Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

94 reviews

clairew97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Infidelity, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Addiction, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

atalea's review

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Slavery, and Sexism

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Updated 7/20/22. I am not one of those who believes that an artist’s works should be separated from their personal life. If I am going to spend my money and time on something, I want it align with my values—or at least not blatantly violate my conscience. Shortly after finishing this book, I discovered that the author, her husband, and her stepson were wanted for questioning related to their potential involvement in the murder of an alleged poacher in Zambia. The White Savior tropes and

approval of the main character getting away with murder

all make sense now. Even without the knowledge that the author’s stepson was potentially involved in the murder of a Zambian man in a formerly colonized country and that the author and her then-family fled the country instead of cooperating with investigators, this book made me uneasy. It was exasperatingly self-indulgent in the way it dealt with race and racism, to the point that the Black characters seemed almost cartoonish in their irreality. (Read: an entire community of Black people, who had never met Kya—a White outsider—

parted like the Red Sea when Kya came to their segregated neighborhood for Jumpin’s funeral.

)

I think that this type of racism (White Savior and ever-so-grateful Black people who cannot be the architects of their own salvation) is inherently harmful, but bearing the author’s personal history in mind, it takes on a new level of sinisterness. It reeks of White guilt and fragility, and bears entirely too much resemblance to the author’s life to be coincidence.

I previously gave this book a 2.75, but it truly deserves a zero for the author’s real life sins.

Original review: The author has such a distinct style of writing, and her prose can be strikingly beautiful—intermittently simple and abstruse. However, I have two main issues with this book. Chiefly, I felt like certain aspects of this book weren’t consistent in conveying the social mores of the time, or their severity. I understand that racial inequality is difficult to convey and a sensitive topic, but I always have to wonder why an author chooses a time period in which this is a salient issue, only to not effectively capture its essence. It very much felt like a White person trying to portray the experience of Black Americans at the time. For instance, despite being a small and deeply segregated town,

the judge decided on the spot that a trial that occurred in his court would be integrated, and that anyone who disagreed would not be welcome. It just didn’t seem realistic.

As another example,

when Jumpin’, a Black supporting character and a close friend of Kya’s, was being threatened by some White boys, Kya just happened to be in the right place at the right time. She defended Jumpin’ by incapacitating the two boys.

It felt very much like a “White Savior” moment to me. Furthermore,

when one of the Black characters dies in the book, the whole town comes out to attend his funeral and every Black person that attended stepped aside for Kya…despite none of them knowing her.

It was all very weird and didn’t feel realistic or consistent with the racism depicted—either implicitly or explicitly. As yet another example,

at one point, Kya even compares her situation to situations that have befallen Black women and says it’s the exact same. Seriously? Even as an outcast, Kya was a WHITE WOMAN. I don’t think I need to explain why Kya’s life experiences would have been drastically different from a Black woman in the same position. Kya may have been discouraged from visiting certain places, but she had a legal right to do so. Black people at the time were legally barred from many establishments. Furthermore and most importantly, (massive spoiler ahead) if a Black person had been accused of murdering a White man in 1970, in a small and segregated town, I cannot see how they would’ve possibly been acquitted or had any semblance of a fair trial. How is that the same? Ugh.

My second main issue was the ending. Massive spoiler ahead.

I don’t even know what to say, really. I mean, sure I get why Kya would do what she did, but then I feel like it completely nullifies all of the lessons the book is supposed to be teaching and preaching about. Kya was ostracized, which was horribly wrong, but then the towns people were actually right about her committing murder? And I felt like the book implied that they were wrong for being prejudiced and jumping to conclusions. Sure, their reasoning was prejudiced but they ended up being right. If you’re gonna have Kya, this person who’s supposed to be innocent and wild and free and a bit weird but harmless, be the killer…then lean into that. There was not really a whole lot of duality to her (eg a dark side) that would have made that plot twist make sense. So why do it, if not for shock value? It just felt really inconsistent with her character. I would have actually rooted for Kya to get away with murder (in fiction only!) if that dark side had been established earlier on and not just out of nowhere.

