gingerlocks25 's review for:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
4.0
challenging dark emotional reflective 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: Complicated

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

For fans of Empire of Pain and Dopesick, this is a further story of the emotional turmoil and destruction of the opioid crisis in Appalachia in a modern day Oliver.

We hear about the pill mills, the communities fighting back, the weak succumbing to their end, the overdoses, the withdrawals and the dead on town names of Devil’s bathtub, Murder Valley and Hungry Mother.

Damon or “Demon” Copperhead has drawn the short straw in life, an orphan with a vengeful stepdad, playing foster family roulette, being used to work tobacco fields, pay families bills and struggling to not repeat the cycle. When a bad injury, a toxic relationship and addictions take over his life, we see Demon fall victim to his fate, circumstances and afflictions. All he wanted was to see the ocean and draw his superheroes, but when the incredibles became the incapables we realise this tale is a story of the communities ravaged by the opioid epidemic. 

This was a chunky read which may have been reason why I held off for a while, but I picked it up on an audiobook 2 for 1 deal recently and definitely recommend 


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