It’s been awhile since I read anything, not for lack of desire, but simply because work keeps you busy. I had decided to re-read Life of Pi since its short chapters were something I could easily digest with the last bit of mental energy I had for the day. This slow-read was enough to relight my fire, and with that I managed to finally cross another book off the ever-growing to-be-read list – Delia Owen’s Where the Crawdads Sing.
Where the Crawdads Sing is the story of Kya Clark – the “Marsh Girl” of Barkley Cove in North Carolina. In 1969, the town hot-shot Chase Andrews is found dead under suspicious circumstances and Kya is the prime suspect. The book flips back and forth between Kya’s past and current investigation before the two stories eventually sync up. It’s a coming of age story and a courtroom drama all bound up in one.
Kya is openly discriminated against in Barkley Cove. The town residents sneer at her and openly refer to her as trash. Her nickname the “Marsh Girl” isn’t one of affection and is used by children and adults alike. Though she had a family, by ten years old Kya is on her own in the marsh, and has to learn how to fend for herself. Because there is no one around to teach her for most of her life, everything she learns is from nature. She becomes a keen observer She looks to nature to make sense of social hierarchies and mating rituals, but also to try and understand why her mom left. It makes Kya a free-spirit and poetic person, even as she longs to be a part of her community.
What I thought was fun(ny) about the book was that the dialogue was written in a very strong accent. Case in point, this quote below:
“This here’ll get ya food fer the week. Thar ain’t no such thang as handouts,” he said. “Ever’thang cost sump’m, and fer the money ya gotta keep the house up, stove wood c’lected, and warsh the laundree.”
Actual quote from Kya’s Pa
I asked my friends, my mom, and my boyfriend to read that sentence and give it their best shot. It gave us all a good laugh. For two weeks, my inner monologue developed this heavily affected accent as I read through Owens novel. That being said, I’m thankful that the entire book wasn’t written this way. The accent seemed really exaggerated and inauthentic, particularly when it came to the few Black characters in the story which sometimes headed into caricature territory. The accent also became a marker for poverty. When Tate teaches Kya to read, he corrects her if she isn’t speaking “proper” English. When Kya shouts at her father, she screams “ain’t isn’t even a word” as if his lack of grammar is the worst insult she could throw at him.
Where the Crawdads Sing is Owens first work of fiction. She had previously co-authored three best selling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist. Her past experiences and expertise come through in Kya’s love of the marsh, of its sublime beauty and all the wildlife within. Though at times these descriptions could be a bit heavy handed and a little out of place with the tone of the novel, it did help to infuse the marsh with life, especially for someone like myself who has never been to one.
Overall, if I had to rate the book, I would probably give it a 3.5 out of 5. While I did enjoy it – and its definitely a good cottage/poolside/beachside read – the ending fell flat. I wouldn’t say it ruins the overall story, but I did have some issues which I will discuss below after the spoiler warning. There are things that could have been left unsaid which would have made for a more impactful ending and allowed the reader to reflect a little bit more. At least, that’s what I think.
Warning: Spoilers Below
One thing I’ve seen in the few reviews I’ve glanced at, is some harsh judgement thrown at Kya’s mom and her siblings for leaving her. When it comes to the mother, Owens is able to give Kya a little bit of closure there. Her mom had a psychotic break after being physically abused. As her aunt relayed to Jodie, her mom didn’t even realize she left but never forgot about her children. She did make one attempt, but Kya’s father threatened the kids and she believed him. Sure she could have tried again later, but I feel like no one is really in a place to judge if you’ve never been the victim of abuse. When it comes to Kya’s siblings, they all could have done more and tried harder – but they were also children.
When it comes to the ending, I was disappointed. I really wish Owens would have left Tate’s murder unsolved for the reader as she does for the town. Finding out that it was Kya all along really doesn’t add anything to the story. It actually opens up more questions. The whole point of the trial was to say, look how for the prosecution (and residents) are willing to go, to set up this young woman who has been the target of their hate and discrimination her whole life. Now, suddenly we’re expected that she did go out of town, come home, and then return? Or do we question whether she went at all and just wanted to set up an alibi. It just seems completely unbelievable.
The second reveal that Kya was also Amanda Hamilton also doesn’t add anything – for me personally. As I neared the end of the novel, I found myself skipping past these poems altogether because we already know how Kya is feeling whenever she narrates the story. Going back to the first point, with Kya being such a wild and poetic soul, I just find it hard to believe she would have gone after Chase, I think both of these plot points could have been trimmed from the story without having any major impact.
Where the Crawdad Sings is being adapted into a film with Reese Witherspoon as the producer. Daisy Edgar-Jones, a British actress best known for her role in the miniseries Normal People will star as Kya with an anticipated release date of Summer 2022.
Elexciss 