Diversity Book Club

"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Join us for a discussion of Barbara Kingsolver's 2022 novel "Demon Copperhead."

The Diversity Book Club is hosted monthly by AAUW Alexandria / Women Building Cross-Cultural Friendships (WBCCF) and co-sponsored by the Alexandria Burke Branch Library.

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote "David Copperfield" from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. "Demon Copperhead" speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.

WBCCF's goal is to give women the opportunity in a diverse and inclusive group to enrich their own lives through these relationships and help amplify the voices of all women in our community. WBCCF believes that the opportunity to come together to explore issues of race, religion, ethnicity, etc. through well-chosen books will not only further our individual learning but also create a setting in which we might ultimately decide on a community undertaking with wider implications.

The Diversity Book Club meets on the second Monday of each month at 7 PM. Please note that the group will meet on the third Monday of this month. 

This program will take place by Zoom and registration is required. After registering with Bonnie Hershberg, you will be emailed the link to join this Zoom meeting. 

If you have any questions about the program or would like to register, which is limited to the first 20 people, please contact Bonnie Hershberg by July 8 at hersh3b@gmail.com.