Demon Copperhead

Don't do drugs!

This book was on the hot section at my library and there was a sticker attached that red “lucky express 7 day rental” and I thought, oh shit i better read this book before I'll never see it again. So I pushed Luminaries to the side (it was 800 pages) and started a journey through Lee County with Demon Copperhead.

My first thought was, wow this guy has a horrible and terrible life. My second thought was, wow fuck society. So put two and two and you will realize that this novel was a heavy hearted depiction of those who were unfortunate. Unfortunate was an understatement, I've read about terrible lives but there always seemed to be some magical way they got out of their circumstances like some sort of magical letter telling them they're a wizard. But this never happened for poor Demon. I kept reading waiting for the good to happen but it just got worse and worse, a brutal depiction of reality.

When it finally got better, by stroke of luck, it wasn't like all of Demon's problems were gone. He was still that kid with that leaky well with water oozing out of him. Everything was going well for this guy, but he was still broken and it showed when bad luck hit again. At first you feel bad for Demon because his life is absolutely horrible. But when things get bad the second time, sure you feel bad for him but not because his life is terrible, but because you can relate to his issues, his struggle, and his own hole draining all the good out of him. You never hate Demon because you can't. He's like your child that you wish to get better, to wake up one morning and decide to change his life around, but change like that isn't realistic and Demon Copperhead the novel is very realistic.

You have this Toblerone format of depicting Demon's life and the ups and downs of it all. And this just makes everything way worse. You yourself feel like Demon. During the bad you can't wait for him to get better, and at the peak of his life you can't help but wonder how its all going to fall down. And it doesn't just randomly get bad, it is ultimately his own choices that causes his own misfortune in the later half of his story. And this hurts more than misfortune you can't control, it hurts because it's pain that he has no one to blame for. But when it finally goes up again it feels so satisfying, like he finally pulled his shit together.

This novel has never made me question how lucky I am to live the life I have.

Likes:
Demon. He is such a well written character. A kid who obviously has his flaws. One that you won't believe is the age he is during the events of his life. One that is mature but just as immature. That one line where the housekeeper tells him his job is to be a kid was just so opening to what this guy had to go through. I really liked his interactions with other characters and the way the author wrote his narration felt real instead of cliche and over the top.

Setting. It helps that this place in a real place in the world. I always find a really good novel to have its setting almost be one of the characters. The novel goes deep into what Lee County is without going too over the top.

Writing. Holy cow Barbara Kingsolver cooks with her writing. I found that random lines hit so hard and there was no moment that I was bored of what was going on. It reads like a teenager's writing the good and the bad yet the descriptions feel so otherworldly and crazy. I really liked the pacing and how there are no life turning moments, instead series of events that change Demon's life which I found to be more realistic.

There are honestly so many more good things to say about this book. It was just so good in almost every way possible. Every character is so fleshed out and has so much to say without saying anything at all. Characters are diverse without having DEIB shoved into your face. The depiction of addiction hurts so badly that it feels like its coming out of the pages. I especially liked how brutal Dori was.... The foster care system was so brutal.

Dislikes:
I'm trying very hard to think of what I dislike but I can't come up without anything of interest. I think the one major thing I had an issue was the lack of an relationship Demon actually had with Dori. I get that its kind of the point but it would've been nice to see something else other than sex being described by Demon. But tbh I feel like there was purpose of having Dori written like that.

Another slight issue I had was how I felt that Demon and Emmy just kind of died off. Like there relationship was sooo interesting and it felt like there was nothing done with it later on.
I also have a slight issue with Demon being with Angus at the end because it felt like Angus was more of a sister/brother to Demon and not a potential love interest. It also doesn't really suit Angus's character imo and I was rooting for Demon and Emmy lol. But despite my bias I really felt that the whole Angus thing at the end was kind of offputting, almost incestuous.

In conclusion. Loved the book!