Books: “Demon Copperhead” (2022) by Barbara Kingsolver

As you may have heard, “Demon Copperhead” (2002) is Barbara Kingsolver’s reimagining of “David Copperfield.” And while it’s too early to say whether it will achieve the rank of literary classic, this hefty novel beats the Dickens out of most anything out there.

Born Damon Fields, but nicknamed “Demon Copperhead” because of his flaming red hair, Demon is a character as vividly conceived as Huck Finn. He narrates his own coming-of-age story, which begins shortly after he is born to a drug-addicted teenager in Appalachian Virginia. His mother spends most of her time in rehab while his step-father treats him like a junkyard dog. When Demon’s mother dies, social services farms him out to a variety of foster homes, one worse than the next.

Hearing rumors that his paternal grandmother may be alive, Demon tracks her down. While she is weird and reclusive, grandma is nevertheless well regarded in the area and convinces the local football coach, Coach Winfield, to be his next foster parent. Coach realizes Demon has potential as a linebacker, and starts playing him in games. Unfortunately, Demon is sidelined by a knee injury and in a rush to get him back on the field, Coach gets Demon hooked on opioids.

But hark! What hope glimmers on yonder horizon? Demon’s doodles of Marvel superheroes start to draw attention from his teachers and friends, all of which helps him secure him a gig drawing comic strips for the local newspaper. (His objective in his comics is to portray Appalachians as something more than punchlines.) At the same time, Demon falls for Dori, a lovely waifish fellow high schooler whom he eventually marries.

Demon’s addiction leaves him between a rock and hard place. He can’t conquer it until he summons the will to change; he can’t summon the will to change because he’s a severely impaired addict. In Kingsolver’s view, this dilemma seems to be shared by many of the down-and-out Appalachians. Lacking opportunities for work (the coal mines have long closed), residents turn to oxys and other pain killers. Into this mix of crooked doctors running pill mills, the author introduces June, a nurse practitioner and beacon of sanity who trained in Knoxville, but chose to return to he community and fight the good fight.

While much of this sounds like a downer, Kingsolver’s lively prose and storytelling are captivating. She imbues Demon with all the dry wit common to IRL Appalachians. That’s probably because she is one herself.

“Copperhead” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2023. One critic called it “the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” I couldn’t have said it better than that. So I won’t.