Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Published 2018
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★★]

Believe the hype..
Synopsis from Goodreads: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.

My Thoughts: I am late to the party on this one but the good reviews it was getting everywhere meant when it became available on my library audio it was a no brainer.

The reading by Cassandra Campbell is brilliant not sure if she gets the accents right but to me they felt right and that is what counts.

This is a slow paced character driven story where the reader is plunged into the mind of Kya an innocent and naïve girl with a love of and dedication to the life of the marsh. As the book progresses the reader is swept along as Kya is abandoned time and again by those she loves until eventually she gives us on humans relying on the natural world for comfort until eventually we come to the events that lead to the death of Chase Andrews…

I can understand why some readers would not appreciate the slow burn but for me that is the best bit of the book it removed me from the hustle and bustle of daily life and took me back to a simpler time. I loved learning about the flora and fauna of the marsh and for me the genius of the book is in these tiny and at times heart breaking details.

Who would like this? I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in nature and who enjoys slow paced character driven stories. Those of you looking for a fast paced thriller will need to look elsewhere.

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?