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theelliad 's review for:
Demon Copperhead
by Barbara Kingsolver
I really wanted to love this book more than I did. Kingsolver does an excellent job at drawing out difficult themes (addiction, failings of the foster system, competitive sports, bad influences, death, grief, change) but honestly the narrative dragged at points in the same way Dickens does meaning it falls short of a higher rating. Addiction isn’t glamourised as it is in many similar texts, but neither is it addressed in the depth it could have been given the storylines? There is also moments of sexuality which felt unnecessary and uncomfortable at times. Though that said, the exploration of gender and identity is very strong in this book and I found myself especially drawn to Angus and Maggot as ambiguous and challengers of thè expectations placed on them. Overall, this was enjoyable and I felt sorry for Demon at times but it was about 6 hours too long
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol