to learn about the lives of people living in the mountains of southern Appalachia region. Reading about the struggles of addiction and the long torturous road to sobriety depicted in the story was a deeply moving experience, it offers a poignant reflection on the struggles faced by people grappling with substance abuse, as well as the importance of support and compassion in the journey towards recovery. It sickens me that various pharma companies used the ignorance of people in those times to exploit and profit off of their pain. It makes me wonder this could be happening still in small communities.

I found myself losing interest in the middle, especially his teenage years, which were filled with lots of people and lots of problems and lots of stupid decisions. There were times I wondered where the story is going. Also, there were times, I couldn't understand why different people in the story were making these ridiculous decisions at various points in the story, but maybe that's the difference between people who are addicted to something and people who aren't, that they are not aware that there's another way. Thankfully the story picked up momentum at the end, which honestly redeemed my opinion of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Addiction, Miscarriage, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

rinku's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Child abuse, Violence, Drug use, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion

cg07's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Addiction

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Classism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death

katrinarose's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I struggle to rate this book, because I loved the writing style and the voice of Demon was so incredibly strong and authentic and believable, but I also wasn’t that excited to pick this book up, and it took me a while to finish. I thought the theme of the overlooked rural parts of the U.S. was interesting and thought-provoking, but at times almost turned into more of a history/sociopolitical lesson that felt out of context and forced. I wish the author had explained these concepts a little less and given the reader some more credit for being able to read in between the lines/use the story as a jumping off point for more of their own research. Overall it was a really good book just not one that sucked me in and made me love it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, Grief, Drug use, Medical trauma, and Death

Moderate: Cursing and Misogyny

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Racism, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

nikshelby's review against another edition

DNF at 9%.

Abuse of children and women. Alcoholism. Drug use (and overdose). Poverty and despair. 

I should’ve realized when it won the Pulitzer that it would be rife with a bleak outlook, despondent characters, and heartbreaking situations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Infidelity

esther_floraa's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racism, Cancer, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Death of parent, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

amaribph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I truly loved this book. One of Kingsolver's best. It is a brilliant retelling of David Copperfield, but it reads well even if you're not familiar with that classic.

I was very moved by Demon's plight. Even though it was very emotionally difficult to read, I feel grateful to have learned so much through Kingsolver's gorgeous writing about that part of our country, the terrible faultiness of our foster care system, and the opioid crisis.

It was long, but I felt it was well-paced, well-edited, and not at all too complicated or technically challenging. I can't say it's an "easy read" because the subject matter is dark and sad, but the writing itself is very well organized and easy to follow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was a very very character heavy book (not in amount but in development and exploration), so definitely keep that in mind when deciding to read this. while i think it should’ve been cut down a bit, all of the pages allowed us to fully understand and watch not only the main character, but all the characters. this was definitely a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Classism, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

sjtowry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Violence, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Trafficking, Vomit, Addiction, Abortion, Abandonment, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

lawebz's review against another edition

Graphic violence 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny