Marsh Girl, Feather Boy, High School Jock, and the coastal marshes of North Carolina. Those are the four main characters of Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m behind the times on this one as it’s been setting records on the New York Times bestseller list for some time now. Many people have loved reading this book and now I’m a member of the club.
Delia Owens is an African wildlife expert and remarkably a first-time novelist. Where the Crawdads Sing is the story of Kya, aka the Marsh Girl, whose entire family abandons her leaving her alone in a run down shack to fend for herself. Her mother leaves her when she’s six, then her brothers, and when she’s ten, her father. She spends the rest of her life – 50+ years – in the marsh. She is the marsh and the marsh is her. She eventually becomes a well respected author and expert on the flora and fauna of the area.
The heart and soul of the book is this relationship between Kya and the marsh. I remember a couple times in my life being bogged down by detailed descriptions of nature (was anyone with me as I slogged through Walden in college?). In this book, however, the marsh is the essence of the story and you are welcomed into its world of light, water, grasses, and gulls. When one gets really deep into the marshland, you are said to be where the crawdads sing. This is Kya’s territory.
Where the Crawdads Sing also brings crime and love into the marsh; Kya’s involvement in the death of the High School Jock, Chase Andrews, and her relationship with childhood friend, Tate Walker, Feather Boy. Timelines collide between Kya’s solitude and isolation in the marsh and the discovery of Chase Andrews’ body at the base of the local water tower. I’ll admit that being taken into a courtroom drama while enthralled with Kya’s life in the marsh was a letdown at first. Kya’s involvement in Chad’s death, however, is suspenseful and keeps you guessing until the very end of the story.
The author’s lyrical description of the marsh and of Kya’s feral upbringing within it are the beauty of this story. Reading the book is well worth it just for this. I suppose the whodunit part of Kya’s life does add another interesting element to the story, particularly if a movie is in the offing.
Indeed, a film is currently in development under Reese Witherspoon Productions with lead actress (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Normal People) and other key roles already named. I liked Wild, Big Little Lies, Gone Girl and others that Reese has been a key part of, so I hope the author’s ideas are listened to and much care is taken to depict Kya’s lifetime in the marsh.
D² Rating ◼◼◼◼ ☐
Trivia ? – What landmark book of the environmental movement, authored by Aldo Leopold, contains a chapter called “Marsh Elegy.”
Answer: Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There