Origin and release year: United States (2018 – Where The Crawdads Sing)
Author: 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.
About The Author
Where the Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens is an American author with a background in zoology and conservation. She grew up in the wilderness herself and has acclaimed that the protagonist is Where the Crawdads Sing, Kya, is a representation of her life at that time.
If you’re also a fan of the film, make sure to check out our Where the Crawdads Sing film review, too!
Where the Crawdads Sing Book Review
Where the Crawdads Sing is a book that you’d think would be less than interesting if you’re not a nature enthusiast but somehow manages to prove otherwise.
Firstly, the descriptions in this book are vivid and you can very clearly imagine the marshlands and its creatures thanks to the evocative language. You find yourself enjoying the process of not only unraveling the narrative but also learning about nature and biology at the same time. However, there were moments that felt almost too scientific given the protagonists uneducated background. Granted she can know what’s going on with nature, but there were some inconsistencies in her dialect that made the scientific speak seem almost unrealistic.
Nature aside, it has all of the makings of a great story, romance and friendship, mystery and suspense, and all of that can be credited to the plot twists and turns of the narrative involving courtroom drama and the societally frowned upon love lines.
There’s been a lot of debate about the believability of the story in itself, considering that an abandoned child figures out how to survive in basically the wild. However, for this writer, until reading online reviews post-reading the book and watching the film, that doubt never occurred to me. In hindsight, it is hard to believe that a child can take care of themselves so well on their own with so little resources, but if you choose to just take this fictitious story at face value, it’s not such a big deal.
One of the other critiques that the book has gotten is that the characters are quite one-dimensional, whilst I can see how this is an issue… At the same time, you have to give the characters credit based on their environment. They lived a simple lifestyle, hence they are probably simple people. Hence, I didn’t see anything wrong with the characters being uncomplicated.
Lastly, the racial aspect was probably the most disappointing aspect of the book. Of course, given the environment, this county had no choice but to be problematic, however, it was still deeply uncomfortable to read. The writing of the black characters also felt somewhat racially charged.
Basically, like many books, Where the Crawdads Sing has its pros and cons. It’s not a perfect book, but its also not bad at all. It was a sufficiently entertaining read. The ending was especially worth the time invested.
What did you think of Where the Crawdads Sing? Let us know in the comments!