by Deborah Rogers –
Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer and Women’s Prize for Fiction winning novel, was that most rare of reads: a unanimous hit for our group. Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering its critical acclaim, but it’s not always a guarantee. The structure of the novel, its key dramatic moments, storyline and cast of characters, is based directly on Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. Of the attendees at our meeting, many had read the Dickens original, and a few had refreshed their memories by looking up details. It led to a fascinating discussion about the why of this novel, and whether being based on such spectacular source material diminished the retelling.
Instead of Victorian-era England, Demon Copperhead is set in the forgotten American Appalachians in the 1990s. Coal mining is long gone, the region is impoverished and about to be swept with a new scourge – the opioid-based painkiller Oxycontin. We meet our hero at his birth, on the bathroom floor of his teen mom’s trailer home. With his father already dead and his mom struggling with addiction issues, the cards seem to be stacked against Demon from the start, but his singular voice and bright humour carry the story of his pain-filled childhood along at a pace.
There’s no looking away from the cruelty, abuse, and neglect that Demon endures as he’s moved from one temporary foster placement to another. Kingsolver gives us windows into the care system, child labour, the school system and a world where so many are struggling for basic needs, so one more child going hungry and unloved could be overlooked as routine. But she keeps us hooked with the tiny pivotal moments where we see a moment of opportunity, or a truly good person who might make all the difference.
Part of what makes the book challenging to read is that it forces us to confront some hard realities about our world, and the way that we feel about those who have fallen to the bottom. Fiction is a good way to explore complex societal problems, and our readers felt it helped them gain a deeper understanding of how America has become so fractured.
There was much to love about this book too: the dry vernacular; the little moments of reflection at each chapter’s end; the standout characters who were on Demon’s side and helped us keep our faith in humanity; and Demon’s humour, to carry such a heavy story without it feeling overwhelmingly dark. It’s a voice that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished this novel.
For October’s meeting we will be reading Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConagy. Please join us on Tuesday October 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Nell Horth Room at the Sidney/North Saanich Library.
