I get off the train and walk to the steps. In front of me walks a man with silver-gray hair. He is wearing a black nylon jacket, black pants with a crease, black cotton sports socks, and those solid Ecco shoes. He confidently holds his thick computer bag in his hand. He must have brought home a lot of papers. He reminds me of someone. Taut. Inflexible. Straightforward. An architect.
The next day, he walks past me again. Usually, he is all in black, as I just described, but this time, he is wearing a deep, dark brown suit.
Demon is the son of a junky mother and a father that died when Demon was still young.
The boy ends up in child care and lives with foster parents who are only interested in the allowance that comes with the care. He finds his loving grandmother, who finds a better home for him. The boy is talented in sports and drawing. He has some luck but makes the wrong decisions and ends up addicted to pills himself and with a girlfriend who is addicted to any substance, including heroin.
Will-power and friends try to drag him out of a downward spiral.
My, what a read!
Why This Book Stays With You
It’s not the drama that gets you in this book. It is the quiet, aching truth of it. Kingsolver doesn’t soften the edges. She doesn’t give you a neat ending or easy answers. Instead, she hands you a story that clings, like the scent of rain on dry earth. You don’t just read about Demon’s life, instead you feel the weight of it. It refuses to look away. And neither can you.
The lady is always already on the train when I board. She has an iPad on her lap. Earbuds in her ears. She plays Candy Crush. Always. The full hour the trip takes.
