Where the Crawdads Sing: Delia Owens
£4.80£9.50 (-49%)
*The multi-million copy bestseller*
Soon to be a major film
A Number One New York Times Bestseller
‘Painfully beautiful’ New York Times
‘Unforgettable . . . as engrossing as it is moving’ Daily Mail
‘A rare achievement’ The Times
‘I can’t even express how much I love this book!’ Reese Witherspoon
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For years, rumors of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.
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‘[It] will reach a huge audience though the writer’s old-fashioned talents for compelling character, plotting and landscape description’ The Guardian
‘For sheer escapism pick up Where The Crawdads Sing . . . there is writing that takes your breath away’ The Times
‘All is not as it seems in this heartbreaking coming-of-age bestseller’ The i newspaper
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Additional information
| Publisher | Corsair, 1st edition (12 Dec. 2019) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1472154665 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1472154668 |
| Dimensions | 12.6 x 2.5 x 19.7 cm |
by Sacha Savannah
Set mainly in the 1960s, Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of the ‘Marsh Girl’, Kya. Abandoned by her family at a young age, Kya all but raises herself, living in a small shack in the marshes, learning from and being nurtured by nature. The people of Barkley Cove regard her as an anomaly, an outsider, most shrinking from her, though there are a few people who weave their way into Kya’s life, including two young men Tate Walker and Chase Andrews. When the body of Chase Andrews is later found, attention and suspicion soon falls upon Kya.
I was rather late coming to this book, which has had huge success and is due to have a film adaptation out next year; given the hype my expectations were high, but I was not disappointed and only wish I had read this sooner. Where the Crawdads Sing feels like a timeless classic and is not the sort of book you come across all that often. It is also the sort of story that you know will stay with you for a long while after its pages are turned.
It is rather a hard book to describe, a mixing of different genres, part a coming of age story, part romance, part murder mystery, part an ode to nature, all coming together in a unique blend that is simply captivating. I was astonished that this is the author’s first work of fiction, though she has previously written books about her life as a zoologist and her time spent in the wilds of Africa, and I think that love of nature and the wild really shone through in this story too.
The story is told in two parts, and mostly from the point of view of Kya, from a young girl of about seven to a woman in her early twenties, though throughout this linear narrative of her life there are chapters interspersed from the point of view of the local Sheriff, who is looking into the murder of Chase Andrews in 1969. Eventually Kya’s timeline catches up with this, and the two threads intertwine. It is a device that adds tension and suspense to the story from very early on, knowing that at some point something terrible is going to happen and wondering about the circumstances around this. That being said, the chapters from the Sheriff’s perspective always felt a little jarring, as Kya’s story was so completely immersing that one didn’t want to leave it.
Indeed, for me personally this book would have worked even without the mystery element, as I didn’t think it was the strongest aspect of the book, and the last quarter of the book which focuses on the trial that Kya finds herself facing, felt very different in tone to the rest of the book and for me personally wasn’t as engaging and the main reason this didn’t in the end get the 5 stars from me. Overall, I like the concept of the murder mystery and court case, and how they feed into the story and the prejudices that Kya faces; I think it was more the execution and handling of these aspects that didn’t quite win me over. This arc just felt much more mundane in comparison to the rest of the story, and if I’m being honest a bit plodding. The outcome too was rather predictable and something I think could be guessed at from fairly early on, such that for me at least, it didn’t yield any surprises or twists.
Up until the story turns into a courtroom drama, this was a 5 star read for me. I absolutely loved the setting of the book. Owens completely brings the marsh to life, as well the community of Barkley Cove, such that it really did feel as if one was being transported away to another time and place. Owen’s prose, especially when it comes to her lyrical descriptions of the natural world, are stunning, and whilst some readers might find aspects of the story slow, I personally found it the sort of book to be savoured, just for the way it was being told.
