Barbara Kingsolver has done it again! A first-class author who has spun many a tale over the years offers an impressive comprehension of complicated characters living through generational traumas of many kinds. In particular, she captures the reality of "Demon Copperhead," tracing his years through early years of trauma with his birth mother, the compounding trauma of less-than-adequate foster homes, and the eventual grittiness of establishing young adulthood in an environment rife with unemployment and opioid abuse. Especially powerful is her ability to capture the verbal cadence and age-appropriate reflections of a child who becomes a man in the rough terrains of Appalachia. Kingsolver captures the thinking process of "Demon" to provide the reader with moments of humor and heartbreak. In the shadow of Dopesick and all we have learned over the past decade about ways that Appalachia was targeted by greedy pharmaceutical firms to make astronomical profits while enslaving an already-challenged population, Kingsolver provides the faces and stories of the (fictional) characters on the receiving end. At times her narrative is appropriately dark, and the reader feels the frustration and hopelessness experienced by real people affected in real ways by the opioid pandemic which continues to sweep through this geographical region. Brilliantly, however, she is able to weave her tale with moments of optimism and hope, revealing the true character and resilient nature of those who call Appalachia home. Indeed, she understands this part of the world where she herself resides, and invites the reader to consider the multi-layered complexity of those affected by early childhood trauma, and how, even in the midst of such pain, hope is yet possible.
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