A review by b00kh0arder
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

5.0

You don't need to have read or even be familar with David Copperfield to enjoy this (though if you are I imagine you will get an additional layer of enjoyment from it) because Demon Copperhead stands on its (or his) own two feet, using the Dickens original as a sringboard to tell its own version of the story. Demon is a narrator you won't soon forget, whose voice hooks you in from page one, and who you'll want to hug and shake in equal measure but whose corner you'll always be in, and thinking you'll always understand, even when - on occasion - the decisions he makes work against him.
The tale of instiuntional neglect, abuse and demonising (pardon the pun) of an entire community should make you stop and think (if you made any beforehand you certainly won't make any hillbilly jokes after reading this). In fact it may make you want to grab someone by the shoulders and scream FIX IT! But, failing that, it should remind you that the one thing you can always do is have compassion and empathy.
A deserving winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction.