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Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

10/29/2022

In "Demon Copperhead," Barbara Kingsolver brings the plot and characters of Charles Dickens’s classic "David Copperfield" into the twenty-first century in a rural county in Virginia. This coming of age story deals with loss, abandonment, poverty, grief, and addiction in the present day, suggesting that the problems Dickens depicted in Victorian England remain far from solved.

Throughout the book, Kingsolver plays off the names of the characters from David Copperfield for her own characters to great effect. The son of a teenage mother and a young man who died in an accident before his birth, Damon Fields inherits his dead father’s red hair (“Copperhead”), and his first name soon shifts into “Demon.” The loving Peggoty family from David Copperfield become the Peggots and their grandson Matthew, known as “Maggot.”

When Demon’s sweet, hapless mother hooks up with Stoner, (“Mr. Murdstone” in David Copperfield), it’s clear the man views Demon as an unwanted burden to be shed at an opportune moment. Before that can happen, Demon’s mother and her unborn baby die of a drug overdose, pitching Demon into the foster care system.

During a series of unfortunate placements, he meets people who will become recurring characters in his life’s story: the McCobbs; star football player “Fast Forward”; Tommy Waddell, and others. He and his friends are forced to work, school being a low priority for most of the adults they encounter. Eventually he ends up in a happier home, living with a respected football coach and his daughter Angus. He is evaluated for the school’s Gifted and Talented program, and to his own shock, he scores high enough for admission. A sympathetic art teacher becomes his mentor. Coach is delighted with his athletic ability and soon he’s playing varsity football. But Demon’s promising football career is cut short by a serious injury and an ensuing addiction to pain pills. At seventeen he moves in with his girlfriend, Dori, who’s also suffering from addiction and grief.

This is one of the more painful parts of the novel to read, as Demon tries to help Dori, when he’s so poorly equipped to even help himself. He knows he lacks the resources and life skills to pull them both out of their downward spiral, but he’s determined to be there in his imperfect way for her. What follows the inevitable crash is his one shot at real redemption and sobriety, but at a high cost.

Kingsolver’s writing shines in "Demon Copperhead." She has passionate opinions about social issues, in this case, social class and income inequality. In Demon, she develops a character who, for all his problems, possesses strength and true kindness. He is in awe of and a little in love with Maggot’s Aunt June, a nurse practitioner who leaves her job in Knoxville to return to her hometown to help the community she grew up in as the opioid crisis takes a heavy toll. Like her, he has trouble imagining life anywhere except Lee County, even when it becomes clear that he needs to leave, at least for a while, in order to save himself.

Demon Copperhead is a sprawling novel with plenty of characters to keep up with. One thing that made it easier was the single narrator and chronological plot. In a time when many novels offer multiple points of view and move back and forth through past and present, it was strangely relaxing to read a straightforward narrative from the perspective of just one character.It’s a book that will stay with you, full of unforgettable characters and moments both large and small.

I received a free galley of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

10/2/2022

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Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is one of those books that readers will appreciate most if they go into it in the dark. Don’t read reviews like this one. Avoid spoilers. The less you know, the better.

I knew that Jodi Picoult was one of the authors, and that was enough for me. I would read anything she writes because she has the ability to develop complex characters and then throw them into a world of hurt, while tossing in some unexpected twists along the way. I knew too that it was about a high school student accused of killing his girlfriend. I wasn’t aware of any other books in which she’d collaborated with another writer, so I wondered what this latest novel would be like on account of that second voice.

As it turns out, Mad Honey works beautifully, and my ignorance was bliss indeed. Two story lines unfold throughout the novel, narrated by Asher’s mother Olivia and Lily, his girlfriend. A single parent who has moved back to the family farm and has expanded their beekeeping operation into a thriving business, Olivia feels like their life is on the right track. People around their small town know her for the honey and beeswax products she sells at the local farmers’ market. Asher is in love, and Olivia is genuinely fond of Lily, his girlfriend. The two of them seem well suited and appear to make each other genuinely happy. Which is why Olivia is stunned to learn that Lily has been found dead at her home and Asher is charged with her murder.

Olivia’s chapters move forward through time from Lily’s death and Asher’s arrest, through his incarceration, and his trial. Lily’s chapters turn back time, beginning with the day of her death and moving back through the months before. We learn her backstory, how she and her mother Ava came to live in the small New Hampshire town, and why Lily is capable of both giving and guarding her heart.

The one small point I’d quibble about is that in his trial, Asher is defended by his uncle, Olivia’s brother Jordan who is a high-powered attorney. Lawyers don’t normally represent relatives, particularly in high profile cases like this one. At minimum I’d expect a conversation to take place in which Olivia and Jordan hash this out. Instead Jordan just rolls in, prepared to represent Asher himself instead of referring him to another attorney. It doesn’t hurt the book too badly, but readers familiar with the legal profession will be a bit surprised.

The lyricism of Picoult’s writing about Olivia’s bees created a beautiful counterpoint to the painful story. I enjoyed learning about beekeeping culture, including traditions like informing the bees of a death in the family. I’d never heard of “mad honey” before, a substance that has been known to cause symptoms like dizziness, vomiting, convulsions, and more. And the book includes recipes for the honey-related treats Olivia makes, something I was grateful for after reading about these delicious foods.

I highly recommend Mad Honey and look forward to purchasing it for my library. I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Anne McLeod

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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