Kya was an extraordinary character, and completely unforgettable. It was heart-breaking to watch her being abandoned by one person after another, and her longing to experience connection, and yet so inspiring to see her fortitude, her will for life and the deep rooted connection she forged with the world around her. She was passionate and strong, yet also vulnerable and sensitive. As a reader one shared her pains and joys in equal measure. One of the central questions that Delia seems to be exploring in the book is how Kya is shaped by her solitary existence, is she simply different, or is she different because she has been treated differently? The story also explores themes around the instinct to survive, and as Kya learns mostly from the natural world around her, I found some of her observations fascinating, as well as the comparisons she draws between human behaviour and interaction and those of the creatures around her.
Other themes explored in the book are societal prejudices and hierarchies. We see this mostly in relation to Kya, but also towards Jumpin and Mabel, and racial prejudices in this time. I also liked the exploration of family dynamics and the impact one’s early life and parenting can have as one grows older.
I liked how Owens tried to make her characters multi-faceted, even the villains. Take Kya’s father for instance, he is a drunkard who abuses his wife and can lash out at his children too. Yet rather than just portray him one-dimensionally, Owens gives us glimpses of a better man, who has perhaps been bittered by his experiences in life. There is a short period of Kya’s life where she is close to her father and saw another side to him. In Chase too we get some glimpses of someone who perhaps does have some genuine feelings for Kya, though as we never get Chase’s perspective, I did find it hard to fully fathom his character. Did he ever really love Kya or was she just a prize he wanted?
One of my favourite characters in the book aside from Kya was Tate, and I thought their relationship was beautifully depicted, in how much they had in common in terms of their love for the natural world that brings them together. Their relationship also contrasted very well to Kya and Chase’s relationship, which felt much more superficial, as opposed to the deep and meaningful bond that she and Tate shared. Tate was one of the few people who understood Kya and he was always so patient and gentle with her, and I liked how he helped her become self-sufficient in terms of teaching her to read and later encouraging her to write her books (on a side note, the author did rather stretch the realms of credibility I felt, in terms of Kya’s extraordinary leaps in education). I also liked that the author chose to have Tate let Kya down at one point in the story, as I think otherwise he was in danger of being too perfect, and it felt more realistic that as a young man with career ambitions he would leave, (that is not to say that I was not disappointed in him at the time, especially for his handling of the matter).
Overall, I absolutely loved this book and it has been one of my favourite reads of the year so far. A part of me is still tempted to give it the 5 stars, for the impression it left overall, but I have taken half a star away, as I did feel the last quarter of the book did lose some of its magic for me personally. This is a touching, emotional, thought-provoking and inspiring story. 4.5 stars
by Sacha Savannah
This book is a beautifully written coming of age piece, that a friend recommended. I got this to read whilst on holiday. To begin with I had to keep rereading the dialogue in this book. It was a bit of a slow starter for me and I wondered if I’d finish it.
I was reading by the pool and a lady twice my age (this book speaks to all and does does not discriminate based on age) asked me what I thought of the book so far, she’s recently read it. She told me to stick with it and I’m glad I did. It’s got mystery, drama, romance, sadness and happiness. I couldn’t put it down, the mystery had drawn me in and I wanted to know how it ended. When I finished this book, I was left with a bit of a void as you are when you finish a good book, I went ahead and watched the film, which did not do the book justice in my opinion. I would absolutely recommend this book, it’s a fantastic read.
by Tyrone Amazer
So I’ve just gotten into reading this last couple of years and have selected thriller, spy,action types.
Came across this somewhere on amazon, probably an advert, and decided to give it a go.
It’s almost exactly the opposite genre that I would normally pick. If I was being my usual self I’d call it a “women’s book”. It’s a slow paced deeply character led book following a lonesome child into lonesome adolescence and beyond, a girl enthralled and at one with nature, who has been let down so many times by people that she has become far more comfortable with her own company than the company of others.
But others, for good and bad, do interject in her life over the years, and the story subtly morphs into how she deals with these relationships, and a possible life changing episode that threatens to shatter her world forever.
The author paints a vivid detailed picture of all the main characters, and in particular the lead character ‘kra’, such that by the end I felt I knew her well.
One of those books you’d love to never end.
I heartily recommend it.
Just noticed it was made into a film just last year, so can’t wait to see how well they transposed the feeling of the book.