Would you recommend Demon Copperhead to a 17 year old?
Barbara Kingsolver delivers an epic story about a boy with a troubled upbringing that is based on a modern day version of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, but I found myself wondering...
If you’ve ever read David Copperfield, you’ll realize that one of the main traits of the book that makes it such an intriguing story is the amount of unforgettable characters that you come across as Dickens introduces them (as well as brings them back again). Barbara Kingsolver, who’s name you might recognize - I realized I loved one of her books as a teenager, The Bean Trees - is able to accomplish the exact same thing with her modern version of the details in Demon Copperhead.
Many of the characters in the book have a nickname (as do characters in her other books). Demon is one of those nicknames and Copperhead is a reference to the hair color of the character, whose real name is Damon Fields, and whose ethnicity and heritage traces back to what is known as “Melungeon” - a multiracial ethnicity with obscure origins. The story takes place largely in rural Appalachia and Lee County, Virginia and most of the characters live in the realm of “Land Economy” rather than “Money Economy” as the characters of the book put it themselves (though a few of the main characters are also from Knoxville, Tennessee).
But at the heart of the story is the trial and tribulations of a young boy growing up in a tumultuous, drug induced household that’s rooted in poverty, in an area that has been struck hard by the opioid epidemic. And the tone is set right from the moment that Damon is born, which immediately both mirrors and separates from the original David Copperfield.
David has to overcome the death of his mother, an abusive step father, multiple foster care situations, and a number of other shady characters as a highschooler just to attempt to have some resemblance of a normal life; which being born in his circumstances, might not even seem possible to some. And although it’s overall a story about triumph, even in the most dire of situations, it’s still has some pretty dreadful situations that take place.
And for that reason, I hesitated when asked by someone I know (who happens to be a book store owner) whether or not I would recommend this book to a 17 year old. The book is heavy on drug use and addiction, and additionally, its also longer than the average book and has a plethora of characters.
I originally responded as such and let the person know that I thought it was a great book, that a 17 year old would definitely appreciate the writing style and tone of the author, that it helps if the said person was a book lover, but that there was heavy drug use in the book. At the time I had not yet finished the book completely and to be honest I was a little bit on the fence on whether or not Barbara Kingsolver romanticizes the story just a tad to make the lifestyle seem cool. I would love to hear more takes on this in all honesty.
She responded thanks, she didn’t know it was that heavy on drug use, and that the recommendation was for a 17 year old that happened to be a foster child - just like Damon.
The story has a little bit of a Catcher in the Rye feel to it at times (the book makes a “Catcher in the Tobacco” joke), especially with how the character narrates his story and is caught up in situations that he puts himself in his attempts to figure out meaning or what to do next. The main difference is that the character in the Catcher in the Rye came from a family of means and complained a lot. Damon, or Demon, on the other hand, came from the mud and basically never complains. But I figure if the Catcher in the Rye is a piece of literature used in middle school, then certainly a 17 year old can read (and learn from) Demon Copperhead.
Should you read David Copperfield before reading Demon Copperhead?
It was by complete happenstance that I was reading David Copperfield right around the time that this book got released. I didn’t know it was going to be released, and I found out about it by looking at a few bestseller lists and was absolutely astounded that this remix was coming out. Needless to say, I was pretty excited once I saw the title and synopsis.
But you don’t need to read David Copperfield first, the story stands on its own two legs. I will say that I do think that there is a special type of delight in learning (and guessing) how Kingsolver is going to portray each and every character that mirrors it’s David Copperfield counterpart. There are definitely a couple character reveals where Kingsolver flexes her writing prowess, with a few plot twists that left me in awe of her skills as an author and story teller. And although I had my own opinions on how some of the character traits should be portrayed, by the end I found myself not worrying too much which direction she chose to go in because I felt she truly did the story justice.
One other cool thing about this book - it was an Oprah book club choice. In her announcement of the choice she mentioned that she believes that Demon Copperfield’s voice is one that you won’t forget - and I have to agree.