Three Overdue Reviews: How to Be a Good Creature, Demon Copperhead, and Chorus

How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals 

by Sy Montgomery narrated by the author

HighBridge Audio, 2018

3 hours and 42 minutes

Last year Sy Montgomery's book, The Soul of an Octopus, fed my newly acquired interest in pacific octopuses, so I was happy to discover this title while browsing audiobooks on hoopla. The short memoir tells a story of Montgomery's life through her experiences with animals she has owned or observed/studied over the years - from her childhood puppy, to a pet pig, group of emus and a Pacific octopus. This is an animal lover's delight!

I listened to the audiobook, but also borrowed a print copy from the library. With many cute illustrations and a photo section, it is a beautiful little book!

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Harper, 2022

546 pages

audio edition narrated by Charlie Thurston

Harper Audio, 2022

21 hours and 3 minutes

Barbara Kingsolver has done it again! As you probably already know, this novel was inspired by David Copperfield  by Charles Dickens and includes many clever twists on names and plot points. It is a coming-of-age story about a boy born to a substance-abusing teen mother in rural Appalachia. It tells of poverty, drug abuse, the foster care system, and resulting trauma. The novel is compelling, the characters are memorable, and it's so well-written. However, I found parts of it difficult to read. Though there are positive relationships and some good times, Demon experiences much hardship, abuse, and tragedy. I'm happy Kingsolver chose to leave readers with a hopeful ending. 

Also of note, for a novel of this length it reads very quickly. This was a read/listen combination for me and the audio production was excellent. I'm hoping to read David Copperfield within the next few months.

Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman

Counterpoint, 2022

272 pages

For readers of Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, and Claire Lombardo, Chorus shepherds seven siblings through two life-altering events—their mother's untimely death, and a shocking teenage pregnancy—that ultimately follow them through their lives as individuals and as a family.... Chorus is a hopeful story of family, of loss and recovery, of complicated relationships forged between brothers and sisters as they move through life together, and of the unlikely forces that first drive them away and then ultimately back home.

This book is an under-the-radar gem! I don't remember seeing much buzz about it, but decided to give Chorus  a try anyway because I loved Kauffman's earlier novel, The Gunners. This novel, set in the 1920s-1950s, is filled with interesting characters and complex family relationships. The entire family (two parents and seven siblings) is introduced up front, so I found it helpful to make a cheat sheet listing all the kids, oldest to youngest. They quickly became clear and distinct individuals in my mind. The writing here is gorgeous and I appreciated Kauffman's ability to delve into all those relationships. The siblings' genuine warmth toward each other was palpable, along with a variety of other emotions. I absolutely loved this book!