"We both lay back down, and she looked at me in the eyes, and we were sad together for a while. I'll never forget how that felt. Like not being hungry."
?
31 likes
Demon Copperhead: A Novel | 
"We both lay back down, and she looked at me in the eyes, and we were sad together for a while. I'll never forget how that felt. Like not being hungry."
?
80 degrees at 11:00 pm in my backyard reading (maybe sleeping) until it cools down.
pickDickens used the pen to reflect on poverty in 19th c London, so BK exposes the destruction of opioid addiction in appalachian America in the early 2000s. The plight of Demon is devastating as the plot follows the structure and characters of Copperfield, creating a lead to whom the reader becomes emotionally attached. My only issue was reading Copperfield, so recently, it was a distraction from fully enjoying it, but this is a remarkable book.
A (mostly) feel-good article about how Kingsolver has used royalties from Demon Copperhead to set up a drugs recovery centre for women.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jul/05/the-damage-is-terrifying-barbara-k...
pick4 ⭐️ Enjoyed most of the book, but it could have been a bit shorter #2025 #bookclub #retelling #fiction #oprahsbookclub
pickI am so glad there wasn't a thing on my agenda today except to finish this book! I have to admit, at just shy of the halfway point, I was really wondering why there was such love for this book. Didn't take much longer to find out! There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said except, if you're thinking of reading it--do it!!
43/80
#ReadingMyTBR #Reading2015
#AllergicToChunksters
#BookSpinBingo
"First, I got myself born."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Starting chunkster number 2 for #AllergicToChunksters
This was my first Barbara Kingsolver novel, and I enjoyed her vivid imagery and clever storytelling. She brought Appalachian history, anecdotes and logic together in a memorable and very readable way.
pickThis book is literature. It‘s a meaty read you‘ll need time to process the written style of Kingsolver. The writing is excellent and challenging. The character of Demon Copperhead is a realistic depiction of the life of an addict and the role society plays in the making of addiction . However, I read this as a “Book Club” and it certainly isn‘t a light read. This is an English Literature 101 read.
pickI‘ve been a fan of Kingsolver‘s writing for a long time, so I have been looking forward to reading (well in this case, listening) to this Appalachian David Copperfield since I first heard about it! Heartbreaking, but powerfully written, I couldn‘t stop listening to this one. I loved the performance & thought each character really came to life. Definitely the kind of book that will stick with me—& one of the few to live up to the hype from friends!
Did someone already post about this?
IMO, this is how wealth should be spent. Kingsolver took some of her proceeds from the book & built a substance abuse facility for women in her area, where so many need it.
“This is the house that Demon built. Higher Ground Women‘s Recovery Residence..”
Another reason she‘s a favorite author of mine.
pickA heartwarming coming of age novel of a protagonist who is faced with the damnedest odds throughout his life: poverty, grief, strife, drugs, but through it all integrity, grit, and love. First half is excellent and gets a little slow in the second half. Narration on Audible is really good. Well worth a read.
#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern
Demon Copperhead was my first completed read of 2025, and would most definitely recommend it. The #audiobook, in particular, was really good.
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐
Didn't have any idea what to expect with this book, but am glad I finally picked it up. I opted for the #audiobook which I think helped when the storyline got a little slow in a couple of places. Otherwise I might have been inclined to set it down in lieu of something more fast paced or action packed. Which, to be honest, would have been a loss on my part because this was a really good story. It's long, but definitely worth sticking with.
#12BooksOfChristmas @Andrew65
It seems like people either loved or hated this one. I loved reading it, and I loved spending an hour talking about it with my brother later. Great book.
@Andrew65 ❤️ JANUARY 2024 ❤️ #12Booksof2024
We read this for Bookclub January 2024. Definitely in the top 12 of last year.
pickStarted reading Demoncopperhead in our holiday cottage cosy by the fire 🔥 with a pup on my knee a cosy happy surrounding which is more than can be send for poor old Demon, this book is a misery fest & it made me want to foster and adopt children and teenagers right now ! It‘s a long one & I enjoyed reading it but wouldn‘t read it again, it‘s a worthy prize winner I enjoy BK‘s books but nothing will beat poisonwood bible for me that blew me away
#litsylove #novemberbirthdays thank you 🙏 lovely 🥰 litsys for my birthday 🎈 cards Wer back in north Norfolk for winter walks and cosy fires 🔥 in our cottage by the sea but must admit my reading this month has been very lax 😣
pickA tough read on the 5th of November. A masterful tale in a contemporary apocalypse of neglect, abandonment, industrial consumption, and narcotic. Devastating at points of course, but stepping up to be the definition of optimism and resilience.
