Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

378 reviews

lizwaller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

gabi_bocardi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Damon is just like any one, any human, but he got the worst of the world, but he still kept going even though just shit was given to him. I don’t know how giving up on people or himself was never the first thing that came to his mind, or how he wasn’t so angry all time, because I was all of that from the first page of the book to the last. The characters of this book are all to real, you love and hate some, you feel ashamed and sorry for others, and inspired by some others. They are too real, you understand them, because they could be your your mom and dad, that annoying aunt, the cousin you are like siblings with, the friends that you’ve grown up with but now just hear gossips about. It’s so real that it’s hardly fictional. And that’s one of this writers superpower, telling this story as if you were so close to them you can feel what they feel, go through it all as if you’re them. She’s an amazing writer, the pace of the book was perfect, the mix of characters, from loving to hateful ones is a masterpiece, and I also loved how she made history be so essential to the story that I’d be looking forward to read those parts. In my opinion, this book should have trigger warnings because it’s that type of story, but at the same time, everyone should read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

kendralyris's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

4.5

Beautiful and sad. It was at times a difficult and emocional read, but beautifully written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

j_sabo's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0

Reads closer to a memoir as opposed to typical fiction. To sum it up in one word: impactful. It sheds light on the horrible lead up and after math of the opioid epidemic in the late 90s/early 2000s. Throughout the novel I felt deep empathy with the main character and other supporting characters as they navigated the bottomless pit of addiction. This book provides a good conversation about trauma, addiction, and self-discovery, through the strong voice and narration of the main character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

camillatd's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

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

3.5

My reflections on Barbara Kingsolver’s highly acclaimed 2022 novel Demon Copperhead are complicated; they don’t neatly fall into the categories of “this is a good book, you should read it”, or “this is a bad book, you shouldn’t read it.” Much has been said about the novel’s merits, from its clever reimagining of David Copperfield (which, I’ll note, I haven’t read), to its emotional depth, to its direct evisceration of pharmaceutical violence and structural neglect of poor and rural communities. It’s a deeply affecting and—loathe as I am to use the cliche—undoubtedly powerful novel. You can find these reviews in basically every corner of the literary internet, so here are some of my thoughts on the novel’s thorny complexities and pitfalls.

The novel is told entirely in Demon’s voice, which shapes the reader’s perspective of each character and interaction. Demon’s voice is very much that of a teenage boy (which he is for most of the novel), and it shows in the casual and rampant misogyny in his inner monologue and perceptions of the women in his life. Dori is the character who I found the most painful to read through Demon’s eyes: she is introduced as a first and foremost sexual object, then, in time, she becomes a burden to him, a ‘doll baby’ he needs to care for and save. This particular relationship becomes emblematic of Demon’s worldview, particular in the dichotomies of good and bad, savior and saved, worthy and unworthy. 

I talked to @booksarebrainfood a lot about the strange sense of voyeurism we’ve each felt when reading books like this about a particular experience of poverty and suffering, especially when those books become highly lauded by the white, literature-reading, non-rural classes. Some of this is beyond my scope of context: I very much fall into these aforementioned classes.

It makes me wonder: who is this novel for? Is it for Kingsolver, and the community she comes from? Is it for those who might see themselves in Demon’s story (survivors of childhood neglect, the foster care system, or the opioid crisis)? Is it for the “redneck” community about which it is written? Or is it for the very people Demon names as those who look down on his community?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

mac23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I have a lot of questions, as a critical thinker. I thought it was a good novel, but I found myself consistently asking the same questions of the author…”how would you know?” It’s written by a straight white older woman from the perspective of a heterosexual male person of color, who goes through some seriously traumatic experiences, and written from their first person point of view. Admittedly, the light research that I’ve done on the author does not show that she has been in any of these experiences first hand, especially addiction. If you haven’t experienced that directly, I don’t feel that it is appropriate or accurate to write about that experience as though you have, first hand. There is a level of nuance there that is seriously missing, IMO. It read to me as obtuse. For the prizes this book won, I’m surprised, but also not surprised, that it got this much attention for as problematic as it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

itsaubvious's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

castoidprocess's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

The English language falls short on the words I have to express how this book made me feel. It hit so close to home, and I am crying as I write this. I did not want to finish this book, because I did not want it to be over. I wanted to savor each page a little longer. This book is timely and written for everyone who has ever been part of the struggle. Bless you, Barbara Kingsolver, and your knack for capturing the southeast/Appalachia in this light. I don’t usually reread books, but I will return to this one and forever treasure it in my library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

annakh16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

A note first: I haven’t read any Dickens, so I‘m unfortunately unable to judge the cross-referencing (much to the dismay of my book club - sorry…). 

This is a dark but important book, written with genuine empathy. Demon as a main character roots the story very well, which to me is largely due to the strong sense of voice the author manages to create effectively. The writing took a bit of getting used to, not because it’s bad though. In fact, I think the (not quite?) stream of consciousness style worked well to bring the message across in a genuine way. I was often pleasantly caught off-guard by how Kingsolver would just hit you with really sharp analysis or profound commentary “out of left field”. This is also how she avoids “poverty porn” or sensationalism, if you ask me - by bringing it back to the systemic. 

I do think that some “episodes” were more interesting or well done than others, but this is a light point of critique. And: the

”my adopted sister may actually be in love with me” ending

was weird. Sorry not sorry. 

Overall, this is a well-executed account and something I “looked forward” to reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Abortion

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Wonderfully written, as to be expected from Barbara Kingsolver. This is so sad, and mostly avoids the traps of false hope—showing what seems to be a more realistic portrayal of what recovery can look like and the hurts that persist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent