Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

 

Yesterday, Friday, I went all day without reading a book.  Apologies to my Facebook friends because I went a little post crazy yesterday - I had to read something!

It just was not going to be a book.  Why, you ask?

Book Hangover.

Ever had that happen?  It does happen for me, but rarely anymore.  I just did not want this book to end, I teared up when I finished not because of anything particular that happened at the end but because of everything that happened during the whole story.  I was so sorry to be finished.  I immediately called it my favorite book of the year, even though it is currently only January. 

So, I needed a little time, a break, to let it stay with me and still be My Most Recent Book.  It will be hard to choose my next read, but that is another story.  (Pun intended.)

Demon Copperhead.  Let's get the obvious out of the way - yes, Kingsolver retells David Copperfield here, modernizes the setting to 1980's Appalachia, and gives everyone a name that can be traced back to Dickens.  And those names!  Everyone has a nickname here, and they are perfection.  I am still trying to figure out Swap-Out. Hopefully Kingsolver's prologue letter is included in all editions (mine is a Barnes and Nobel "exclusive edition"), because the story of how she came to the idea of even writing this novel is fascinating.

The other obvious thing is that yes, this could be viewed as a depressing story.  Hello, Dickens.  Demon is a white trailer trash son of a teenage addict with mysterious paternal roots.  The only jobs to be had in his town are in the mine.  There is no getting up the ladder if you can even get up outta bed.  Drugs are rampant and play a huge part of life in these times and in this place, which has been supported by locals, Kingsolver included, who say her portrayal of life in the backwoods really does look like Demon's life.  Truth becomes fiction in the worst way.

However, for me, this book was not nearly as depressing as The Four Winds or The Last Ballad (need a tear-jerker?  There ya go.).  Demon himself has such a dry outlook and hilarious turns of phrase that I laughed out loud a few times to the point where my husband even looked at me like I was crazy.  The things that happened to Demon seemed like they really could happen to a guy, even if it had a Murphy's Law feel to the whole thing.  It still rang true.  And Persistent?  Persistent should be Demon's middle name.  He bounces from situation to situation, from sadness to depression, from feeling unwanted to feeling invisible and can't decide which is worse. ("Was this me now, for life?  Taking up space where people wished I wasn't?"  Crack went my heart.)  But, he keeps on.  He grabs hope where he can find it, and continues to open his heart.  He does get angry at Life, but it is a slow burn for him, which the author says is intentional - she knows the reader needs to connect with and love Demon before they can "earn," in Kingsolver's word, that anger with him.

The drug epidemic in the United States, and particularly in this part of Virginia/West Virginia/Tennessee is probably the saddest part of this story.  And, unfortunately, the most real.  Kingsolver does not shy away from the devastation of an entire generation (or two) that has been and still continues to be brought on by oxy, heroin, fentanyl.  All kinds of drugs are mentioned and I even learned a few phrases along the way that I hope NEVER to hear about in my own life.  But this lifestyle was normalized so much for these characters that to fight it seemed impossible.  Depressing?  Yes.  But real.

One thing to notice here besides Kingsolver's deep research and knowledge of these and other themes she weaves into her story:  the presence of strong women.  Demon struggles to find a male role model, but several women are the ones to go to bat for him, fight for him, and try to give him direction.  Sometimes he pays attention, sometimes he flips them off.  Deep down they know Demon is worth saving; it is just a matter of convincing him of the same.