pickThe rough names, stamped on everyone, are fixed in Lee County: Maggot, Angus (for Agnes), Coach, Woody, and, of course, our title character. The nicknames are given by others, done to them, like a light curse. Like “hillbilly” and other dishonorifics, heavy with history, the labels never completely disappear. People truly grow when they move toward life‘s greater efforts like love and art and decide: I am not who you say I am.
so-soMaybe it was the fact that several people talked this book up to me that it fell somewhat flat…it just didn‘t live up to the hype! It‘s well written but I didn‘t connect with (or remember) many of the characters other than Demon. Who is Martha? Who is Ruby? Who is Swap-Out? By the end of the 500+ page book, I truly couldn‘t remember. (46)
⭐️: 3/5
bailedI think I‘m one of the few people on the planet that is not a big Kingsolver fan. I enjoyed “The Bean Trees” and loved “The Laguna” but beyond that, her voice just doesn‘t speak to me. Hope springs eternal, so: Demon Copperhead. After trudging through the first, grim 75 pages or so, I bailed. Maybe after the fraught election season I‘ll try again. The caricatures she draws of Appalachians cut too close to a J.D.-like bone to be readable.
pickDammit, Barbara Kingsolver. Why are you so good?? I loved this contemporary reimagining of David Copperfield, set in 1990s/2000s Appalachia. I was so impressed by how Kingsolver took the issues Dickens was concerned about in the 1800s and transferred them to a contemporary setting, constructing a compelling story around grief and loss, foster care, and the opiod epidemic—revealing how little has changed, and how a completely different system ⤵️
@kspenmoll I‘ve had this for a few days and kept forgetting to post. Tonight Gandalf helped me get a photo to share. I‘m really looking forward to this one from our #Book2Book swap, especially as I‘m currently listening to David Copperfield.
#CatsOfLitsy
pickI am blown away by the brilliance of this David Copperfield retelling set in Appalachia.
Yes, it is difficult and sad, and not many happy things happen for Demon, but there is hope.
That hope brought me to tears in the last pages of this masterpiece.
This one will stick with me.
so-soI bought this book as soon as it came out last year, and purposely held onto it for a while. I fully expected it to be my favorite read of 2023 and I didn‘t want to overshadow other good books with its magnificence. So I started reading it in October 2023.
I just finished it today.
Ten months. That‘s how long it took me to drag myself through this book. I was tempted to bail so many times, but I persevered. ⬇️
pickJust as Charles Dickens used his stories to shed light on the societal ills of his time, so Kingsolver uses this revamped tale to emphasize the pervasiveness of the opioid crisis. I feel that it‘s a little like cheating—she never had to work out which characters get together, die, etc. Dickens did that! I loved figuring out each character‘s mirror in David Copperfield, though. It also lacks the humor Dickens weaves throughout. Still loved it!! ❤️
61/100
NYTs Books has put out a readers choice 100 for those who spoke loudly about hating the first list!
I have read more on this list 61 to the 48 of the official list. There are a lot of overlapping books
I am out of free articles but you can find the full list on Instagram - NYTBooks
Yes it s july 6th and I am under a blanket, but it is raining and I am peopled-out but need to get out again for dinner with friends so ... A little quiet time (and the piano player in the back is using headphones)
pickI dunno. I was all in for the first half and then something happened. We‘ll be discussing this book at book club later this month, so perhaps I will have a better handle on my feelings after that discussion. I will say this: it was easy to read.
pickAbsolutely brilliant. Demon‘s voice was wonderfully written. What a character.
bailedAt page 47 I DNF this one. I loved the voce of the character and how well the story was being told. Page 47 caused me to have a panic attack so for my well being I have to stop reading this one.
Oh my goodness!!! What a beautiful package- thank you so much Misty! I feel so undeserving, but I love it nonetheless. I‘ve wanted to read this for the longest time. I‘ve checked the ebook out twice but I keep returning it because I want to read a hard copy! Your thoughtfulness is simply beautiful. Thank you for all the goodies, as well as your patience with me, my friend. 🩷
#litsylove
pickI cannot lie. I had a hard time getting through this, because the story is so painful in many ways. I understand why it was chosen for the Pulitzer Prize, however, because the writing is absolutely phenomenal. I‘m glad I read it—and especially glad that I made it to the end, as it took some wild turns in the last 100 pages.
“A ten-year-old getting high on pills. Foolish children. This is what we're meant to say: Look at their choices, leading to a life of ruin. But lives are getting lived right now, this hour, down in the dirty cracks between the toothbrushed nighty-nights and the full grocery carts, where those words don't pertain. Children, choices. *Ruin,* that was the labor and materials we were given to work with.“
cont.
