Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I’ve made a decision.

I’m going to date my reviews based on the day that I finish the book on Goodreads.

Look we are already growing and maturing as a blog.

I’ll need to let Allison know.

Demon Copperhead is a 5 star book that I will probably never read again. Normally, my criteria for a 5 star read is that it is a book that I could see myself reading again but Barbara Kingsolver is gonna break that rule.

The writing in this book? Beautiful. Pacing? A+ Narrative arc? Smooth as ice. Character development? Flawless. I can see why this got book of the year.

However, despite all this mastery this book was hard to read. This is a study in beautiful flawed characters. It is essentially a modernization of David Copperfield. Having never read that book I’m going to have to take their word on it. You follow the life of the main character Demon from birth to late teens. He is my heart. An absolutely beautiful soul who endures so much tragedy without ever lashing out or fighting back.

It made my chest physically ache to read about how drugs absolutely destroyed his world. As an emergency room nurse I work with drug addicts all the time and this was like pulling back the curtain to see what their lives are like when they are not with me. They have families. They fall in love. They try to take care of each other. I’m sure for some people drug use is an isolating thing - but in this community it is something that is shared. I never viewed it that way. Drugs as a gift for someone you love? Not my love language but okay.

I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t compelling in the sense that I couldn’t but it down, but I was so invested in the characters I wanted to go back and check on them. And it was never so dark that I felt like Kingsolver was punching puppies for entertainment.

Final Judgement: A nutritious book that I’m glad I picked up. But I probably never will again.