Demon Copperhead is the nickname of Damon Fields, a boy who is born in Lee County, Virginia. In the heart of Appalachia, Lee County is the westernmost tip of Virginia, where Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee meet. In 2023, it had a population of 21,745. The story begins with Damon’s birth in the 1980s. His father had already died a few months before in a tragic accident when diving into shallow water. His teenage mother was destitute but committed to raising her son as best she could.
Damon had copper-colored hair and his father’s good looks. But that is where his fortune ended. His early childhood is marked by extreme poverty, growing up in a single-wide trailer with his young mother who is using drugs. At the age of eleven, when his mother takes an accidental overdose, he becomes a full orphan and has to navigate life through foster homes with rampant abuse and one devastating setback after another. He grows up through sheer tenacity, an indomitable spirit, and with the help of a few key figures in his life.
Through the book we follow Damon from his early childhood through his adolescent years into early – very early – adulthood.
Demon Copperhead won the Pulitzer Prize. It is modeled after David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens, which I have not yet read – but I think I will after reading this book. It is also eerily reminiscent of some of the stories told by J.D. Vance in his autobiography Hillbilly Elegy, which I had just read and reviewed in August.
The book tackles the plight of prescription painkillers that have addicted an entire generation of American youth, particularly in the South and in the poorer stretches of this country. It also tells about the social services “safety net” and what it can deliver – or can’t deliver – for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Reading Demon Copperhead, you will get to know him very well, but you’ll also make the acquaintance of a number of other memorable characters, including Fast Forward, Maggot, Dori, the ever good Tommy, and the elusive and thoroughly damaged Swapout.
I read this book over Christmas 2024, and it was mostly a depressing and shocking adventure, but one I am glad I went through. My rating key for four star books says:
Must read. Inspiring. Classic. Want to read again. I learned profound lessons. Just beautiful. I cried.
Well, only “must read” and “I learned profound lessons” applies to this one, but it’s definitely, absolutely a four star novel.
