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A review by katykelly
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
3.0
Had to see what the fuss was about.
It's the sort of book I'll listen to on audiobook, nothing too challenging, narratively speaking. There are two time periods but an overarching voice that is clear on period and one feeds easily into the other.
In the present - the body of a young man has been discovered. Known to have associated with the infamous 'Marsh Girl', a woman brought up in the marshes and now living there alone, it is she who becomes the focus of the police investigation into his death.
In the past - the Marsh Girl's story. Kya. Abandoned by the mother and siblings as they cannot put up with her father's abuses any longer, the girl remains fascinated by her home, the animals and plants around her, dreams of her mother returning, but soon finds herself living alone and having to survive.
With a bitter first experience of school, Kya retreats to her marshland home, with rumours circulating about her, and it is only when someone reaches out to help her bridge the gulf that her own potential starts to be realised.
But years later... the police want to arrest her for murder. Did the Marsh Girl do it?
It's one of those books that meanders, describes the visuals really quite beautifully, gives you a vivid and nostalgic glance at a beautiful place. And then meanders its way through a drawn-out story.
While I enjoyed the listen, I also didn't feel this deserves the hype I've seen it generate within book groups. The story is fairly standard, with Outsiders! Prejudice! Murder mystery!
There are also lots of 'suspend your disbelief' moments and definite 'pull the heartstrings' parts too.
I did enjoy the looks back and forth and Kya's life and her family. There are some cringy moments of racial intolerance and sexual violence that not all readers will want to come across.
Male characters seem to be mostly more sketchily drawn than Kya, though I liked Jumpin (sorry if the spelling is off - audio versions don't allow for this lack of visuals!). The dead young man I loathed from the start, and Kya's friend from childhood who teaches her to read, wasn't much better. Kya is a little too naïve and innocent to feel real to me, especially about males, especially considering how resourceful she's had to be her entire life.
The audio was well narrated though, but the text did feel quite stereotypical in its portrayal of archetypes and how everybody talks. It was entertaining enough though, and I always love a good trial scene.
I don't think I'll be watching the film, and this could have been shortened, 12 hours did feel a little too long for the slight plot.
It's the sort of book I'll listen to on audiobook, nothing too challenging, narratively speaking. There are two time periods but an overarching voice that is clear on period and one feeds easily into the other.
In the present - the body of a young man has been discovered. Known to have associated with the infamous 'Marsh Girl', a woman brought up in the marshes and now living there alone, it is she who becomes the focus of the police investigation into his death.
In the past - the Marsh Girl's story. Kya. Abandoned by the mother and siblings as they cannot put up with her father's abuses any longer, the girl remains fascinated by her home, the animals and plants around her, dreams of her mother returning, but soon finds herself living alone and having to survive.
With a bitter first experience of school, Kya retreats to her marshland home, with rumours circulating about her, and it is only when someone reaches out to help her bridge the gulf that her own potential starts to be realised.
But years later... the police want to arrest her for murder. Did the Marsh Girl do it?
It's one of those books that meanders, describes the visuals really quite beautifully, gives you a vivid and nostalgic glance at a beautiful place. And then meanders its way through a drawn-out story.
While I enjoyed the listen, I also didn't feel this deserves the hype I've seen it generate within book groups. The story is fairly standard, with Outsiders! Prejudice! Murder mystery!
There are also lots of 'suspend your disbelief' moments and definite 'pull the heartstrings' parts too.
I did enjoy the looks back and forth and Kya's life and her family. There are some cringy moments of racial intolerance and sexual violence that not all readers will want to come across.
Male characters seem to be mostly more sketchily drawn than Kya, though I liked Jumpin (sorry if the spelling is off - audio versions don't allow for this lack of visuals!). The dead young man I loathed from the start, and Kya's friend from childhood who teaches her to read, wasn't much better. Kya is a little too naïve and innocent to feel real to me, especially about males, especially considering how resourceful she's had to be her entire life.
The audio was well narrated though, but the text did feel quite stereotypical in its portrayal of archetypes and how everybody talks. It was entertaining enough though, and I always love a good trial scene.
I don't think I'll be watching the film, and this could have been shortened, 12 hours did feel a little too long for the slight plot.