The following is a spoiler free review of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
Synopsis:
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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I had a pre-existing prejudice for Where the Crawdads Sing. I don’t usually lean towards historical fiction as an interest and the setting didn’t grab me after reading the blurb. There was a tinge of interest though. This book was on my local bookstore’s list basically as ‘Book of the Year’ last year. It was featured on multiple book clubs including the Reese Witherspoon book club, which does have some influence over what I read from time to time.
Jump forward a few months. We’re in quarantine, I’m in a local store and see this book essentially a third of the price. I decided to see what the fuss was about and was somewhat pleasantly surprised.
The book has more heart and more humanity within the unexpectedly deep character study presented as the main plot. The story, for the most part, follows the life of Kya as we follow her from the age of six up to late adulthood. The other parts of the book, less focused on until the end, follows a murder mystery within the town Kya lives in.
The book has the earned advantage of what I want to say is one of the best first chapters I have ever read. Generally, the start and end of a book is hard to get right. Either component can add or subtract from a reading experience. The major skill of writer Delia Owens is her talented use of descriptive language which is able to draw you in to how characters feel on a deeply human level, and also paint vivid pictures of the setting and immerse you in to the story. This descriptive nature makes the start of the book emotional and engaging in a way that I don’t usually feel in some books until around the 50-100 page mark, where this book was able to accomplish from the start.
This descriptive nature of Owens’ writing does prove to be a pitfall towards the end. Within the last 50 pages you are aching for the climax to come about, the crux of the book to be shown, and yet the story deviates and dives into what I would say is unrelated and unhelpful character memories which I would say is intended to show you more of who Kya is and why she feels the way she feels. These deviations make the latter part of the book drag slightly in a way that doesn’t benefit the book.
That said, given that in a 384 page book, I was engaged to the point of not wanting to stop reading for about 330 pages, the complaint about the latter part is very small compared to the joy and moving narrative I was given.
Overall, I want to recommend this book for anyone who wants a deeply visceral read, striking at the heart and engaging that which makes us human - the need for a sense of belonging and acceptance.
I don’t want to do star review on the blog - I like the idea of giving personally formed thoughts and letting them speak for themselves, however if you want to see a star review, you can find it here.