''Demon Copperhead'' is a 2022 novel by

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

. Demon Copperhead is a nickname for the narrator, Damon. The novel borrows its narrative structure from the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

novel ''David Copperfield''. It was named one of the "10 Best Books of 2022" by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

Reception

According to the review aggregator website Books Marks, Demon Copperhead received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ron Charles of ''The Washington Post'' praises Demon Copperhead as his "favorite novel of 2022" as it is "equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love." Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Elizabeth Lowry contends that "while the task of modernising icken'snovel is complicated by the fact that mores have shifted so radically since the mid-19th century … the ferocious critique of institutional poverty and its damaging effects on children is as pertinent as ever."

References

2022 American novels HarperCollins books Novels by Barbara Kingsolver Novels about orphans Novels about substance abuse Novels set in Appalachia Novels set in Virginia {{2020s-novel-stub