Demon Copperhead

A Novel

By: Barbara Kingsolver

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A NEW YORK TIMES "TEN BEST BOOKS OF 2022"

An Oprah’s Book Club Selection • An Instant New York Times Bestseller • An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller • A #1 Washington Post Bestseller

"Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick

"May be the best novel of 2022. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” (Ron Charles, Washington Post)

From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for listeners of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

©2022 Barbara Kingsolver (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Wow! It’s a Masterpiece

The last few BK books have not been to my taste, so I hesitated on this one. Boy was I wrong! This book is a masterpiece. It’s right up there with Poisonwood Bible. Some people say it’s too sad. What they mean is it’s too realistic. I have family in these mountains. I know this landscape, the physical and emotional. Kingsolver hits both perfectly bringing you the story in a raw but tender way. And this narration is a solid gold 10/10. Kudos to both author and narrator. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. It was everything promised and a lot more.

Charlie Thurston!

I swear I need to actually read this book to know if it’s that good. I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver. I have read/listened to The Poisonwood Bible more times than I can count. I think I’ve read every book she’s written except for the short stories. I was/am in tears at the end of this book and I KNOW a huge part of this is Charlie Thurstons reading. So dang good! Is this guy an actor?!? Barbara should NOT read her books. She got better in Unsheltered. Anyways, Charlie Thurston rocks.

A Hard Listen, Pitch Perfect Writing

The authenticity of her characters is what drew me in and broke my heart at the same time. The first person speaker makes it all the more intimate, convincing. I will be thinking about this story for a very long time.

Best book I’ve read in years

Barbara Kingsolver’s greatest book to date, which is quite an achievement for an author who consistently treats her readers to beautifully-written tales of people and nature. Demon Copperhead manages to surpass Poisonwood Bible in its breadth, wisdom, compelling characters and (no doubt) the most research on a dizzying number of topics, historical and contemporary. Kingsolver is an American literary giant. The audible version add an extra level of enjoyment. The narration is perfect. It adds flavor to the book that, unless you’re from Appalachia, you’d miss. I’m glad I listened to this book. I’m sorry it ended. It’s beautiful and violent, horrifying and tender. You can’t help but fall in love with the protagonist (written in first person), a young boy experiencing the worst kinds of life, from poor orphan in abusive foster care systems to an athletic star until he can’t play anymore and is criminally fed the most addictive opioids until he sinks as low as he can and fights his way back into life. When you finish this book, you’ll have a new appreciation to the mountain rednecks and you’ll be furious at the system that has abused them, then turned them into the butt of the national jokes. I could go on. I could write a book about this book. It needs to be read, then studied, and absolutely earn a Pulitzer or a Nobel. Or both. It should be required reading in high school English AP classes and in universities. Stop me before I start gushing.

Unforgettable, impactful, emotional.

A powerful story of poverty and drug use set in Appalachia with children generationally the victims. The story is compelling, the narrator perfect, it's the blunt, heavy words and phrases we expect from Kingsolver, every sentence sends readers reeling, almost imbalanced. Every bit a dealer in tragic stories as Cormac McCarthy, Barbara Kingsolver has the tools these stories need to be told properly. I am convinced I will need to read all her books also.

Wonderful but agonizing story

First - I’m stunned at the lack of sophistication in some of the reviews that talk about the “language” in this book. This sort of bigotry is a good example of one of the points this story makes early on. America is a country full of different cultures and races - “rednecks” “poor white trash” or “hillbillies” are one of the last acceptable groups to look down on and make fun of in our society. As Demon says “they can hear you”. I thought the way Barbara wrote Demon and the characters was so colorful and true to the culture. Their language, especially the slang is an important part of how they communicate and live. The judgement of it further exposes the bigotry toward those that live in these circumstances. Leaving out the vernacular in order to suit the opinions of people who have clearly never interacted with people like Demon - wouldn’t have done his character justice. I thought he was such a complex character written behind the facade of a simpleton - as are most poor white Appalachians. I loved this book. The words danced off the pages for me. When a book is really well written with colorful and descriptive language I can actually see colors on the page. This book did that for me. If you are looking for a book that will immerse you into a story that is about the journey and are perfectly ok with colorful language (which by the way includes some of the best idioms I’ve ever heard - that made me chuckle throughout the book) - this book is for you. In the same vein as Hillbilly Elegy - it exposes a part of America that deserves our compassion and understanding and not our judgement. As a side note - I watched the series “Dopesick” to further understand the Oxy epidemic in this part of the country that is part of this story.

Thank you again BK

Kingsolver is simply an amazing writer. Just like The Bean Trees, Poisonwood Bible, and Flight Behavior among others, I will not forget Demon Copperhead. Yes, your heart will completely break but through humor and her brilliant use of language you will find so much beauty. This is a very harsh story, language and all. I feel she is a teacher and a healer through her stories. The resilience of her characters renews my spirit every time and I feel like a better person having read her books-more compassionate and more aware. Her reverence for the environment is so often a large part of what makes her writing so beautiful. That element is less prominent in DCopperhead but still present. Always looking for her next book.

strange

Have over 15 hours left to finish this book. It was my last unread book and I needed something to listen to for the 19 hour drive. this wasn't worth it. Listen to a different book for the 2nd time instead.

Bleeps

Good story but If the book was censored a few years back it wouldn’t exist or be three pages long after all the ‘x rated language and content were removed. I couldn’t finish it which will bother me for some time because I became attached to Demon Copperhead and want to know if he survived. Maybe the only way the author could fill the editor’s required word count was with more four letter words than actual story words to be generously sprinkled in. If you enjoy the testosterone enhanced fantasies of teen age boys and the four letter words, this book will delight you. But if you are one of the few left like me I suggest you skip this one. It’ll most likely be made into a movie.

Would give more than five stars if I could

Barbara Kingsolver never disappoints. She is the master of fact-filled fiction. Memorable characters. Brisk pacing. Powerful story line. Addresses issues of child abuse and the opioid epidemic in an insightful compelling way. I’ll remember this exceptional novel for a long time. I highly recommend it. The narrator is exceptional—I confess to being disappointed when I realized Barbara Kingsolver was not narrating, but Charlie Thurston was perfect.