Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, Demon Copperhead, published in October this year and received from Jonathan Ball Publishers, is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, a rural region seemingly stuck in time. Kingsolver introduces a setting similar to countless other US mining towns, characterised by poverty, economic distress, high death rates, poor healthcare, and the like; so, a few pages in and without having read the synopsis, I suspected a light-hearted romcom was probably off the cards.
Nevertheless, it is against this lamentable backdrop during the late 1990s, that Damon Copperhead (known as Demon), born to a teenage single mother in a single-wide trailer, narrates his story. With no assets beyond his late father’s good looks, copper-coloured hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce survival instinct, Demon is destined to fight victimhood with the bravery and foolhardiness of youth.
With a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the perils of foster care, child labour, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
The novel is, of course, loosely based on Dickens’ famous David Copperfield, which he authored based on his own experiences as a survivor of institutional poverty and its effects on children in society. In her book, Kingsolver tackles the same themes, which, centuries later, still affect modern society.
In transposing this Victorian epic novel on the contemporary American South, Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger, compassion, and above all, his faith in the power of storytelling to bring about change. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys with their own challenges, including drug abuse, violence and suicide as they fight to survive despite a failing foster care system, abandonment, and a society that treats them as second-class citizens.
Demon’s narration is intriguing, fast-paced and irresistible. Indeed, I was delighted that this was not a concise novel all neatly tied up in couple hundred pages; but a weighty tome that allows the reader to get to know the characters, to deeply care about them and take part in their growth.
Kingsolver’s ability to write from a teenager’s point of view with accuracy and authenticity ensures that the reader cannot but become invested in Demon and care about him deeply. Even when he makes awful mistakes and loses his way, we root for him because, deep down, he is just a little boy yearning to be seen.
I witness the same plight of children born in poverty, orphaned and left to their own devices daily in my own country. If you’ll excuse the ‘white saviour’ trope, I’ll relay a personal example of how just ‘being seen’ can change everything. In the small town of McGregor in the Western Cape, a large portion of the population suffers immense deprivation and drug- and alcohol abuse. One day, a friend of mine found an 11-year-old troublemaker, Elwis, skipping school and loitering around town. Elwis is one of many like him who lives with a family of eight (including two grandfathers and a grandmother) in a two-roomed house with only one chair, where hunger and neglect force the children to fend for themselves. Her ‘seeing’ this young boy, listening to him and investing in his well-being is dramatically changing his life and, perhaps, his destiny.
In Demon’s case, it is his ability to connect with people who show him kindness which, in turn, cultivates a generosity in him to help others, that sets him apart. A deep thinker, Demon, even when faced with egregious circumstances, notices and is buoyed by the beauty of people and the natural world.
Kingsolver creates a strong sense of place in her novel. The well-rounded cast of characters set in this rural community is endearing as they face and suffer through the alarming rise in opioid addiction during the nineties. Despite the inevitable darkness in the novel (at times so severe that it is almost too much to bear), Kingsolver nevertheless keeps you glued and invested with playful and entertaining narration, sharp wit, and original observations.
Kingsolver is not only one of the most talented authors but also innovative, never restricting herself to one genre, and tackling myriad and various issues. She again demonstrates her genius, as she did with The Poisonwood Bible all those years ago, with Demon Copperhead, which is inspired by Dickens, but placed in her own time and place; a contemporary, American version. Needless to say, I highly recommend you dive in at the first opportunity.
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