I loved the vernacular.  I loved how art and small town southern football and tobacco cutting and the wide definition of family are a part of the story.  I questioned if the foster care system and DSS could really be that bad, and if literally everyone in town could be an addict of one thing or another (apparently, the answer is yes).  My heart broke at how many bad things happened to Demon (let me tell you right now that sexual abuse of children does NOT happen here, so do not be afraid of that, and I am sorry if you think that is a spoiler, I consider it more of a green light - plenty of other bad things happen to Demon but not that!), and how many people he watched disappear out of his life for one reason or another.  I shook my head at how many times he was taken advantage of, and I cheered when he made a good decision. I loved the story about the Christmas "tree of utter ridiculousness" and how that gives him a taste of normalcy.  I loved Angus.  I loved how many chapters ended with a BAM, literally at the last word of a sentence.  I loved the foreshadowing and the unexpected return of characters and how the sense of place and home fit into everything.  I loved the tone, the insight, how she parallels her story to David Copperfield but how the story stands on its own.  This is not plagiarism; this is brilliance.  I can't wait to see if I really do find another Favorite Book of the Year; I took seven pages of notes on this one so my book club better watch out.  We will be going through all seven pages of quotes, thoughts, ha-ha's, and sad faces.

THIS is a great read.

EDITED TO ADD:   It is now Sunday of that same weekend and I have picked out but not yet picked up my next read.  Still noodling on DC.  

I want to recommend, for those who have read the book, a podcast I just listened to today.  It is called The Book Case, and is hosted by Charles Gibson and his daughter Kate Gibson.  (AKA Charlie Gibson from Good Morning America!)  They interview Barbara Kingsolver in their December 8, 2022 episode and it was wonderful listening to the author herself talk about the genesis, process, and subject matter of Demon Copperhead. 

Two of her comments stand out in relation to the issue of drug use in Appalachia (I am paraphrasing here):

Drugs are the solution to all the other problems they face.  Drugs are the escape they seek.

And:

For the kids and young adults, survival (of the drug epidemic, the lack of educational resources, the lack of opportunity, etc) IS resistance.  Wow.

The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

 

Ever since, and probably before, I found Outlander, I have been a sucker for a time travel story.  For a while there, it seemed everyone and their uncle were writing dual timeline stories, and I loved it.  Sort of like the best of both worlds for lovers of historical and literary fiction - there it was all in one book!

And, one of my all-time favorite books is Rebecca.  "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...."

So yes, reading fans, this book was meant to be for me. 

I found it last year, on Independent Bookstore Day, on my tour of the map my local gave me that morning, showing several independent bookstores to visit that day.  It was sitting on a shelf in the smallest used bookstore/gift shop I had ever been in.  I had never heard of this book, but obviously knew the author.  I read My Cousin Rachel a few years ago and was shocked at the time to learn how many books du Maurier had actually written.  (Sorry, TBR!!!) So, for the hefty price of one dollar, I grabbed it.

What a brilliant story!  Weird, oh yes indeedy.  But totally brill. (As they say in England.)  I really want to tell you NOT to read the flap, as when I did I was kinda like, ugh, this is not really up my alley.  So, just dive in.  Briefly, you have an English Chap with an American wife (interesting choice) who goes to Cornwall for vacation and agrees to help his old college friend and professor with an experiment of sorts.  The house where he is staying, waiting for his wife and two stepsons to arrive in a few days, is based on the house du Maurier actually lived in at the end of her life.  (She was also inspired by a house to write Rebecca.)  Cornwall and the house both become characters in their own right this story, as the history associated with the area comes into play - remember I mentioned time travel?  Yeah, it is not what you think. 

The plot twists were not the only surprises here - let me tell you, our esteemed author has some snark in her!  The main character gives several asides that made me laugh, even though the situation was serious.  Gothic, yes, but not super dark, more mysterious in atmosphere.  Readers will begin to piece the puzzle pieces together, but one must pay attention!  A mystery from the past becomes more than an obsession, and Richard has a hard time letting it go.  I had so many questions during my read, which I obviously cannot share, and I think I will be hardpressed to convince my book club to read this, so if you have read it I need a debrief session quam primum!  

An action packed mystery with the biggest bang up ending I have read in a long time.  I mean, I literally wrote in my notes, "What an ending!"  Read it to find out why!!

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

I do enjoy a book that references other books.  And is set in the Book World (editing and agent-ing).  And I sometimes am known to employ, I mean, enjoy, snark.

