Here is a review I did of the book for a local mag .......
Don't read on if you do not want to know anything about the plot!!! ...
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Kya Clark is born into a troubled family in post-war North Carolina, where they live in a glorified hut on the local marsh. Her father, once rich, fell on hard times and brought his wife and children to this isolated place, where family life falls apart under the influence of his drinking and violence, and over time they all leave, except Kya who is left behind to raise herself from a very young child. Dodging the education department officials, she earns her keep fishing for mussels and selling these on to “Jumpin’”, a black man who, shunned by the village, runs a small local shop selling petrol for the boats that use the lagoons and marshes, and basic food requirements. Kya too is shunned by the villagers, labelled the Marsh Girl, and treated with suspicion.
Her only friend is local boy Tate Walker, who coaxes her into conversation with gifts of feathers – a perfect lure for nature-loving Kya. Their paths diverge when he leaves for college and Kya is left as prey for the local buck, Chase Andrews.
Fast forward to the 1960s and Chase’s body is found at the base of an abandoned fire tower in the swamp. Kya is the sheriff’s first and only suspect.
The book is full of stereotypes: poor black families and rich middle class narrow-minded upright citizens who protect their children from the dangers of any fleeting association with the Marsh Girl. But the overwhelming redeeming feature of the book is the lyrical description of the marsh and its wildlife which peppers this novel. The author is herself a renowned naturalist, zoologist and conservationist who spent a large part of her life in near or true wildernesses both in America and in Africa where she and her husband worked to conserve lion and elephant habitats – the parallels with her protagonist are clear. And her love of the wild shines through the character of Kya. Owens’ story is somewhat marred by the fact that she and her (now estranged) husband are still wanted in Zambia for the alleged murder of a poacher.
Kya, having been steeped in the life of the marsh and isolated from human company, acquires her life lessons from the world of nature around her: “Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.” But it was not always a very helpful learning ground for establishing relationships with her fellow humans: “Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them; mantis females devour their own mates. Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.”
There is some good writing here, and a well-constructed and suspenseful courtroom sequence. It is definitely worth a read – or a watch, as this novel has been turned into a successful film.
