This book deals with mature subject matter, including sexual assault, murder, injustices, and instances of racism reflective of the time.
"In town, they tell the story of the Marsh Girl."
Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautiful book about Kya Clark, a young girl whom society forgot. Dubbed the "Marsh Girl", Kya grows up on the outskirts of Barkley Cove, a small fishing village in South Carolina.
Kya's journey is a powerful coming-of-age story. As a child, with no formal education, and later as a young woman trying to navigate the world, she learns everything through observation and experience. From societal expectations to relationships, Kya's story is a rollercoaster ride of solitude and genetic propensity to being drawn to fitting in.
Alone for most of her life, Kya relies on the marsh and its wildlife for survival and understanding. With only one day of schooling, she learns all she needs from the world around her.
As she grows older, Kya begins to crave a connection. She is drawn to two young men from Barkley Cove: Tate Walker and Chase Andrews. Tate is kind, grounded, and familiar; his life and values align closely with Kya's. His father is a fisherman, and he knows the value of a hard day's work and has a love for the marsh as well.
Chase, on the other hand, is Barkley Cove's golden boy. He is popular, charming, and from a well-respected family. He is the quarterback of the football team, and he is always surrounded by people. But Chase Andrews has a secret. He's been meeting up with the "Marsh Girl".
When his body is later found at the base of a water tower, the question becomes impossible to ignore: what really happened?
The Review
In my opinion, the book has a slow start. It's heartbreaking to read about Kya's early life. This book is one of those rare books that hits differently depending where you are in life. I think if I had read it when I was younger, it may have evoked different emotions. That said, I think everyone can connect with the themes of Where the Crawdads Sing. Loneliness, survival, trauma, these are all very relatable themes and even if we haven't personally experienced these emotions are triggers we can typically empathise with.
As the story progresses, I think most women can identify with Kya. She is experiencing life alone, and she is learning and growing into a young woman. Kya has to navigate life largely on her own, her first period, her first love, her first heartbreak, all without her mother and older sisters for guidance. She learns, at times the hard way, to trust her instincts.
When the Climax nears, the focus shifts more heavily to Chase Andrews and his death. By the time of his death, Chase was married to Pearl and had seemingly the perfect life. But only his mother really knew that he was still sneaking out to the marsh to visit with Kya. What happened to him? And what role did his connection to Kya play?
SPOILER ALERT
When Chase attempts to rape Kya, everything changes. I believe Kya realises that she is not safe. She has invited a predator into her life, and he deceived her. She has seen this in nature and recognises that males like Chase Andrews will not stop. Unless they are stopped. Inspired by fireflies, Kya leads Chase to the water tower and leads him to his death.
Kya proves to have grown into a brilliant young woman. She planned everything. Every minute of Chase's death was planned so that she had an alibi. Even though she was arrested and spent some time in jail, Kya was acquitted of Chase's murder after the evidence proved that she was meeting her publisher in the town over and there was no evidence she had made it to Barkley Cove and back in time to be seen at breakfast the next day.
As I said, I think this book hits differently depending on a person's stage of life. I found myself shocked and, in a complicated way, proud of Kya when I learned that she had killed Chase. She recognised she couldn't live life in fear. While I don't support violence or vigilantism, I think many readers, especially those who have experienced sexual assault (or assault in general), can understand what Kya was feeling at that time.
I read this book as an ebook.
Where the Crawdads Sing was one of the books in a reading list for a course I was taking. While none of the assigned books initially sparked my interest, I had heard a lot about this one, especially with the release of the film adaptional. My course led me to a free
PDF file from Internet Archive, I downloaded it, and read it on my
Kindle Scribe.
Rating and Recommendation
I originally gave this book four stars; looking back, I downgraded that to three and a half. As I mentioned, I had to read this book for school. And it was good for a school book, I was pleasantly surprised, and I think that biased my rating originally. As I was writing this review, I realised that I really had no desire to read it again.
Typically, for my reviews, I listen to books I have previously read at double the speed, just as a refresher, as I write my reviews. A way to jog my memory about the book and my feelings about it. I borrowed this book from the library (Libby) and couldn't bring myself to listen to it. It didn't appeal to me. And that may be because I had to do such an intense dive into the book for school.
I am glad to have read it, it was a welcome surprise compared to some of the other things I had to read for school, but definitely not on my list or rereading go-tos, which is slightly embarrassing since I just put it on my favourites bookshelf last week!
I didn't go out and buy this book. And to be honest, I didn't even put it on my wish list. I have the free PDF file, and that's good enough for me. If I ever did see it on sale (for a reasonable price), I probably would add it to my library, but it's not high on my list.
Conclusion
If you have never read it, it's definitely worth a try. A lot of people love this book. If Historical Fiction is your typical genre, you may be better suited to this book. If you can't get through the book, definitely check out the movie.
There are many different themes to this book, so it does speak to a wide range of people. If you enjoy a little mystery in your stories, you may enjoy this one. That's what drew me to it in the first place. It's not a "whodunit", but there is a play on it. Also, if you are a new adult reader, especially a young lady, this may be a wonderful book for you. This is one of the only times I think I can say that I enjoyed the movie more than the book.
You can find Were the Crawdads Sing in its respective mediums below:
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022, directed by Reese Witherspoon and Laura Neustadter) is currently available on Netflix, though it is leaving soon! It is available to rent or own on Prime Video.
* Book cover image retrieved from GoodReads. All rights belong to the author and/or publisher.
* All the "stickers" in this blog were provided by Bookish (presented by NetGalley).
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