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Good conversation, friendly faces and great books - that's what book club is all about. We're looking forward to seeing you at our lively and engaging book discussion. Registration Required.
Click here to request or download Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.
“Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose.” Demon Copperhead is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia. It’s the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind." -- publisher's website.
Optional Book Club Preparation:
Novelist Reviews and Readalikes
Genre: Literary fiction; Adaptations, retellings, and spin-offs; Book club best bets
Themes: Coming of age
Character: Authentic; Complex; Sympathetic
Storyline: Character-driven; Issue-oriented
Tone: Bleak; Moving; Thought-provoking
Writing Style: Compelling
Marmalade and Mustardseed Book Guide
Women's Prize For Fiction 2023, Shortlist- Reading Guide
