We’re now more than halfway through Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” and we’ve watched our narrator Demon go from a childhood of abuse and neglect to high school football stardom. He is worshipped by all of Lee County, Virginia — and even falls in love for the first time — and then a serious knee injury during a game alters the course of his life.
He’s given prescription painkillers by his team doctor, becomes addicted, drops out of school, and begins selling drugs to survive. Demon’s fall from grace is hard to read at times, but his descent into addiction and the devastation of the opioid crisis is something our author wanted to address in this novel. She shows us how the Appalachian region has a long history of manipulation and exploitation by corporations, going back generations.
Oprah’s question for you this week is one posed by Demon himself: “Where does the road to ruin start?” Has this novel opened your eyes to the tentacles of addiction and how you can be lured in before you even know it? We’d love to hear your thoughts and insights. #ReadWithUs
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