There has been nothing but H-Y-P-E about this book. Rave reviews, tears of sadness and joy, and a fierce love of the main character. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if not for all the must-read comments on Instagram. Something about the word “crawdad” in the title also drew me in. It sounds so Southern (I don’t even know what a crawdad is!) and I thought I would give this book a try.
Where the Crawdads Sings spans two decades from the early 1950s until the year 1970. It centres around Kya Clark, who is abandoned by her family one by one and left to survive on her own in the coastal marshes of North Carolina. Her family becomes the gulls, the trees, the deer, the herons, the Spanish moss swaying over her shack. Kya is a woman of the wild, and her existence becomes a legend in the nearby village of Barkley Cove. As she grows up, two boys from town – one a star quarterback, the other an aspiring biologist – are drawn to her. When the young stud Chase Andrews is found dead under mysterious circumstances, the town sheriff embarks on a witch hunt for Kya.
This book paints a picture of people living in extreme poverty. Digging in the mud in hope of finding a rotten turnip for dinner, walking miles to town in bare feet because your shoes have long since fallen apart. Stale grits for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is an aura of sadness and loneliness throughout Where the Crawdads Sing. Kya opens her heart to others, only to find that the solitude of her wild marsh is her true love.
At times I questioned the realistic nature of this plot. A young girl is abandoned in the woods and survives on her own – does this really happen? Was this situation more common fifty years ago? The townspeople refer to Kya as the “Marsh Girl” like she’s a mythical creature. While this is a fictitious story, it made me wonder how we react to similar situations in real life. Do we think twice about people who are left behind in dark corners to fend for themselves?
I was uncertain if this book would live up to the hype, but I’m glad I read it. The second half had me hurriedly turning pages as Kya is brought to trial for Chase’s murder. The story is not a happy one, but there are pockets of joy in Kya’s connection with nature. The fluid writing contains beautiful, vivid descriptions of the marsh and the North Carolina coast.
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Where the Crawdads Sing reminded me of several books I’ve read, all of which I would recommend:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee – It’s been years since I read this book, but it was one of my favourites as a teenager. The hazy South, a local murder with questions surrounding the accused, and a mysterious character with rumours swirling around them in town. My heart still flutters when I think of Gregory Peck playing Atticus Finch!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett – Similar to this book, Where the Crawdads Sing contains strong Southern accents written phonetically. At first, I couldn’t get used to it. I would read the accent aloud to hear how it would sound until I became comfortable reading it.
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent – Beautiful descriptions of wild landscape and a strong female main character who is abandoned by everyone who’s ever loved her. Like Kya, Agnus Magnusdottir must survive on her own at a young age, until she falls for a smooth-talking guy and becomes the scapegoat for a crime.
Sweetland by Michael Crummey – Set on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, the town’s population is resettled by the government and Moses Sweetland decides he will stay behind. His body and mind grow wilder as he tries to survive alone on the island.
Do you get drawn into widely popular books? Do you find they live up to the hype or are you disappointed?
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