Fave Reads | Book Chatter

Demon Copperhead
By Barbara Kingsolver
Published by Harper,9780063251922, Oct 2022, 560 pp

The Short of It:

Not sure what I expected when I picked this one up but the characters have stayed with me.

The Rest of It:

Demon Copperhead had been on my list for a very long time but it never seemed like the right time to read it. It’s lengthy and deals with some heavy topics but then my book club selected it for April so there I was with my copy, eagerly reading and flipping those pages.

Inspired by a trip Kingsolver took to visit the actual Bleak House of Charles Dicken’s fame, the story of Demon Copperhead unspooled from there. Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon is born to a single, teenaged mother with a drug addiction. They don’t have much. His mother barely makes a living and all they have is the single-wide trailer they call home. The story is peppered with well-meaning neighbors and friends. They are all quite the characters.

Demon’s relentless resilience gets him through many heartaches and challenges, but the need for a home, a real home is what drives him forward and unfortunately in this quest, he is repeatedly disappointed. Disappointed with the people around him, the people in charge of his care, the school system, the labor force. How is a young man supposed to make a living without selling his soul to the Devil?

The setting of this novel hints at destruction at every turn of the page. Appalachia is known for its drug trade and it ‘s hard to not be a party to it when you’re a hungry kid just trying to survive. Demon encounters many people and some of those people he holds dear but the constant need to uproot everything he has to move on the next thing affects his long-term relationships. It’s honestly heartbreaking.

I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters a lot but it was about 75 pages too long for me. The drug details are very realistic in the telling. I still think it will make my Fave list for the end of the year but it’s not the kind of book you can read alongside others. I found that out the hard way. It’s gritty but in between the grit I did detect hope which is what kept me reading.

Have you read it?

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Lessons in Chemistry
By Bonnie Garmus
Doubleday, 9780385547345, April 5, 2022, 400pp.

The Short of It:

Pure fun with a little bit of science and feminism.

The Rest of It:

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist. In the 60s. She is brilliant, but pegged as “difficult”. Her discoveries are impressive but not to her peers. Her male peers consider her to be more of a lab tech than a ground-breaking scientist. When she uncovers something big, her male boss takes credit for it. None of this is new to Zott. It began in school and unfortunately affected the job offers she received. This is how she ends up at Hastings, a research institute run by a total tool.

It is at Hastings that she meets Calvin. Calvin, is a well-known scientist and a hot commodity for Hastings. He could have worked anywhere but chose Hastings for its mild climate. You see, he is also a rower so good weather year-round was a plus even though he could have gone anywhere.

Lessons in Chemistry surprised me. From the cover, I had ZERO interest in reading it. It looked like one of those fluffy romance reads. But then I read an article that praised it on many levels. And then my book club selected it for this month’s pick. So, not only did I find a copy, I BOUGHT a copy. Something I rarely do. It surprised me in many ways:

It’s full of science but masked as cooking tips
Zott is difficult, but in a very likable way
There is an adorable dog
Yes, there is romance but not fluffy, silly stuff
There are highs and lows. Not all happy stuff
It does illustrate the difficulties that women faced in that decade

This is one of those feel-good reads. It will be on my fave list at the end of the year because it includes love, loss, overwhelming challenges, and in my opinion, some really great characters. However, with all that good, it was predictable, which is why this is a four star read for me. It’s predictability did not affect my enjoyment while reading it though. I eagerly looked forward to it every time I picked it up.

If you passed this one over due it its cover alone, give it a go.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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