BOOM!

This book hits all those and more.  I am not usually drawn to Rom-Com type books, but hey, I was at the beach where last time I read Beach Read (and plus my neighbor lent me this book and I needed to get it finished and back to her).

A fun, fast pace, also set in NYC (three in a row for me, what is happening??), and the Banter here is awesome.  Two sisters with divergent life paths decide to go on a month long vacation to North Carolina to visit the tiny town where one of their favorite books is set.  Cue Hallmark movie meet cute.

Not.

I like the way Henry turned the old trope on its head here.  She hits some pretty serious issues here - the sisters lost their mom and Nora still feels responsible for her baby sister Libby, even though said baby sister is now grown, married and has two and a half children (she's preggers).  Nora has her own relationship issues and is a very successful and feared literary agent trying to get her client's next book sold to a moody and rude editor who is decidedly NOT HOT.

Until, maybe, he is, a little.  (OK, a lot - this probably qualifies as an open door book.)

Yeah, predictable, but still a good story with some good family drama thrown in, a few off track directions, and an ending that was surprising in one way and not in another.  I actually wrote down a lot of quotes here that are seriously introspective into different character's lives that I think could lead to some good discussion.  But, definitely a light read, and if that is what you are looking for, this is more than Harlequin but less than Moriarty.  I liked this one better than Beach Read, I think it had more substance and plot. 

So who are the book lovers of the title?  Read the book to find out!

Best quote:

Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day?  I mean, aside from a hot coffee and a bookstore on a rainy day.

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

 

I did not like Olive Kitteridge.  I was not a fan of The Burgess Boys (reviewed on Goodreads - that was prior to this blog!).  Usually by that point I would have given up on an author.  But boy am I glad I persevered here!

I have not read the other two previous Lucy books (see above), and unless y'all tell me it is an absolute must I am ok not to go back to them.  But Lucy by the Sea was brilliant, in such a different way than I expected.  Very stream of consciousness, very self-centered on Lucy herself, but that is the point.  She is telling us what happened to her and all she was thinking about when her ex-husband convinces her to leave NYC in March of 2020 because everyone is getting sick and he is trying to save her life.  So, they move temporarily to a friend's house in Maine.  City mice in the country equals hilarious adventures, right?  Well, they are on lockdown.

Did I mention they are divorced?

Kimberly Farr narrated the version I listened to and I loved her voice.  I think this is a situation where the audio enhanced the experience.  I really felt like I was just listening to Lucy over a cuppa.  And I liked Lucy!  Nice wink to our pal Olive in a few places too, that was fun.  

Lucy is grieving a loss here, worrying about her two grown daughters and their marriages, wondering why it is so easy to live with her ex husband, and making new friends.  She seems to take everything in stride, but has her breakdown moments - don't we all.  There are a lot of references to cheating spouses in this story.  Everybody had or was cheating, which I found a bit bothersome.  But what I found mostly was that this this book was cathartic.  She talks about the pandemic openly, but her life goes on.  Again, I find myself having read two pandemic novels back to back this month (Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult, reviewed here: https://rawlesreads.blogspot.com/search?q=wish+you+were+here), and this one is another totally different view.  We have a female narrator that is removed, physically, from the trauma and terror of living in New York City at the height of the contagion.  She pivots, and begins to enjoy long walks in the woods.  She learns why it is important to say hello to her elderly neighbor who is out on his porch every day to see her.  She makes a friend in the man who lent them the house.  She watches her ex-husband comfort one of their daughters when she gets bad news.  She is separated from those daughters, and then finally, FINALLY, she is allowed to see them, but not hug them.  What JOY!!!  Oh, the focus on the little things!

This becomes an almost happy book about the pandemic.  I did not find it traumatic, but of course there are some references to bad things.  This might be a good segue into finding out if you are ready for a pandemic novel.  Or, just go into not labeling it as such, especially if you are a Lucy fan.  This thing happened to Lucy and she tells us about her experience.  

