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A review by fulltimefiction
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
4.0
This book was beautiful, to say the least. I loved the characters, Kya, Tate, and Jumpin'. Kya's story was very heartbreaking, a lonely girl abandoned by her loved ones and family. She lived alone in the marsh and learned to care for herself. This book is popular for a reason.
I've listened to several audiobooks across the years and it's usually the type of books I know I'll have a difficult time reading them. Where the Crawdads Sing is one of the most popular 2018 releases (and it seems I have missed so many of those) but it's also fiction set in the late 50s and 60s. It's not the easiest era to read about for me because it's not "historical" but also not contemporary. I definitely believe the audio, in this case, was the right choice, at least in the beginning (because I easily could've continued the book at a later point). The narrator's voice was also relaxing and definitely suited the story she was telling. All of this is to say that this is one of the better narrated audios that I've come across.
I also loved the romance.
All while listening to the audio I thought we had a Henry guy here whom she meets after the murder and they try together to clear her name... I kept waiting for this guy to show up, even. I have no idea how I concluded that from the reviews I read. I must have confused two books together.
I was even sad for Tate that they won't up together. smh.
Anyways, there's no Henry guy. Tate was a good match for Kya and I liked their story. A lot. The romance was much more convincing than the mystery part...
I had a few minor issues with the book, especially concerning the very last scene.
So Chase is married, why we never hear anything about this wife? Couldn't she have killed him because of his infidelity? What was her reaction even in the court? She's simply mentioned but we never meet her and she's never suspected.
These are MAJOR spoilers especially since this book is a mystery please don't read the spoilers if you haven't read the bookI did suspect Tate, Kya, and I even thought Chase might have killed himself.
The final reveal didn't surprise but rather disappointed me. Yeah, I know he probably was going back for her but how did she convince him to meet her there? How did she have time to manage all that? How did Kya think of these things to cover the murder? The girl who knows nothing about the murder and only have access to biology books and not forensics (hey, we didn't even have the internet)... I don't think she was able to plan that well. I might be underestimating ing her but the fact remains that she did kill Chase like all those town people thought regardless of her motivation.
I also thought Chase trying to rape her was out of character. He was patient with her when they first got together and didn't directly force her nor violate her wishes in his own way (I hated how he planned for it anyway). Nonetheless, it was obvious he cared for Kya. Only he cared about society's opinion more. He bragged to his friends, he was unfaithful, he lied to her, married someone else, but I believe he loved her in his own way. Not the brave kind but rather the love of a weak person who takes into consideration society's views fore and foremost instead of following his heart. And regardless, some men (and women) are simply incapable of faithfulness.
So I found Chase hitting her and trying to rape her without trying to work out things, not convincing. He did try at first yes but that years ago. Hurting would've been kind of last resort decision and this wasn't... Maybe if we had two scenes of this but we didn't.
She also said she'd kill him IF he tried to do it again and yes, he probably would've but I can't wrap my head around Kya killing him after this incident alone.
I felt like the trial dragged but in the end, I understood why. I'm simply not convinced. She did it yes but how she did it has a big question mark over it for me
I've listened to several audiobooks across the years and it's usually the type of books I know I'll have a difficult time reading them. Where the Crawdads Sing is one of the most popular 2018 releases (and it seems I have missed so many of those) but it's also fiction set in the late 50s and 60s. It's not the easiest era to read about for me because it's not "historical" but also not contemporary. I definitely believe the audio, in this case, was the right choice, at least in the beginning (because I easily could've continued the book at a later point). The narrator's voice was also relaxing and definitely suited the story she was telling. All of this is to say that this is one of the better narrated audios that I've come across.
I also loved the romance.
All while listening to the audio I thought we had a Henry guy here whom she meets after the murder and they try together to clear her name... I kept waiting for this guy to show up, even. I have no idea how I concluded that from the reviews I read. I must have confused two books together.
I was even sad for Tate that they won't up together. smh.
Anyways, there's no Henry guy. Tate was a good match for Kya and I liked their story. A lot. The romance was much more convincing than the mystery part...
I had a few minor issues with the book, especially concerning the very last scene.
So Chase is married, why we never hear anything about this wife? Couldn't she have killed him because of his infidelity? What was her reaction even in the court? She's simply mentioned but we never meet her and she's never suspected.
These are MAJOR spoilers especially since this book is a mystery please don't read the spoilers if you haven't read the book
The final reveal didn't surprise but rather disappointed me. Yeah, I know he probably was going back for her but how did she convince him to meet her there? How did she have time to manage all that? How did Kya think of these things to cover the murder? The girl who knows nothing about the murder and only have access to biology books and not forensics (hey, we didn't even have the internet)... I don't think she was able to plan that well. I might be underestimating ing her but the fact remains that she did kill Chase like all those town people thought regardless of her motivation.
I also thought Chase trying to rape her was out of character. He was patient with her when they first got together and didn't directly force her nor violate her wishes in his own way (I hated how he planned for it anyway). Nonetheless, it was obvious he cared for Kya. Only he cared about society's opinion more. He bragged to his friends, he was unfaithful, he lied to her, married someone else, but I believe he loved her in his own way. Not the brave kind but rather the love of a weak person who takes into consideration society's views fore and foremost instead of following his heart. And regardless, some men (and women) are simply incapable of faithfulness.
So I found Chase hitting her and trying to rape her without trying to work out things, not convincing. He did try at first yes but that years ago. Hurting would've been kind of last resort decision and this wasn't... Maybe if we had two scenes of this but we didn't.
She also said she'd kill him IF he tried to do it again and yes, he probably would've but I can't wrap my head around Kya killing him after this incident alone.
I felt like the trial dragged but in the end, I understood why. I'm simply not convinced. She did it yes but how she did it has a big question mark over it for me