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A review by isabelthearcher
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
5.0
This book was extraordinary. You can tell that Delia Owens had so much passion for the story. The plot was spectacular, it kept me guessing until I had 20 pages left and tears were streaming down my face. The best bit of the book was definitely the prose, it was stunning. I caught myself skimming over words trying to read for the story, but I had to stop because the writing was too beautiful to not eat up every word.
“Clouds lazed in the folded arms of the hills, then billowed up and drifted away. Some tendrils twisted into tight spirals and traced the warmer ravines, behaving like mist tracking the dank fens of the marsh. The same game of physics playing on a different field of biology.”
Kya is a great protagonist, I found myself feeling really bad for her at the start of the book. Hoping that she would get help or find another family. But as the story progressed I really admired her, I could not have done what she did at her age or even now. She is smart, self-assured, very determined and despite her hiding very fearless. So much in literature the alone, shy girl is one to be pitied but this book flipped that on it’s head. There was one point where someone was telling Kya it was ok to hate the people who were mean / judgmental to her and she replied that they hate me, they dislike me. It was her against the world but she was still so strong.
I adored the setting of the Marsh and the details that Owens and Kya explained. I feel as though I learnt so much, especially because I live in a drained fen area. There was also great bonding between Kya and nature, always such a lovely theme to be explored.
“The marsh beyond lay in its winter cloak of browns and grays. Miles of spent grasses, having dispersed their seeds, bowed their heads to the water in surrender. The wind whipped and tore, rattling the coarse stems in a noisy chorus.”
The dual timeline perspective really elevated the story, in my opinion, and didn’t make it boring at all. Especially in the first 100 pages where you are learning about and Kya’s family I was quite confused about how the story would diverge. It made the pace work well, as the descriptions from Kya’s point of view were a shift from the mystery.
Maybe my only critique or improvement could have been the exploration of race and prejudices more. During and when Kya would venture into town there were instances of Whites and Blacks segregated but it was quickly tossed away and the prejudices against Kya were more important. Obviously she is the main character, I just think that exploring racism in North Carolina in the 60s would have been an interesting theme / comparison to Kya’s situation.
“Clouds lazed in the folded arms of the hills, then billowed up and drifted away. Some tendrils twisted into tight spirals and traced the warmer ravines, behaving like mist tracking the dank fens of the marsh. The same game of physics playing on a different field of biology.”
Kya is a great protagonist, I found myself feeling really bad for her at the start of the book. Hoping that she would get help or find another family. But as the story progressed I really admired her, I could not have done what she did at her age or even now. She is smart, self-assured, very determined and despite her hiding very fearless. So much in literature the alone, shy girl is one to be pitied but this book flipped that on it’s head. There was one point where someone was telling Kya it was ok to hate the people who were mean / judgmental to her and she replied that they hate me, they dislike me. It was her against the world but she was still so strong.
I adored the setting of the Marsh and the details that Owens and Kya explained. I feel as though I learnt so much, especially because I live in a drained fen area. There was also great bonding between Kya and nature, always such a lovely theme to be explored.
“The marsh beyond lay in its winter cloak of browns and grays. Miles of spent grasses, having dispersed their seeds, bowed their heads to the water in surrender. The wind whipped and tore, rattling the coarse stems in a noisy chorus.”
The dual timeline perspective really elevated the story, in my opinion, and didn’t make it boring at all. Especially in the first 100 pages where you are learning about
Spoiler
Chase’s deathMaybe my only critique or improvement could have been the exploration of race and prejudices more. During