Inspired by Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield, Demon Copperhead is a story of a boy born into unstable, poor conditions in the Appalachian region of the U.S., in southwestern Virginia, an area of great natural beauty, despoiled by the now-defunct coal mines. Generations of men gave their youthful health and vigor to that industry, left with old age pain, and preyed upon by the opioid panaceas peddled by dishonest agents of Big Pharma. Demon (born Damon) is a Melugeon, a slur for people of mixed race in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina. His father is Melugeon, and dies a tragic death before his birth. His mother is white, living in a trailer, hooked on pills and alcohol. As early as Demon can remember, he tries to create stability for his mother, reminding her to eat, stay away from her additions, and keep her job at Walmart. Their neighbors, the Peggot family, are the bedrock of Demon’s life, especially Matt Peggot, or Maggot, his best friend growing up. The Peggot family is large and sprawling, and Maggot is raised by his grandmother, since his mother is in prison for nearly killing his abusive father in a bizarre attack.

Poverty and drug abuse are the continual themes in this story, capturing each generation in turn. When Demon’s mother overdoses and dies at age 29, he is thrust into the horrors of the foster care system at age eleven. Demon is tall for his age, worldly wise, having seen too much instability at a young age, and equipped with a sarcastic sense of humor, at turns different degrees of caustic. His innate kindness and survival instinct, coupled with physical strength, attractiveness, intelligence, and humor, all work to help him survive the awful foster placements, which amount to child labor, in barely survivable conditions. The senior Peggots, together with their nurse practitioner daughter June, provide the stable continuity that gives Demon some solid ground to stand on.

It is the character of Demon that makes the story tolerable— the reader would have abandoned his story if not for his interesting observations, appreciation for whatever positive could be extracted from a situation, and wry comments on the irony of his circumstances. Demon is endlessly loyal toward those he loves, even when they let him down repeatedly, or when he fails to live up to his own potential. It is a sad story of potential discarded, opportunities wasted, bad choices. Kingsolver does give us the hope of recovery, not guaranteed, but chosen one day at a time. It is a painful story, told with honesty and humor.