Book review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

My second read of 2022 which I finished in a matter of few days. I find good fiction very hard to resist.

Where the Crawdads Sing is a 2018 novel by American author and retired wildlife biologist, Delia Owens. It is a tender coming-of-age story set in the 50s and 60s of a girl who grows up in the remote wetlands of North Carolina.

Delia Owens debut novel has topped The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2020 for a combined 32 non-consecutive weeks. The book was selected for Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and for Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2018. By December 2019, the book had sold over 4.5 million copies, and it sold more print copies in 2019 than any other adult title, fiction or non-fiction. 

The book has been adapted to film with Fox 2000 owning the film rights. The film had been produced by Reese Witherspoon with Daisy Edgar-Jones playing the role of the main protagonist. The film is slated to release in July 2022. 

***Plot***

Catherine Danielle Clark aka “Kya” Clark grows up in a rundown shack surrounded by marshes and swamps near the fictional town of Barkley Cove in North Carolina. 

Kya is abandoned by her mother as a 6-year old child. Unable to bear the abuse by their alcoholic and unemployed father, her older siblings soon follow suit. Not able to depend on a (mostly) absentee and neglectful father, little Kya is forced to fend for herself. A few years down the line, even her father leaves her for good.

Kya then embarks on a journey in self-reliance where she learns how to grow fresh produce and trade fresh mussels and smoked-fish for money and gas from Jumpin', a black man who owns a gasoline station for boats. She successfully evades attempts by truant officers and others to integrate her into a “normal” life. Utterly alone and ostracized by members of the community as a feral and reclusive “marsh girl”, Kya has only the local wildlife to keep her company. With no caregiver or formal education, she is nurtured, protected and schooled by Mother Nature. Studying the behaviors of marsh creatures, collecting shells and bird feathers becomes her main pastime. She forms a sole friendship with Tate, one of her brother’s friends who teaches her how to read and write, kindling a love of books and poetry but even that association is short-lived when Tate moves on to greener pastures. 

As an adult, Kya enters into a discrete and complicated relationship with Chase Andrews, the town's golden boy. But when Chase shows up dead under mysterious circumstances, questions are raised and old prejudices are ignited. The story then enters the realm of a whodunnit. 

What happens to Kya and how her story ends forms the remainder of the novel. 

My thoughts…

Going by the phenomenal sales of the novel, for a debut attempt, the author seems to have hit the nail right on the head!

The themes of the novel revolve around abandonment, isolation and the will to survive. As a reader, even if you have been fortunate to lead the kind of life that has shielded you from these situations and emotions, you will still be able to connect with the main protagonist and empathize with her. Contrary to my initial assumption, this is not a book about escaping a terrible upbringing or honing life-saving skills needed to survive in a harsh environment. This is a heart-warming coming of age story of a girl who endures difficulties and overcomes barriers to survive an unconventional life but who also ultimately experiences friendship, love and fulfilment. 

The author allows her exquisite imagery to guide the reader as the marsh springs to life in all its untamed wilderness. In my mind, I could see the billowing palmettos flanking Kya's raw-cut shack, the green lagoons and channels snaking through the marsh, the slate gray waves of the Atlantic ocean crashing against the coastline, Kya feeding the squawking gulls with cornbread, the silent clouds of dragonflies passing by, graceful egrets and herons taking flight against a paint-brushed sky and even the strange mating patterns of mantis and fireflies. The rich metaphors and clever nature analogies serve to enhance the narrative. The combination of creative prose, lyrical depictions, vivid landscape portrayal and a compelling main character makes the novel immersive and engaging. 

“Sometimes she heard night-sounds she didn’t know or jumped from lightning too close, but whenever she stumbled, it was the land who caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.”

Where the Crawdads Sing

This is a novel that has adventure, romance, mystery, courtroom drama and even some science (in the form of ethology) - basically a little bit of everything. 

I preferred the first half of the novel to the second half. The insight into Kya’s childhood, her thoughts and observations, her relationships with nature and people, the manner in which solitude, abandonment and skepticism shapes her personality as well as the way she is perceived by her community was intriguing to me. Her unconventional journey into adulthood marked by a lonely transition into womanhood, her sexual awakening, the sparks of first love and pangs of heartbreak was handled in a tender and touching manner. 

I didn’t much care about the murder mystery angle and it left me with several unanswered questions. I felt like the courtroom drama and aftermath was a little abrupt and in my opinion, there definitely were parts that stretched the boundaries of plausibility. I will not be able to delve into the specifics without revealing spoilers so I'm not going to go there. One can tell that the author is not in her element when the story strays away from the natural world. Delia Owens is no John Grisham and that is perfectly alright. My gripe is that up until that point in the story, I had gotten so used to being privy to Kya's innermost thoughts that when things moved into the courtroom and she zoned out for the most part, I couldn't help but feel a little lost too. I'm assuming that the film adaptation will handle the courtroom drama much better although I won't be surprised if it spectacularly fails to capture the essence of Kya's life in the marsh. I'm glad I read the novel before the release of the film adaptation in the (likely) event that I can be one of the first few smug ones to declare the book to be much better *grins*

Kya is an unforgettable character. Original, fearless and inspiring. One could argue that it is questionable that a child so young could survive in the wilderness alone for so many years, mostly undetected, but judging by the time period that the novel is set in, the geographical location and Kya’s socioeconomic background, I don’t see why not. Moreover, we should take into consideration that the North Carolina marsh, although remote, offers an abundance of food and moderate weather which favors the resourceful which Kya most definitely is. Her character arc has been drawn out masterfully as the reader sees her evolve from a 6-year old innocent and helpless girl to a 25-year old independent and strong-willed woman with a distinct identity of her own. Other memorable characters are Tate Walker, Jodie Clark and Jumpin’.

Through the story, the novel’s handling of issues pertaining to social and racial prejudices and discord along with the delicate intricacies of nature draws parallels to modern day politics and ecology.

To any reader who would appreciate the raw and unfiltered beauty of the natural world celebrated in fiction - this one's for you.

Recommended.

My rating for this novel is

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Leave a comment to let me know

Cheers,

Megha