Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Demon Copperhead

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

1158 reviews

bibliobb91's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional funny 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

loopy_charge's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

j_sabo's review against another edition

5.0

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

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.

Content Warnings

camillatd's review against another edition

3.5

challenging sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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?

Content Warnings

marthaalice's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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

Content Warnings

ktcowell's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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

Content Warnings

okiecozyreader's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

This book kind of reminds me of Kristin Hannah’s writing - things get worse and worse and worse… and when you finish the book, you miss the characters and wonder how they are doing, and think about them throughout your day. I guess it’s the amount of time you spend with them, and of course, the writing.

I read this book for my local bookclub tonight and I probably wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t the selection. It’s kind of overwhelming in size and it is a tough read. Hundreds of pages of drug abuse and tough situations.

Demon has red hair, green eyes and begins the book living with his mother, who is an addict. His dad died early in his life, and when his mom meets a man who makes life difficult, it begins his journey of figuring out life for himself. We watch him grow up in foster homes, going back to his grandparents and try to find someone who cares for him as a family. It is all a tough journey, to say the least.

I felt like, at times, there was more detail given than necessary, like stories that didn’t pertain to the plot. I felt like it could have been edited down some.

I didn’t read David Copperfield, so I went and read a synopsis of it. It does seem to follow the original format (600-1200 pages depending on version). It’s interesting how Kingsolver wanted to tell a story of the opioid crisis in Appalachia and found a format through Charles Dickens work featuring a life of poverty.

“Everybody warns about bad influences, but it's these things already inside you that are going to take you down.” Ch 36

“Good people, bad people, what does that even mean? Get down to the rock and the hard place, and we're all just soft flesh and the weapon at hand. Ch 40

“Where does the road to ruin start?” Oprah asked this question in her bookclub, and I thought it was a good one. Ch 41

“Many had tried their best with us, but we came out of too-hungry mothers. Four demons spawned by four different starving hearts.” Cho 45

“The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.” ch 56

There is a little propaganda about the issue of oxy
“She said Purdue looked at data and everything with their computers, and handpicked targets like Lee County that were gold mines. They actually looked up which doctors had the most pain patients on disability, and sent out their drug reps for the full offensive.” Ch 49

Content Warnings

mac23's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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.

Content Warnings