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2023年普立茲小說獎得主
2023年女性文學獎得主 ‧ 二次獲獎
美國環境文學/自然書寫作家 Barbara Kingsolver好評如潮之作
不只是致敬《塊肉餘生錄》，更是21世紀「失落男孩」的靈魂寫照
和他的名字一樣，戴蒙‧庫柏海德(Copperhead，意指腹銅蛇)一出生就有火紅色的頭髮，迎接他到來的，是吸毒過量未婚生子的母親、有暴力傾向的繼父和荒涼困乏的童年，尤其在南阿帕拉契山脈區，貧窮悲慘的日子，和空氣一樣稀鬆平常。
從小在各個寄宿家庭來去，飽受異樣眼光與被大人勞役，母親因吸毒過量去世後，戴蒙決定前往田納西州尋找他的祖母，貝特西．伍道爾。她安排他進入高中就讀，並介紹給足球隊的溫菲爾德教練。戴蒙外貌英俊且聰明，教練雖對他的出生背景有所疑惑，仍為他的足球天分驚豔，甚至大方讓他寄宿在家，方便訓練；溫菲爾德的女兒安格絲和戴蒙像兩個世界的人，聰明且用功，戴蒙心中默默地對安格絲抱有好感，卻沒有踏出第一步。
戴蒙第一次在課堂上學到關於家鄉阿帕拉契山區和礦工歷史的事，那些故事令他感到意外，卻也陌生，彷彿面對自己殘破的童年，他早已下定決心拋開過去，扭轉命運。在美式足球界戴蒙逐漸闖出名聲，一步步在聯盟嶄露頭角，是學校眼中指日可待的「足球金童」；他的戀情也突如其來綻放，在打工的地方認識為照顧重病父親而輟學的多莉，熱情洋溢的她迅速擄獲戴蒙的心，兩人的戀情急速升溫。
然而，戴蒙因一次比賽造成膝蓋嚴重受傷，不僅職涯岌岌可危，還染上止痛藥成癮；多莉父親的去世導致她精神崩潰，開始嚴重濫用藥物，戴蒙深怕她自殺搬去同住後，也染上毒癮...戴蒙不禁開始疑惑，自己想要的究竟是什麼？金錢？名聲？還是他內心始終匱乏、渴望獲得的愛？
以《毒木聖經》聞名的Barbara Kingsolver，寫下這個世代的大衛．考柏菲爾德，他們在塵世中闖蕩，追尋物質欲望與功成名就，卻一再跌撞受傷，迷失自我，或許他們缺少的，並非紙醉金迷的夢幻泡影，而是真實的關懷與付出。
From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees and the recipient of the National Book Foundation's Medal for DistinguishedContribution to American Letters, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead 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. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon 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.
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