In Strout's hands, that is a good thing.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Holy SCHMOLY!  I took six pages of notes on this one!

This was, unintentionally, my third "pandemic novel" (not counting Emily St John Mandel, she is in a class by herself).  I just finished listening to Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (review to come) and I read Kimmery Martin's Doctors and Friends more than a year ago when it first came out in November 2021 (https://rawlesreads.blogspot.com/2021/11/doctors-and-friends-by-kimmery-martin.html). 

Now, guess when Picoult's book was published.  November 2021.  Yep, same time as Martin's!  And I had no idea it existed until recently.  I wonder if people were just not ready for pandemic novels when it was still so new and raw and so much was unknown.  The main difference between these two books is that Martin's book was written in 2019 - prior to Covid-19 - and is about three best friends who met in medial school and suddenly face a fictional virus called artiovirus, with similar but not identical symptoms to Covid-19.  That is right, book people, Martin, a former emergency room doctor who returned to the front lines during Covid (which is probably part of the reason her book took longer to publish), literally predicted the virus and wrote about what "could be."  (She promised later that her next book, predictive or not, would be about World Peace.  Haha!  She is funny.  But I digress.)

Picoult takes a bit of a different tact here.  Her novel was written AFTER Covid-19 struck, and is specifically ABOUT Covid-19 and how one woman experienced March 2020 and the months of lockdown.  What Picoult absolutely gets right is the feeling of isolation (Diana is stuck on a small island in the Galapagos during lockdown on what was only supposed to be a two week vacation), the frustration and total exhaustion of the medical community (Diana's boyfriend is a doctor back in NYC who can't go with her on vaca for obvious reasons), and a focus on some of the lesser known symptoms of Covid that were new to me, even three years into the pandemic.

This has GOT to be a Book Club Selection because there is so much to talk about here. In true Picoult fashion, we get some twists and surprises and bumps along the way. It has been a while since I read a Picoult book and I had forgotten how tight and beautiful and descriptive her writing is.  She says she is known as a fast writer, but that this book was definitely the fastest she has ever written - it took her two months start to finish.  Maybe it helped that she herself was in lockdown and did not leave her house for 15 months as a high risk person (she has asthma).  But her afterword was just as fascinating as the novel (don't read that first, though, or the discussion questions either, major spoilers abound!).

Wish You Were Here took me right back to those days of being in my own house with my high school and college-age kids, whiling the days away, piddling in my house, not doing much reading because I could not concentrate, and enjoying the silver lining of having this extra at home time with my kids while being terrified of the unseen threat outside my door.  Because of her time on a small island and her freedom within the boundaries of the island itself, Diana's lockdown looks a bit different, and she is removed from the devastation her boyfriend sees every day.  This really is the story of how people react, change and learn from experiences they can't control and while there is definitely a chance for a bit of PTSD here, it is not really the focus of the story, it is the catalyst.  Picoult gives a great nod to the types of experiences the medical community faced, but also the types of experiences other people faced too.  We were all affected by this virus in one way or another - we all lost something, as she points out.  What we gained, albeit in a very small way, was the release of novels like this that can help us deal with, explain, and share what happened.

Now, Jodi and Kimmery, could we PRETTY PLEASE have a meet-cute between Rodney and Jonah????  Seriously, if Lee Child ever does another edition of Match-Up (look it up), I would campaign hard for a story from the two of you!  Compton and Finn meet at a conference?  Athena takes a job in a certain OB/GYN practice? 

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

 

I was so excited about this book.  It had come highly recommended by my favorite podcaster, and it is linked to one of my favorites, Jane Eyre.  It was bound to make me feel smart!! It is a slim volume and in December I thought, hey, I'll add one more book to my 2022 reads with this one, it will be easy!

Think again.

