A deft reworking of a classic for the modern day and a worthy winner of the Women's prize for fiction. Demon has every soul crushing disadvantage in life but can he claw his way out of poverty and deprivation to make a life for himself? As ever you can't help but care deeply about the characters Kingsolver creates. Reimagined round the catastrophic opioid epidemic decimating America's disaffected youth you realise that the trials of Dickensian times still exist today in different but equally devastating ways.

DEMON COPPERHEAD is the book of my heart. The voice of our protagonist Demon is so strong through this text-even with a meandering plot through Demon's childhood and adolesence his perspective is quite frankly so compelling I found it difficult to put this 500 page book down. I'll be thinking about the characters Kingslover has constructed for years to come. Be prepared for heartbreak and a story you'll never forget.

I’ve never read David Copperfield, which put me off this book for a while, thinking it would hinder my enjoyment. I was dead wrong; although there are lots of little Easter egg type references that hark back to Dickens, Kingsolver’s writing and adapted characters are so mesmerising it’s hard to look away. In particular, our narrator Demon is someone you can’t help but root for, his voice is a pleasure to have in your head. My heart was in my mouth as I read further and watched his slide into addiction, it genuinely makes you want to shout out to warn the characters of what you fear will happen next. Each one of the characters feels fully fleshed out, with their own motivations, fears, and dreams, its fascinating to see how their stories intertwine with Demon’s, for better or for worse. The setting is almost a character of its own- Kingsolver’s masterful descriptions of Lee County and the places within it really bring the story to life, and Demon’s changing feelings towards his home are a key part of the journey. This book is beautiful, but horrifying and anxiety-inducing at the same time: Kingsolver is such a skilled writer that even though some of the things that her characters go through will be far from the imagination of her readers, it never seems overdramatic or unbelievable, it’s hauntingly real. Thank you to Faber & Faber for the review copy.

Demon Copperhead is the ninth novel by award-winning best-selling American author, Barbara Kingsolver. It’s in August of his eleventh year that life falls apart for Damon Fields. Despite his inauspicious beginning and life in a double-wide trailer with his single mother, his first ten years are happy ones. With strong Melungeon features, flame red hair, green eyes and darker skin, inherited from a father who died before he was born, Damon soon acquires the name Copperhead, Demon being the natural warp of his given name. A good student with a talent for drawing, he excels at school and enjoys spending his free time with his best friend, Maggot, grandson of his mother’s landlady, Nance Peggot. The catalyst for change seems to be the arrival into their lives of Murrell Stone, known as Stoner, whom Damon quickly assesses as bad news. That he is a bully, expert in gaslighting, is soon obvious: “Mom took up with a guy that believed in educating with his fists, that bullied and brainwashed her till the day she died.” By the time he arrives in his father’s hometown in Tennessee, the now-eleven-year-old has suffered the physical and psychological abuse of his new step-father, lost his pregnant mother, been fostered out into two differently neglectful homes, done hard physical labour, worked an illegal job, missed school to harvest tobacco, been half-starved, and robbed. From there, the story follows Demon’s rollercoaster fortunes in life: patronage from his paternal grandmother, a football coach and an art teacher; recognition of his talents and abilities; injury and drug addiction; the deterioration and loss of people close to him. He proves to be resilient, and eventually learns that not all the people he chooses end up being true friends. With her reinvented David Copperfield set in modern-day Appalachia, Kingsolver illustrates the potent impact on young lives of the poor choices that people themselves make, or are made by those charged with their care, often when there is, realistically, no choice at all. When those people in his life who have good intentions but no means are unable to step up, her protagonist ends up at the mercy of people rorting the welfare system for their own gain or merely their survival, under the supposed care of poorly-paid and under-resourced people stuck in a poorly funded and disorganised system. All of this will feel wholly realistic to those with experience of said system. Shown, too, is the Appalachian(?) mindset perpetuated by some teachers at less well-off schools that their students lack the intelligence to compete academically with richer schools. This can result is students believing, often to their detriment, injury-wise, that sport or unskilled labour is their only option. Credibly presented is the casually indiscriminate use of prescribed narcotics in teens with its ensuing downward spiral into addiction, and also the power of the intelligent cartoon. Damon’s feels like an authentic voice which gives the story added credibility. Kingsolver gives her young protagonist insight: “A mean side to people comes out at such times, where their only concern is what did the misfortunate person do to put themselves in their sorry fix. They’re building a wall to keep out the bad luck.” And makes him perceptive: “A dead parent is a tricky kind of ghost. If you can make it into more like a doll, putting it in the real house and clothes and such that they had, it helps you to picture them as a person instead of just a person-shaped hole in the air. Which helps you feel less like a person-shaped invisible kid.” And, of course, the reader can rely on Kingsolver for gorgeous descriptive prose: “I found a good rock and watched the sun melt into the Cumberlands. Layers of orange like a buttermilk pie cooling on the horizon. Clouds scooting past, throwing spots of light and dark over the mountainheads. The light looked drinkable. It poured on a mountain so I saw the curve of every treetop edged in gold, like the scales of a fish. Then poured off, easing them back into shadow.” Many of Dickens’ characters are easily identifiable by their slightly altered names and roles; several are sterling characters, although the one with that name is the polar opposite. Those familiar with it will find elements of the story somewhat reminiscent of AB Facey’s memoir A Fortunate Life. Included is a bonus essay revealing Kingsolver’s inspiration for this tale. Moving and thought-provoking: a wonderful read. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber.

I do love Barbara Kingsolver’s writing, but I think of all the characters she has written about in various books, Demon is the one that I keep thinking about- like he is someone out there that I should have helped during those really bad times. Because he does represent so many millions like him. Kingsolver says in the intro, if orphans were a country they would be the 9th most populated. This is a beautifully written book and my heart was completely captivated by the lovable and ultimately “full of goodness” Demon. It really questions our moral judgment. I was especially embarrassed when I read the parts about the ridicule levelled at “red necks” and all that the people of the Appalachian region have had to endure in the name of enterprise and capitalism. I applaud those working to bring justice to those in need.