DEMON COPPERHEAD BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER

 

I have always held that if the first 50 pages of a novel are tough going, toss it into the wastepaper basket or give it away to a friend you do not care much for. I have often heard it said that "the first 50 pages of this thriller are very complicated to read, but after that, the novel is wonderful, the best."  And who has the grit, endurance, and resilience to put up with fifty boring pages of a book, hoping that the best is yet to come. Once a bore, always a bore, I say. All this comes because my daughter, Laura Lynn, has gifted me with Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. So far, I have read 20 pages of the autobiography of a boy in Appalachia, Demon, who is "a voice for the ages - akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield," according to Beth Macy, author of Dopesick. Having read both masterpieces years ago, I see no reason to tackle a new youngster's ravings and commonplaces about his childhood and hard times. Also, having read Tobacco Road when it was popular and Li'l Abner in the Funnies, I doubt this would interest me. And yet, I am going to plow through this novel in honor of my daughter, who swears by it, and I'll try to push to the back of my mind Santayana's dictum that "the sole purpose in possessing great works of literature lies in what they can help us to become." As soon as I am done with this "voice for all ages", "propulsive reading experience", "heartrending, probing and ultimately hopeful tale" that "keeps you turning the pages"... of this novel, I will tell you my reaction to it.