Demon Copperhead’ – a Daring Rewrite of Dickens
In 2022, Barbra Kingsolver released the novel ‘Demon Copperhead, a brave retelling of Charle’s Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’. She was undeterred by Dickens’ intimidating legacy, built through the publishing of 15 novels, and hundreds of short stories throughout the 1800’s, and is still visible within the 21st century. ‘David Copperfield’, transposes the Suffolk-set-story to the streets of small-town Appalachia in southern America. The story follows Demon, a young boy born from a single teenage mother, with nothing to his name beyond his striking copper-coloured hair, a stubborn will to survive, and a sharp wit. He fights tirelessly in a society so determined to see him fall; addiction, grief, and loneliness the only constants in his turbulent tale. It feels unjustifiably tragic at moments, funny the next, and completely human. Each carefully woven plot and character feel complete and rounded in a way that makes for an incredibly immersive novel. Kingsolver’s attention and care given to their curation builds an intense sense of realness, so much so that their presence seems to linger outside the of pages, in the aftermath of finishing the novel.
Readers are transported to 1980’s Deep-South America, plunged into the grim reality of opioid addiction- which was rife within Small Town America. It sheds a light on a corner of modern history so readily neglected by most. The opioid epidemic was an abysmal and shameful display of greed. Pushed by major pharmaceutical companies, most notoriously Purdue Pharma, the opioid OxyContin was overprescribed for children and adults alike, across America. It was offered as a solution and quick fix for chronic pain, injuries, and even lack of sleep. Despite evidence proving its highly addictive nature, it was marketed as being ‘less addictive than other opioids and a ‘safe’ alternative to other prescription drugs. However, when patients attempted to reduce their dosage, the withdrawals were completely horrific and often unbearable- hot flushes, shaking, vomiting, intense craving for opioids. When presenting these symptoms to doctors, patients would simply be prescribed more OxyContin. Through this method of insistent overprescribing, hundreds of thousands of Americans became addicted to opium, their lives destroyed beyond recognition- all in the pursuit of profit. The body gradually becomes tolerant to OxyContin, rendering it ineffective. Consequently, a large proportion of patients turned to stronger drugs- commonly heroin.
Abuse of OxyContin deadly, and it was not marketed accordingly. It was not until 2003 that the FDA issued a warning letter to OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, for misleading advertisements. It is an absolute travesty that it took so long for any action to be taken against Purdue Pharma, and the impacts still certainly linger; nearly 108,000 people died from drug overdose in 2022 and approximately 82,000 of those deaths involved opioids (about 76%). Kingsolver’s novel offers just a glimpse into life in the midst of this crisis; the protagonist, Demon, witness to the many lives lost to addiction within his town, whilst he himself battles addiction addiction.
This display of corruption brought immense suffering and destruction to the most vulnerable within society. Small town Appalachia in the depths of this crisis feels a long way from the Suffolk streets of Victorian England where Dickens’ original novel is based. However, this transposition is in no way jarring or jaunty: Kingsolver’s ability to explore the shared themes of social injustices, morality, and love in an entirely juxtaposing setting is seamless. The plots mirror one another, and clear parallels can be drawn, without Kingsolver’s novel feeling like a lazy rewrite. It stands entirely within its own right and was deservedly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2023- success which I believe it will continue to attract for many years to come.
Centres for disease control and prevention. Gov
Fda.gov