Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The book is a mixture of a murder mystery, a love affair and a lonely and difficult coming-of-age story set in the marsh lands of North Carolina.
The author is a zoologist who has written non-fiction, but this is her first novel (at the age of 69 years).
Her love of and knowledge about the marsh shines through this book.
The descriptive language brought the area and Kya’s emotions vividly to life.
Kya’s loneliness and vulnerability after her abandonment by her family and Tate were movingly described.
The group questioned why her seemingly loving mother would leave her with her violent father and never return.
One of us suggested her mother should have hit her father with a large LeCreuset frying pan.
We questioned if a child as young as Kya could survive on her own and become so educated and we wondered at the police incompetence and the authorities complete disregard for the child.
However, this did not distract from our enjoyment of the story.
We all thought the character descriptions were good and we especially warmed to Jumpin’, the black storekeeper who “adopted” Kya.
The prejudices and social hierarchy of small town in southern America in the 50’s and 60’s was well portrayed and the subsequent “gentrification “and threat to the environment were true to life.
Most of us were surprised but satisfied at the twist at the end of the book. Thank you, Kath, for a most enjoyable read.
CC. 13/6/21
4.7 out of 5
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