Anyway, I enjoyed parts of this book but I don’t see myself re-reading it. There are so many books out there, and I’m almost frustrated that I spent time reading this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Stalking

Minor: Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery

A note on the sexual violence and harassment tags, which contains a significant spoiler but is not detailed:

the violence was attempted, but not successful.

If you would like specific details, then please keep reading. However, please note that they may be triggering or disturbing. I have tried to be as brief as possible. If you would not like further spoilers (or you find this information too disturbing), then please do not read.

In the scene, someone who the main character knows very well sneaks up on her, and attempts to rape her. He manages to partially remove her clothing and is about to commit sexual assault, but the main character is able to fight him off and flee. In the process, both individuals inflict injuries on each other.

A note about the stalking tag:

I’m not entirely sure that the technical term would be stalking, but the main character is forced to hide from another character (whom she knows very well) because it is likely that he intends to grievously harm her. He attempts to find her, but does not track her. This could be due to the fact that the main character is especially evasive, and therefore he was unable to stalk her.

lindsay424's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I started off not really enjoying this book but was hooked in the second half. I like how the author wrote the book in two ways (jumping between the main character's past and the current time), the parts for the current time made sense as the book went on and the scenes from the past were a contributing factor to this. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, War, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

taylers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

An amazing read. Delia Owens delivers an emotional story as turbulent as the waters Kya boats through. This book is chock full of beautiful imagery, described so carefully the scene can unfold seamlessly in your mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Racism, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident, Classism, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

thatswhatshanread's review

adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. This book is such an incredible journey led by perseverance, love, and survival. While it was slow to start, I felt entirely taken in by the story and held in its palms as if I, too, were finding my way through life amongst the marshes of 1960s South Carolina. 

Owens’ writing is poetic and strong, beautiful and sad, honest and rhythmic in a way not often associated with works published in the last ten years. I felt the nuances of Harper Lee coming back to me while reading this one, as Kya’s story of resilience, prejudice, loss, and heartbreak reminded me in ways of “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In both acclaimed novels, there is a clear distinction and cowardice in regards to class and upbringing especially, but also race and education. 

“Where The Crawdads Sing” is first a celebration and clarification of nature and its constants, every little piece of the earth that gives and takes, ebbs and flows. I’ve never before read such lyrical accounts of nature and its secrets. 

But this is also a book about love, how it flourishes and wants and haunts and disappoints and endures. The emotion over rare feathers easily coincides with the years of affection between friends, lovers, family. 

The heavy weight of murder and death hangs over all elements throughout the story, though it never takes away from the poignant, beautiful account of life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Confinement

Minor: Mental illness and War

vixenreader's review

emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Depending on how you feel about the controversy with Delia Owens, it may change how you feel about this book, particularly with the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexual content, Classism, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death of parent, Death, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder

The last page reveals a huge spoiler, and it can relate to how you feel about the justification of such a subject.

cianarae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Infertility, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Rape, and Racial slurs

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Self harm, and War

maiadunleavy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual content, Car accident, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Racism

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I liked the unique storyline and lush descriptions of nature and wildlife. It’s a topic I’m not incredibly well versed in so I appreciated the knowledge. The plot was unique and not incredibly predictable. However, the book fell flat for me in terms of some tropes, writing styles, and the ending. I don’t understand how kya could be the most beautiful girl everyone said she was when she was often caked in mud, with tangled hair and subjective bad hygiene. It seemed a little to on the “main character is so beautiful so she has many men pining after her” trope. I also personally did not like that it was not in first person. I think we could’ve gotten a more solid understanding of kya if it was told from her perspective. The old southern vernacular being used in dialogue also left me a little disappointed. It just made it much harder to enjoy the book. Lastly, I found that the ending really through off all of the work that had been put in the book to establish the character of kya and the reliability of the narrator. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child death, Grief, Infertility, and Addiction