Join the Bondi Literary Salon Book Club, hosted by Dave Francis! In our gathering, we will be discussing the 2023 Winner of the Women's Prize & The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead.

WHEN: Wednesday, 8th November, 2023, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore, this event will be hosted in-store, please arrive at 6:45 pm for a prompt 7 pm start.

TICKETS: Admission; $25.00 (excluding external fees). Your ticket includes a drink on arrival and nibbles on the evening.

THE 2023 WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION AND THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION

About Demon Copperhead

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.

About the Host

Dave Francis is a long time Bondi Literary salon fan, and has been an avid reader from an early age thanks to both parents filling him with a love of words and stories. Dave has a degree in English Literature from Otago University, which encouraged his love of the classics and poetry. He has recently (re) dived into a Shakespeare rabbit hole.

Dave's favourite books are:

- 100 years of solitude, (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

- The Unbearable Lightness of being (Milan Kundera)

- Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace.

About Bondi Literary Salon

Bondi Literary Salon was established in 2018, it is the in-house book club of beloved Bondi institution, Gertrude & Alice. The Bondi Literary Salon endeavors to explore the vast world of literature each month, with a selection that reflects a focus on diverse writers and stories; delving into both classic and contemporary fiction, as well as non-fiction. Our philosophy has always been to use language and literature not only as a tool for connection and community, but as an insight to worlds we have not had the pleasure of visiting ourselves. We welcome all - young and old, those with a life-long love of literature, or whose relationship may be only beginning. Join us in the unmatched comfort of an after-hours bookstore, accompanied by wine and cheese, for an evening spent discussing books and building community.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some home made chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.