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A review by sarakomo
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
2023: starting this year off right with a BANGER from Barbara Kingsolver
I was gifted three copies of this book for Christmas, because something about me screams that I would want to read all about substance abuse in the south. But here's the deal, my people know me, because this book was INSANELY good. I expected nothing less from Kingsolver, who is one of my favorite authors, and this definitely lived up to the hype.
It was especially insane to read this story about a young football player who fucks up his knee and is prescribed oxycontin, as I was a 14 year old soccer player who tore her ACL and was prescribed oxy after my surgery to get it fixed. Luckily, I had a high pain tolerance, I healed well, and my mother was well-read enough that she actively encouraged me not to take it. But it just goes to show how circumstances can really dictate your own responses to similar situations.
This book was one of the best stream of consciousness novels that I've recently dug into. It has one of the more effective uses of punctuation that really made me feel like I was inhabiting Demon. The story flowed so well! Kingsolver is a master at her craft. However, I am going to keep my eyes open for reviews of this book, especially from people who formerly suffered from substance abuse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Barbara Kingsolver has never done heroin, but that's just an assumption of mine! I totally believe that her life has been impacted by oxycontin (whose hasn't at this point?) but I sort of doubt that she's ever been coked out of her mind addicted to painkillers. Just as I would hesitate to believe a story that was written by a person of the opposite gender about a huge life experience that never happened to the author, I'd love to read some additional perspectives on the reactions to this novel.
A small part of me wants to jump back into David Copperfield and see all of the parallels with Dickens, but the bigger part of me is looking immediately to getting my hands on Empire of Pain.
I was gifted three copies of this book for Christmas, because something about me screams that I would want to read all about substance abuse in the south. But here's the deal, my people know me, because this book was INSANELY good. I expected nothing less from Kingsolver, who is one of my favorite authors, and this definitely lived up to the hype.
It was especially insane to read this story about a young football player who fucks up his knee and is prescribed oxycontin, as I was a 14 year old soccer player who tore her ACL and was prescribed oxy after my surgery to get it fixed. Luckily, I had a high pain tolerance, I healed well, and my mother was well-read enough that she actively encouraged me not to take it. But it just goes to show how circumstances can really dictate your own responses to similar situations.
This book was one of the best stream of consciousness novels that I've recently dug into. It has one of the more effective uses of punctuation that really made me feel like I was inhabiting Demon. The story flowed so well! Kingsolver is a master at her craft. However, I am going to keep my eyes open for reviews of this book, especially from people who formerly suffered from substance abuse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Barbara Kingsolver has never done heroin, but that's just an assumption of mine! I totally believe that her life has been impacted by oxycontin (whose hasn't at this point?) but I sort of doubt that she's ever been coked out of her mind addicted to painkillers. Just as I would hesitate to believe a story that was written by a person of the opposite gender about a huge life experience that never happened to the author, I'd love to read some additional perspectives on the reactions to this novel.
A small part of me wants to jump back into David Copperfield and see all of the parallels with Dickens, but the bigger part of me is looking immediately to getting my hands on Empire of Pain.