What was your favourite book you read in 2023? Mine was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I read it at the beginning of July for my local book club, and still find myself thinking about it six months later. It has one of the most endearing and compelling protagonists I’ve ever read, an interesting storyline based on true events (the opiod epidemic in Appalachia) and made me cry more than once (the best books always do).
Initially, a modern day retelling of David Copperfield didn’t interest me. I hadn’t read the original, and presumed that I would need to have read it before picking up Kingsolver’s new novel. I still have not read David Copperfield, although I read synopsis online and have read several articles comparing the two since I finished Demon Copperhead. From what I can gather, Kingsolver did a remarkable job of using the original book as a base for character names and personality traits and key plot points in the novel, but her book stands alone as a masterpiece.
Alongside Demon Copperhead, these were the nine other books that made my 2023 top ten. Have you read any of them?
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