Reviews

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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mikefromarkansas's review against another edition

5.0

What a life. I kept thinking, can it get worse. It was like watching a train wreck hoping it would turn around. We don’t really know but the opportunities might be as big as the ocean… maybe. I’m rooting for Demon.

asangtani's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

cynthia21's review against another edition

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5.0

My heart aches for Damon. I want to protect him forever and give him everything good in the world. I wholeheartedly love this book. What a pure soul that got dealt a shit hand. If life was a race, he started ten steps behind with his legs tied together. So many adults failed him, but a handful remained steadfast by his side and gave him infinite patience and love that he needed to find his way.

It was depressing to see him grow up, trauma after trauma. It equal parts beautiful and anxiety inducing to see his life turn around. I could sense that his great peak would be followed by a great fall. There’s no way he found his happy ending with 50% of the book left. It was difficult reading him being happy, knowing that it’d be short lived. When Damon fell, he fell hard and for a long time. While he was in the abyss, he still remained a good person at his core. Forever loyal and trying to do the right thing. I never loved him more. I still sympathized with him and was rooting for him.

This book is in no way concise. It’s lengthy and delves into the darkness of addiction, foster care, and abuse. Its insight into middle America and took me out of my comfort zone by showing me the comfortable privileges of my life. Barbara Kingsolver tells a story that needs to be told and spares no details. It’s heavy and sad, but you can’t put it down.

His narration is the shining star through all this mess. He’s witty, charming, kind, and hilarious. It took me a while to get into it, but once it picked up I truly felt like I knew Damon as a long time friend. I could’ve kept reading about his life until his death. I’m relieved he fought the momentum of the dark path he was going down and saved himself. I couldn’t handle him relapsing or dying. His happy ending was the perfect conclusion to the dark and twisted journey of this book.