This novel gives an imagined answer to the question of "Who IS the crazy lady in the attic of Mr. Rochester's house?"  (And, sorry, not sorry if you haven't read Jane Eyre yet because I can't really consider that a spoiler.)  Rhys provides a provocative background for the madwoman and explains how things came to be the way they are in Bronte's classic.  Very atmospheric, luscious in locale, and not very complimentary to Mr. R, this novel introduces us to Antoinette as a child and recounts her life on her family's plantation in Jamaica just after the Emancipation Act of 1833 freed all slaves.  Reactions are varied among both her already ostracized family and their former slaves, but the repercussions for Antionette are huge.

Fast forward to when a brooding Englishman with his own family troubles comes looking for salvation and societal status through a lucrative marriage, and this for me is where it all fell apart.  He is initially presented almost as a shadow character, but his appearance also causes the other fascinating characters in the book, particularly Christophine, to fade out.  I am sure that if I had an English Professor to lead me through all the symbolism, I would have appreciated it more.  But for me, the choppy sentences, the way the story jumps around leaving gaps in what is happening - it just confused me.  I did not like the idea that Mr. R was basically not a nice person even before he met his first wife, and I had no sympathy for him at all.  I had some for Antoinette, which is probably the whole point of this story - to skew the focus back to the most misunderstood character from Jane Eyre into one that you feel for.  She certainly has a hard life, a heavy legacy to bear, and when she is faced with a decision that could alter her life for the better, we wonder if she even has the ability to see the paths before her properly.  If she had made a different choice, then what??  But alas, England awaited, and her fate was sealed.

I do think the introduction by Edwidge Danticat (what a great name, sounds like a great investigator in a novel!) in my edition was very helpful.  She brings up good points about why Rhys wanted to write this novel and reveals that both Rhys and Danticat are island girls themselves, accounting for the colorful descriptions of the land and the deep understanding of the people of the time.  Most interestingly, Danticat says, Rhys asks this question:  What if Jane and Antoinette had become friends?  What would they have found mirrored in each other, if anything?  They are both supposed to be Rochester's salvation, but in different ways at the different stages of his life and experiences.  That question in itself was actually more interesting to me than Antoinette's past.

In retrospect, I was not so smart with this read. I have had several readerly friends say to me, "Oh!  Wasn't that a brilliant book?  I just loved it!"  And, I could not really agree, I could only say "meh".  It was wrong and unfair of me to pick this slim volume up with the idea that I would just blow through it like a beach read.  This is NOT a beach read, it is definitely a novel to sit with, to ponder over, to dissect even.  Kim Jackson, I am coming for your thesis!!!!  Maybe that will help me like (or at least understand) this one more, and then I should give it the benefit of a re-read when I will give it more time and analysis.  Live and learn!!!!!

Maybe I should title this as:

My Review, otherwise known as A Warning Against My Own Self-Importance in Reading A Book To Fill A Goal 

HA!

  

The Lost Queen, The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

I read this duology (soon to be trilogy!) over the summer of 2022 while on vacation.  It is right up my alley - medieval historical fiction, a queen in crisis, Scottish setting, and it has been mentioned as a good read for lovers of Outlander.  Plus, I found out the author lives in my home state of South Carolina!!!

This is the backstory, a backstory, of Merlin.  Yep, that Merlin.  He is not so named in this book, and it is quite vague until you get into the second book.  Languoreth is a "forgotten queen" of sixth-century Scotland, and she and her twin brother are raised in a time of druids, superstitions and the Old Ways.  Their lives, their struggle for power and to live their lives the way they WANT to live them and not the way their family expects them to live sets the stage.  There is a love triangle, a charismatic warrior, a Wisdom Keeper with special powers, and a future they all strive to lead.  

The second book focuses on their adult lives and the ramifications of decisions they made in book one.  I was so glad to be able to jump right into the second book, and now must wait until the fall to have book three in hand.  If this is your genre, these are must reads.  A little Mary Stewart, a little Ken Follett, and a lot of folklore.  Deeply researched by the author, you'll feel like you are standing on the moors in this engrossing epic saga!