Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

44 reviews

ashlynregan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.5

This old white lady does not write like an old white lady. She is very talented. READ THIS BOOK.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

greendog95's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity and Misogyny

proudtobeabookaholic's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

Demon Copperhead has all odds against him at birth: still in the amniotic sac when he slides out of his 18-year-old, drug addict of a mother, on the floor of a trailer. The only things the future has to offer are foster care, rawness and addiction. But Demon has a strong survival instinct and a dream: to one day see the ocean. 

Barbara Kingsolver has been inspired by Dickens' "David Copperfield" and she does a great job with changing the setting to our modern world. "Demon Copperhead" won both the Pulitzer Prize and Women's Prize for Fiction in 2023, as well as being chosen for Oprah's Book Club. I didn't pick it up for any of those reasons, but because I'm going to talk about this book (amongst others) at an event at work next week. I've been listening to the English version, but also read quite a lot from the Swedish edition I have at home (courtesy of the publisher).

To begin with I was wondering what I had gotten myself into, because it certainly isn't an encouraging read. It's heartbreaking and dense, but then we get tiny rays of hope, thankfully. In addition, Kingsolver has found the exact right tone for us to sympathize with the main character, even though he doesn't always do as you wish. Despite being given a bad hand - that sometimes lead to bad decisions - it's very clear that Demon Copperhead is a good person. He also has two talents; American football and drawing. One will ruin him, the other gives him a future. 

Don't let the amount of pages/hours stand in your way - this is a book worth reading. Now that I've finished it I wish I could have had more time with Demon!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

rainbopagn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I was born and raised in West Virginia. Judging by the way it's written, Demon is only a few years older than me. You can tell Kingsolver is Appalachian herself because this is a haunting account of poverty in this area. The depiction of the prevalence of substances and the ease to get it in the early 00s is so vividly real I wonder if the author had family fall victim to it like mine did. My grandmother was one of the first victims of opioid abuse and it distorted the way my childhood should have been. 

This is not a book for the faint heart. I had to stop several times as passages brought my own traumas back up. But this is a masterwork in not only literature but life in some of the poorest parts of the United States.

Oh and she name dropped Purdue. That gets an extra star alone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Car accident and Abortion

lisettemarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mdwsn27's review against another edition

Janet Fitch's White Oleander manages to resonate like- and accomplish what- Demon Copperhead doesn't.

Maybe because this story is too familiar after working day-to-day with kids in DCFS custody, or since I haven't read David Copperfield (and no longer plan to), I didn't finish--having stopped at page 246. A shame considering how long I had this on my to-read list/waited for it to become available.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

jeggert10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Outing, Gaslighting, and War

tdawgg07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Self harm, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

abbeyjreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

4.75 rounded up

this was an absolutely beautiful read and i thoroughly enjoyed it, so i have very little criticism, but i have found that the criticism i do have all stem from having read this through the lens of adaptation. david copperfield is one of my favorite novels, it’s a story i have loved for as long as i can remember, so i am very familiar with its characters, its tone, its story beats. and this hit a lot of those notes! but there were a few missteps that ultimately resulted in .25 deduction on the rating. 

this is not “inspired by” in the sense that it has the zest and spirit of the original content, this is a tried and true retelling. every major story beat is reworked and seamlessly woven into its new setting. nothing lost its power here, the highs felt high and lows were as low as you were framed to expect from the original. my two biggest qualms were the characterization and utilization of Mr. McCobb (Mr. Micawber) and Miss Betsy (Betsy Trotwood), and some of Demon’s character development.  

Mr. Micawber and Betsy Trotwood are two of the BEST CHARACTERS in the original work and have such an astounding impact on david and his character; he becomes more hopeful and resilient because of them and their influence and they are both deeply impactful to him. these two entirely lost their footing here. Miss Betsy is really only seen in two chapters - and while she maintains a lot of her personality - she is really more of a distant force in demon’s life who places him where it is necessary for other characters to cater to him in the ways she did in the original. Mr. Micawber is a dubiously delightful character who you don’t respect as much as you admire - he can’t hold anything around him together but he can hold himself and that’s what matters. he is a beacon of positivity and - while an ultimately naive and deluded example - to david’s young and impressionable mind he is a bright spot in what has always been a sorry life. the mccobb family leaves no lasting impression upon demon here and if they left anything on the page its a sorry taste in your mouth. it just felt like two deeply impactful and memorable characters were squandered. 

this directly results in demon’s character and development evolving in an entirely different way. in the original, david is an ultimately cheerful and - sometimes naively - optimistic young man who persists in being a gentleman and a dreamer and an all around good human. obviously, demon’s story unravels with different elements that result in him exploring some much more personally dark places. instead of being subjected to squalid environments and lurid company, demon’s surroundings are a direct result of his own choices and vices. i did find demon’s narration to be charming and he does in time come full circle towards his expectations, but david’s original character is something that sticks with a reader. he is so resolute. so immovably good. i thought about david for months after finishing it, and demon will occupy a very different headspace for me. 

regardless, this was effortlessly beautiful and harrowing. it may have felt off kilter to me in very slight moments, but this drew me in so deep. i was so invested. and even though i knew what was coming - waiting for each beat to hit, each iconic moment to be reimagined - i was always surprised by how fresh it felt. 

if this did anything well - and it did, it did almost everything well - it found the hope, and it maintained it. dickens work has stood the test of time for a reason, and this knew exactly why. it held on to its spark of originality among a landscape that has been tirelessly traversed for almost 200 years. it was new eyes on an old soul. the world has not stopped turning, but the heart of this story will stay the same in every new century it sees. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

amanda_reads13's review

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Demon Copperhead (Damon), son of a drug addicted young mother, takes us through his life as he fights to survive all that life throws at him. 

Demon is the voice of the impoverished, opiod addicted, abandoned people of Appalachia. His voice is incredibly unique and his story tell one of resilencey, loyalty, and pride. This book never stops as he ensures foster care, child labour, the broken education system, addiction, and crushing losses. This book is messy, emotional, and intense. This story could have been very bleak, yet within the pages is a tale of hope with a touch of humor. 

The book is so beautifully written and the setting plays almost like a secondary character in how intertwined and vivid it is. 

Demon is an immensely flawed, but likable character. We're rooting for him to succeed. He ensures abandonment, abuse, homelessness, addiction, and so much loss. His life forces him to grow up so fast, otherwise he literally would not survive. Yet, through all he endured, he does just that, he survives and perseveres. 

We are introduced to so many other interesting and captivating characters along the way. They all played such an important role in his life. Maggot, the lost soul just trying to survive while being so different. Tommy, the soft hearted man who pulls himself up against insurmountable odds.  The Peggots, the kind hearted neighbours who help as much as they can. Dorie, the lost girl who could never be saved. Angus, the girl who supported him no matter what. His teachers, who encouraged and supported him to follow his dream of drawing. This is such a memorable cast of characters. 

Unfortunately, the author does lean very heavily on the stereotypes of the Appalachia region. Every stereotype you can think of about that region happens Demon in this book. I wish that there would have been a little more breaking stereotypes rather than amplifying them. That said, I did think that Demon was a very interesting and captivating character.

With so many heavy topics addressed in this book, it does veer towards feeling preechy or like a lecture at times. 

I really liked the ending.

Demon has fought his battles and won, what comes next is left to the imagination, but it ends in a note of hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail