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Web ID: 1541858029 reviewssorted by Newest
A story that needed to be told
Barbara Kingsolver's writing is perfect. The narrator's voice is incredibly good and believable. This is a story that was long overdue and needed to be told. That being said, I felt it could have been shortened by about 150 pages and still wouldn't have missed the point. And yes, it's a depressing theme, but when the protagonist starts to fight back, when hope prevails, that's when it really soars. Still, it's a long ways to get there. Kudos to the author for shining a light on this awful public crisis and for being a voice of the lost and underserved.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A memorable roller coaster ride
This book was tough to get through because of all of the hardships and pitfalls that the main character and the surrounding characters go through as well. This book is very impactful and though it is a fiction book, it seems to encapsulate what may truly be nonfiction for people that live in small towns in different parts of the US. There is no filter in how the characters thoughts or conversations go and you never know where the story is leading or where it will end up. The author keeps you on your feet and the story is one that is unforgettable. Overall, a good read!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Literary masterpiece
"The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between." (p.468) In this Pulitzer Prize winner by Kingsolver a boy nicknamed Demon is born in a trailer to a mother with an drug addiction. She dies when he is young, leaving him to grow up an orphan in a rural Appalachia plagued with an opioid crisis. This book follows Demon through the hardships and triumphs of his boyhood. As people come in and out of his life they bring their own hurt or kindness or both, each affecting his trajectory in their own way. This literary fiction is one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are complex with accessible interiorities. I couldn't stop thinking about them for a long time after the book was over. The language is written in a rural Appalachian dialect that remains consistent throughout, yet it is rich with imagery. I cannot say enough about how easy it was for me to completely sink into this book and become lost in the language and characters. It is a heavy read so make sure you are in the right head space before picking it up. This book is the epitome of what literature can be and I would recommend everyone add it to their reading list. I cannot say enough good things about how well done the writing, story, and characters are in this one. Please go out and get it if you haven't already. Kingsolver is a true literary talent.
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Hilarious and Heartbreaking
This lovable narrator tells you his story in a way that makes heartbreak hilarious. Inspired by Dickens, Kingsolver turns to rural American poverty and addiction. See why this won the Pulitzer and the Women's Prize for Fiction. Fabulous read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Narrative of intense candor and self-awareness.
THUNDEROUS. This is an epic story of a young man caught up as a victim of opioids. But that single sentence does little justice to a narrative of intense candor and self-awareness for people victims of addiction both hidden and forgotten among the rural poor. Set in the back hills of Virginia the novel is told through the first person point of view of Demon, a boy caught in poverty, the foster care system and ultimately, addiction. He proves to be the perfect voice for Kingsolver’s passionate social criticism. Someone who knows he’s left behind, yet still has talent, meets few people who help him, learns about survival. Likable, nuanced, humorous, fighting to overcome his circumstances – Demon is similar to Dickens’ “David” from the David Copperfield classic Kingsolver nods to and pushes back on. The novel is a lengthy 500+ page book that feels relentless in demonstrating the tenacity of an opioid’s hold even as Kingsolver gallops and gobbles up large passages of time. As readers, we are as consumed as poor Demon. Masterful. Repost of review on Goodreads.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Compelling Novel!
“For the kids who wake up hungry in those dark places every day, who’ve lost their families to poverty and pain pills, whose caseworkers keep losing their files, who feel invisible, or wish they were: this book is for you.” “Demon Copperhead” is my first Barbara Kingsolver novel. The author vacationed in the home of Charles Dickens and had the occasion to sit at the desk where he wrote David Copperfield. A novel about a boy finding his way out of institutionalized poverty, abuse, hardship, and exploitation. Kingsolver decided to rewrite the story and make it about a boy growing up in the 1990s Appalachia where she is from. “He lets the child tell the story, “She says of Dickens. “Nobody doubts the child.” The author’s political agenda becomes apparent throughout. This novel becomes her platform for exposing the many obstacles faced by the Appalachian poor and opioid-addicted. She makes no attempts to soften their desperate circumstances, their poverty, and the child welfare agencies that fail them. She points her fingers for the opioid epidemic squarely on the shoulders of the pharmaceutical companies for aggressively targeting the poor and desperate. She thrusts you into the midst of real-world circumstances and she compassionately demands that we not look away. For me, the story slowed down about three-quarters of the way through the novel. Before picking up again in the last 5 chapters. It is for that reason that I give it a 4-star rating. Overall, a compelling novel that should be read by all!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not a fan of this read
Not a fan of this book. Starts off pretty good then it just slows down to a crawl. To much repetition of similar situations. Spans this young man’s entire life. Very depressing. He never had a chance from the beginning. I usually find something good in each book I read, not able to do so with this one.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Vicious Cycle On Paper
Demon Copperhead By Barbara Kingsolver 546 pages Book Review: Some spoilers… This book is in first person narrative, Damon Fields, also known as Demon Copperhead. He is a mixed race raised in the 1990s into the early 2000’s. He is a product of failed coal mines, failed family dynamics, failed government oversight on pain medications, failed relationships, abuses, and a child fending for themselves through all of this in the Appalachian territories. You hope that he breaks the cycle, cheer for him as he dodges the pitfalls of life, and cry for him as he finds himself another statistic of a society that values the dollar over the value of a human’s life. I was reading this and remembering the news reports, the multiple mini-series that deals with these issues, the books - fictional and nonfiction - and pieces of my own life, though I lived a thousand miles away. The story runs as a continuous Generational trauma cycle: Abuse, recovery, abuse, recovery , self development, downfall, abuse, recovery, and then the cycle begins once again, making the escape nearly impossible. Barbara does an excellent job of walking you through Demon’s life. She was raised in some of the same areas as Demon was 30 years prior. She describes the lifestyles and attitudes of a teenage boy in a land where hope for an escape to a good life is almost always halted by the presence of never-ending dead end streets. The book was a close 4.0/5 stars. I had a stronger connection with J. Michael Iddings book, The One That Got Away: A Novel. But after reading pages 525-526, coalescing the purpose of the story, it moved up the star ranks. 4.2 out of 5.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com