Tag: barbara kingsolver

Book Report: Demon Copperhead

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I’ve been trying to escape by reading novels. The joke’s on me, because Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver (2022) is not an escape. It’s more of a descent into hell with a really nice guy. Many of you have already read this book, but I’d been holding onto it for a while, thinking it would be a hard one to get through. I was correct about that, but it doesn’t mean the book wasn’t worth reading. Not when one of our greatest living novelists wrote it and it’s about a topic that has touched so many families, even those of us on the outside of the opioid epidemic.

I loved realizing that the book was based on the story of David Copperfield (get it, Demon Copperhead…), which was another book that was so depressing I had a hard time dragging my hyper-sensitive empath eyes over its words. Dickens really knew is sad-but-true sh**. Knowing that ahead of time, I knew where the arc of the story of the main character, who goes by Demon Copperhead, was heading. I just didn’t want to go there with him for a while, so I had to set the book aside as soon as the Big Bad Drugs came out.

A lot of the book was like visiting a new world (at least a respite from White Evangelical Christian World), because for better or worse, I have very limited exposure to addictive substances or illegal drugs, other than alcohol. Thanks to growing up with my mom (who was addicted to legal substances of tobacco, alcohol, and prescription drugs), I didn’t want to have anything to do with anything that might possibly mess with my brain. So, I partook of no weed, no shrooms, no LSD, and none of the other stuff.

It’s not that I didn’t know any people who enjoyed their substances of choice. I mean, I was a teen in the 70s, for goodness sake. I just wasn’t immersed in the culture that went with it. Yes, I managed to have fun anyway.

The world of foster care is another one I don’t have direct experience with, but I gained a lot of sympathy for friends and family who lived through some of the unpleasant aspects of the system. And I’m so grateful for the good foster parents and successful people who made it through.

Thankfully, Kingsolver has a knack for describing how things feel from the point of view of the person experiencing them, which means I learned about drugs from the user’s point of view, where things that might have scared me were just part of Demon’s daily life. Kingsolver also makes most characters in the book sympathetic – you can see how they got to be in the mess they were in. I liked her description of having sex from the man’s point of view, too, since it’s obviously not something I’m familiar with.

One thing that got me through the hard parts of Demon Copperhead was that sometimes I could just read the words and enjoy how well crafted they were, especially when Demon is observing the world around him. That boy had the artist’s eye, thanks to Kingsolver!

In summary, you probably should read this book. It will be eye-opening to those of you who’ve never lived in rural America or spent time in the poor parts of Appalachia. For me, the overwhelming feeling I got was how grateful I am so have only lived on the edges of the world in this book, and how much more empathy I have for those thrown into it by no fault of their own.

Book Report: Prodigal Summer

Today was our day of rest, so there was no big excitement in Arizona other than a pleasant walk around Bell Rock, where I got to see and hear the beautiful desert-dwelling Scott’s Oriole. So, I’ll finally write about the most recent book I’ve read, Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver (2000).

Nice spot for a morning walk – only minutes from our condo

The reason I read this book was that Jay, one of my old online/IRL friends noticed what genre of books I’d been reading and felt strongly that if I hadn’t read it, I should. So she ordered me a copy and had it mailed to me.

I think this copy has been resold many times, judging from its stickers and velvety-soft pages.

I particularly enjoyed reading this pre-loved copy, because I felt like I wasn’t alone reading it. Some college or high-school student must have been writing a book report themselves, because there are many notations and bits of “analysis” written on the pages. It was fun to see what they were getting out of the prodigal summer.

Ah yes, that sums it up, my friend.

As for my analysis, of course I enjoyed Kingsolver’s writing – she’s as great as everyone says she is – I just hadn’t gotten around to reading anything by her yet. And as my reading buddy noted, her characters are just great. I like them as much as I like Maeve Binchy, the Irish novelist. Each one of them is fully developed, and I especially like that they grow and change and admit their mistakes. I like a realistic protagonist instead of an all-knowing one.

One reason Jay wanted me to read the book is that one of the lead characters is a naturalist who likes to be by herself with nature. Who does that sound like? This woman is very protective of a family of coyotes in the mountains in Eastern US, where she lives, since they had been pretty much extirpated in modern times. When I saw my healthy suburban coyote yesterday, I recalled this book, and had to smile knowing how well coyotes are doing in Texas and Arizona today. What an adaptive animal!

I love my golf course

However, my favorite character is an older gentleman who is really fond of his traditional farming methods as he tries to resurrect the American chestnut tree. He gets himself all worked up about tree-huggers who don’t mow or use pesticides, and is particularly suspicious of Unitarian women from the next down over. I enjoyed his internal monologues so much I kept reading them aloud to Lee.

Writing in the copy of book I read aand a tiny sample of the thought process of Garnett, my favorite character.

Prodigal Summer is worth reading just for this one character’s story, but hey, there are other main characters to enjoy, including a woman who takes over a farm and does a lot of canning while experiencing personal growth.Of course there’s an old hippie woman, as well. And you get the bonus of learning a lot about Appalachian plants and animals along with the humans.

I’m really glad I had the chance to read this book, though I must be getting old or embracing my inner Ace, because I could have done with less extra graphic sex. Still, I might even have to read it again, just to enjoy the old dude. Thanks, Jay!