“Literature is a long conversation through time and space.”
Barbara Kingsolver
Although this book is intellectually stimulating and well-written, its bleakness can be depressing.
In her introduction, Kingsolver speaks of the inspiration for this novel. She had finished a tour for her last book and was grappling with the subject for the next one. She knew that she wanted to write about opioid addiction. She knew “any novel worth your time and mine should concern itself with the problems that keep us awake at night.” She just did not know how to present it.
In the introduction to the Barnes and Nobles Exclusive Edition, Kingsolver recounts how the story of Demon Copperhead came about. She was staying at an inn that was once Bleak House, the seaside residence of Charles Dickens, and was allowed to explore the house and even sit at the desk where Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield. While looking out at the sea, she realized that this was also Dicken’s view while he wrote the novel that was “closest to his heart.”
She then had an “ethereal visit” and felt
“a ghost of outrage past, suggesting I was a coward if I couldn’t risk telling the stories that matter most. Whether or not people want to hear about such things. It’s the artist’s job to make them want to hear.”
Barbara Kingsolver
A voice told her: “Look to the child”. Was this Dicken’s permission to rewrite David Copperfield to tell a tale of misery about the Appalachian mountains, “a beautiful, rural place” in which she grew up, now a place where an entire generation of kids are growing up a product of families destroyed by prescription drug abuse.
With Dickens’ approval, she has it all here: every major character is rewritten in this tale of childhood trauma and eventual resilience. If you are interested in comparing the original to this version, I recommend this link as a place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Copperhead
Reading the original is not a prerequisite for this book.
Just beware. This is not feel-good fiction. Along with an exploration of the opioid crisis in Appalachia, the characters discuss the economic tragedy brought about by the mining industry, the education system in the region, society’s denigration of their lifestyle as “hillbilly” culture, and the social/historical aspects of Melungeon people, and lastly, the role of art as a means for societal change.
Kingsolver feels that Dickens would approve. In her acknowledgments, she starts with the following paragraph:
Barbara Kingsolver
“I’m grateful to Charles Dickens for writing David Copperfield, his impassioned critique of insitiutional poverty and its damaging effects on children in his society. Those problems are still with us. In adapting his novel to my own place and time, working for years with his outrage, inventiveness, and empathy at my elbow, I’ve come to thinkof him as my genius friend.”
This book is a selection chosen for both book clubs I belong to. For the most part, the members of my book club liked the book. Some have read David Copperfield, but most have not. Some are now planning to read it. Several members were a little put off by the language. The author was looking for authenticity in her writing. Overall, this book provided content and style for a great discussion!
4 out of 5 stars not only for the utter bleakness of the book but for the ending!
Lovelearning 