Demon Copperhead

You probably know 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 is a reimagining of 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥, switching England for Appalachia. Born Damon Fields to a drug-addicted teenage mother in a trailer in Lee County, Virginia, he gets the nickname Demon for his behavior and Copperhead for his hair color.

After his mother overdoses, he goes into the foster care system, where he is subjected to forced labor and starvation. Harrowing doesn’t begin to cover it. But what saves you from complete and utter despair as a reader is his voice, which is self-aware, self-deprecating, often funny, and always honest. He’s a smart kid—smart enough to know how the rest of the country ridicules people like him. We as a society have universally condemned every stereotype about every group except the rural poor, in which case those stereotypes are encouraged, becoming something of a sport in the comments section of esteemed publications like the 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, where moderators turn a blind eye to slurs like “toothless maws.” As Demon says, it’s like being in a bathroom stall listening to people make fun of you. We can hear you.

He explains the history of a people that have been duped, doped, and dumped. After being exploited by the coal industry, Lee County is now ripe for exploitation by the pharmaceutical industry. OxyContin is “God’s gift for the laid-off deep-hole man with his back and neck bones grinding like bags of gravel. For the bent-over lady pulling double shifts at Dollar General with her shot knees and ADHD grandkids to raise by herself.”

Demon’s own descent into addiction after a football injury is heartbreaking, and the only thing that keeps him—and us—going is his resilience. Yet despite the misery and desperation that have gutted his community, his love for the land--the place that has been his salvation and damnation--never falters. Kingsolver’s prose is transcendent, as is the spirit of Demon Copperhead.