Demon Copperhead is a 2022 novel by Barbara Kingsolver, a co-recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Fantastic.

I went back to read her first novel ➙ The Bean Trees (1988)

Fantastic, as well.

A white trash 18-year-old sets out to leave backwoods, Kentucky, and travel west, and finds herself in Oklahoma near Cherokee territory.

As she stops in the town, an Indian woman suddenly approaches, deposits a small child, and leaves without explanation.

Not knowing what else to do, Taylor decides to care for the child.

The two travel to Tucson, Arizona, where she meets Lou Ann, a woman with a young son. Lou Ann had been married; her husband abandoned her and their child.

The novel traces the experiences of Taylor and the child, … named Turtle.

The Bean Trees is a coming-of-age novel.

Barbara Kingsolver uses a nonstandard perspective to share the characters’ adventures and the world they live in. The use of nonwhite mythology, anti-western sentiment, and not using the typical form of male adventure, allowed the author to explore the world where women were powerful and had a voice.

The novel shares negative traumatic experiences of the characters and people they meet, like Native Americans and Guatemalan refugees. …

It’s often assigned in High School classes though I’d not heard of this modern classic.

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I downloaded the sequel … good, but not nearly as good IMHO.

Pigs in Heaven

I t continues the story of Taylor Greer and Turtle, her adopted Cherokee daughter.

It highlights the strong relationships between mothers and daughters, with special attention given to the customs, history, and living situation of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. 

I can see why the author wrote this book. No doubt MANY wanted to know what happened to Taylor and her daughter.

In fact, the final resolution of the second book is satisfying.

BUT getting there I found too slow and tedious.

I did enjoy Turtle getting on Oprah !

Taylor’s Mom, Alice, is the character with the most important role.