It took me a long time to read Where the Crawdads Sing. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.
There has been So. Much. Hype. around this 2018 novel by Delia Owens. It was picked up by both Oprah’s Book Club and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club. And, the movie adaptation releases next week.
Clearly, Where the Crawdads Sing is a BIG DEAL. So, why’d it take me so long to read it?
**shrug** I’m suspicious about mega-hyped books. Sometimes I end up loving them, but most of the time I end wondering what all the fuss was about. But I was at the library one day and Where the Crawdads Sing caught my eye, and I grabbed it.
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t convinced for the first 50 pages. Or even the first 70 pages. There was some very nice descriptive writing, yes. Some beautiful imagery. Lots of marsh stuff. But I wasn’t buying what the rest of the world was selling.
And then somewhere along the way, I got to know Kya, the main character of Where the Crawdads Sing. Somewhere between page 70 and the end of the book, I fell in love with her quiet strength and her earnest curiosity; with her sweet nature and her backbone of steel. Her bittersweet story about a mostly solitary life in the North Carolina marsh ended up being one of the best I’ve read.
I love my thrillers, my rom-coms, my foodie fiction books, etc. But every now and then, I want to read something different. A cleanser for my literary palate, if you will. A book that comes along and just hits me in a new way. That’s Owens’ book.
I tell ya, the author must have had a helluva time querying this sucker, because it’s impossible to slot Where the Crawdads Sing into a single genre. You can’t compare it to any other book because I honestly don’t think there’s one like it out there. It’s a wholly unique blend of literary fiction, Southern fiction, naturalist fiction (i.e., a lot of talk about swamp plants and animals), historical fiction, romance, women’s fiction, and mystery.
You know how so many books seem to scream their message at you? Where the Crawdads Sing is just…quiet. Calm. Kya’s story has moments of wonder and triumph and sadness and fear and heartbreak and hope, and you feel them all. Even with all of that going on, I found the entire experience of reading this novel to be peaceful. It’s like Owens captured the reverent stillness of the marsh that Kya loves so much and handed it over to us in book form.
I’m not sure what else can be said about Where the Crawdads Sing. If you’ve read it, you understand what I’m talking about. If you, too, have been holding out because you just don’t believe the hype, then please take my advice and pick this up ASAP.
Definitely before the movie comes out. Because we all know that the movie is never as good as the book.
Have you read this one, Tartlets? I’d love to know what you think.
Be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Chilled Seafood Salad.
Side note: I read Where the Crawdads Sing a few weeks before my Charleston vacation. Although Kya’s story is set in North Carolina, the South Carolina sea islands, with their high grass and warm water and abundant wildlife, had me thinking about this book the entire time I was there. I feel like I saw everything through Kya’s eyes, and that made my trip even more special.
Yay! I’m so glad you ended up liking it!
Such a beautiful book! I only hope the movie does it justice.
I found it to be an entertaining quick read . But for the most part I found the story to be pretty unbelievable . Obviously others loved it , but I have read many more books with greater depth and believable characters . Different strokes …
Hi Mimi! Seems you’re in good company; I’ve actually seen a lot of other reviews saying similar things about believability. I think this book definitely speaks to certain people more than others. At least you found it entertaining! Sometimes, that’s all we can hope for with our book choices. 🙂