Hi Readers! As promised, I am back with a book review for Delia
Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing. I finished this book a couple of weeks earlier
but hadn’t gotten to write the review till now. This review CONTAINS SPOILERS! Ok, go ahead now!
~~INTRODUCTION~~
This is another pick from Reese’s
Book Club & I am glad I liked
this one. For me, the book picks from Reese’s Book Club are always flaky.
Sometimes I love them but at other times I don’t find them too profound or
worthy. It’s more of an on-off relationship. Anyway, this book is quite good! When
I started it, I was quite intimidated because it has a Goodreads rating of 4.5 & not a single 1-star review. And, given my judgmental
reading style, I wasn’t sure if I should read it. Because, what if I’m on the
only one who thinks it is 1 star? I got over it soon enough!
There are two parallel story lines in the novel. The first
story line, which starts in 1952, begins with the life story of a girl
named Catherine Clark aka Kya who lives in a house in the marsh. She has a
complicated family & no friends. Everybody keeps leaving her which is why
she has serious trust & abandonment issues. In the other story line set in 1969, there has been a death of local man
named Chase Andrews & this part revolves around solving his murder.
The novel evolves from 1952 until it finally catches up with the second story
line in 1969 & in all these years, we get to know Kya Clark, The Marsh Girl.
Now, let me be clear, this is a simple coming-of-age story of
Kya. There is not enough crime or mystery in it to leave you at the edge of your
seat. Not at all. It is a simple story. It is not something I’d usually like,
but for unknown reasons, I liked it.
~~OVERALL
THOUGHTS~~
To read this book, you need to leave your way of practical way
of thinking behind. Apart from the mysterious death of Chase, there are many
unusual things that happen in the book. I really liked how Tate & Kya
became friends. Kya didn’t know how to read or write. Tate taught her that.
They had a cute relationship. But, it was so unusual for a guy like Tate to go
off to college & then cut Kya off completely. Then there was the chapter of
Chase. It felt so unnatural that a popular & handsome guy like him would
want to go out with the Marsh Girl & she would instantly say yes to that. Most
of all, she had been on her own since she was a kid & was able to make a
living for herself. There isn’t any mention of Childcare Services either, which
is odd.
I could relate to Kya’s trust & abandonment issues. But, throughout
the story, it is shown how deeply it impacted her when they all (her mother,
Jodie, her father, Tate & Chase) left her. It is incredible how she made a
living from such a young age by selling gritts to what we can call her only father-like
friend Jumpin. It’s such an inspiration how she grew up & built so much character.
And, when those people (Jodie & Tate) came back, she had enough reason not
to talk to them, so she didn’t. But, in the end, she accepts them. A girl who couldn’t
read or write becomes an author of 3 published books! The character arc is
beautiful that way, which is something I enjoyed.
As for the 1969 story line of Chase’s murder, it wasn’t that
gripping. It also consisted of little content than the first story line. The
Court hearing was interesting to read. In it, it was quite evidently proven
that Kya (who was arrested for Chase’s murder) was guilty. But, when, at the
end, I understood she had actually killed him, it felt unreal. It was an almost
impossible task (exactly how the opposition had stated it) and yet it turned
out to be true. That was a bit disappointing.
~~CONCLUSION~~
After immediately completing the book, I was touched by it
& had rated it at 4/5. But, now that I had time to process it, I’ll revise
my rating to 3.5/5! It’s a good read, no doubt, but not as good as I had
expected. By reading this book, I have completed the category of ‘A Book Everyone is Talking About’ from my 2020 Reading Challenge!
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am currently reading A Little Life &
thoroughly thoroughly enjoying it, with all its sentiments, emotions & feelings!
I am also re-reading Harry Potter & the Chamber
of Secrets, but my speed on reading it has slowed down as I am
reading more of the aforementioned book! I don’t have any ideas for new posts
yet, so it could be a while until I write another! Stay safe, everyone!
Until next time,
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