Why You Must Read Where the Crawdads Sing

It’s been on the best seller lists for a while now, and I can understand why. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a fascinating study of how a girl, abandoned at a young age, struggles to find her place in a coastal North Carolina town.

Premise

Kya Clark’s mom walked out of the house when Kya was seven and never looked back. Then her brothers and sisters disappear too, leaving her alone with her mercurial, alcoholic father. When he finally abandons Kya as well, she must learn to take care of herself, and the North Carolina marsh becomes her companion and nurturer. Fast forward several years, and a young man from town is found dead at the bottom of a fire tower in the marsh. The people from town think it might be Kya, “The Marsh Girl”, but could she really pull something like that off?

What I liked

Where the Crawdads Sing is full of vivid, beautiful descriptions of nature and human nature. The author, Delia Owens, has previously published non-fiction texts on biology, and her knowledge of nature comes through. Crawdads explores themes of loss, isolation, and prejudice, and how we come to understand other people. Although there is a lot of sadness, I admired Kya’s fortitude and resourcefulness, and adored her love interest, Tate, who watches out for Kya even when she is little and teaches her how to read. Unfortunately, Kya’s status as an outsider, her lack of experience with typical social interaction, and Tate’s few shortcomings, lead to heartbreak and loss for both of them. Kya is indeed a compelling character.

I also liked the structure of Crawdads. The narrative jumps between Kya’s coming of age story and the sheriff’s investigation of the murder, and the interweaving timelines provide intrigue.

What I didn’t like

The last third of the novel is basically turns into a legal drama, with lengthy court scenes that I found dry and less interesting.

Recommendation

I listened to the audio version of Crawdads and found it highly entertaining. Readers who like mysteries, coming of age stories, and studies of human nature would enjoy Where the Crawdads Sing.

Have you read Crawdads? What did you think? What are you reading now that you can recommend? I’ve moved on to Dracula, in honor of Spooktober, and I’m listening to that as well, because there is no way I will read that before bed! 😉

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!