Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

37 reviews

crossinthepnw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

Oh man…where to even start with this one. Demon Copperhead is easily one of my top three reads for 2023, and will always hold a special place in my heart. To be clear - this is my first Kingsolver work I’ve read (and now I will be reading more of her stories!), and I’ve never read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens…but now I am curious to read the source behind the inspiration for her novel.

Demon Copperhead will piss you off. It will make you cry. You will try to remind yourself that this is a work of fiction, but is clearly based in reality, which will in turn make you even more upset that this kind of shit is still happening. If you didn’t hate Big Pharma before (which if you already don’t…come on), you will after reading this novel. It also made me think about the joke of the war on drugs and the opioid crisis. How our foster care system is screwed. How some folks are just fucked before they even get a start in life.

But the novel isn’t all doom and gloom, I promise. There is hope, love, joy, and laughs along the way. It’s also a coming of age story about a boy who many people wouldn’t give a second thought about on account of where he grew up. The first person narrative of Demon took this tale to another level; Kingsolver has a way of transporting you to his world and his life.

 I am so happy that Kingsolver took the time to tell this story, about the “rednecks”, “hillbillies”, or “trailer trash” folks don't seem to give a shit about, and how the opioid epidemic has done so much damage in Appalachia. Please, read this one; I read it in five days because I could not put it down!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

atamano's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Pregnancy

bdowning81's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

Incredibly moving and engrossing modern-day take on David Copperfield in the Appalachia region. I kept having to pause the audiobook - wonderfully narrated by Charlie Thurston - to catch my breath or cry, or just to process what I'd just heard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

grboph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a really amazing book. It was such a compelling story that touches on so many important issues that affect the world today, and kind of made me want to read the original David Copperfield!! Kingsolver is such an excellent writer and I would recommend this book to literally anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Outing

Minor: Dementia and Abortion

annarau's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

The type of soul-aching sad that prohibits you from even crying, this novel pushes the boundaries of what we know and understand about the ravages that drugs, particularly opiates, have doled out to the people of Appalachia. Even though you can see the cycle happening before it ever does, you can’t help but love and root for Demon as an unlikely hero. The characters are beautifully and painstakingly crafted to reflect the complexities found in mountain folks. For some reason, it took me a long time to finish the book — but I’m so glad I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

snapshotsofabookishlass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism