I recently finished Demon Copperhead—or more accurately, listened to it on audiobook—and it completely captured me. At over 30 hours long, it ticked my new criteria for audiobooks: a truly epic runtime that gives me a good return on my Audible credit. I tend to listen while I’m out running or commuting, and choosing a long, immersive story like this one keeps me motivated to keep getting out and doing things. It becomes part of the rhythm of life.
Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, inspired by Dickens’ David Copperfield, is a compelling and emotionally intense novel. Set in rural America, it dives deep into the realities of child protection systems, the opioid epidemic, and the relentless challenges of poverty. It explores how children can slip through the cracks, how hard it is to hold on to education and opportunity, and how easy it is to lose everything along the way.
Demon, the narrator and protagonist, loses more than his fair share—family, friends, lovers—all in circumstances that feel heartbreakingly avoidable. His voice is authentic, raw, and resilient, and the story, while often painful, is never without warmth or beauty. Kingsolver doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of systemic failure, but she also never lets go of the humanity at the heart of it.
It’s not a difficult book to read in terms of language, but emotionally, it’s confronting. That said, I would absolutely recommend it. It’s impactful, moving, and incredibly well told. Listening to Demon’s story made me feel deeply grateful for the privileges in my own life and reminded me how fiction can open our eyes to real-world injustice in profound ways.
So yes—this one earns a solid 5 hastily procured gas station Slim Jims out of 5.