I have been seeing Where the Crawdads Sing all over bookstagram and I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it’s cover really did draw me in. Where the Crawdads Sing was also one of the biggest books of 2018 so I might be a little late to the party.
The story follows Kya the so-called “Marsh Girl” who has had a hard life living alone in marsh longing
for human connection. Kya is a reclusive, dirty, uneducated girl, who was always at the centre of the
town’s gossip. So in late 1969, when popular Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately
suspect Kya.
It’s a beautiful coming-of-age novel that mixes the natural world, a mysterious murder, and prejudices
of its time.
I sometimes found it difficult to read, as Owens includes a lot of scientific details about the marsh, its
animals and the surroundings. If some of these details were left out, I think the book would have
been half the size. Owens spent decades doing conservation work in Botswana and Zambia so I can
see why she might have gone into such great detail, but I do feel some of it could have been left out.
It’s also set in North Carolina so Southern slang is sometimess difficult to follow, but you soon get
used to it.
Where the Crawdads Sing is a story of resilience, survival, hope, love, loss, loneliness, desperation,
prejudice, determination and strength.
Read with Rachel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 avocados.
Buy Where the Crawdads Sing on Amazon.
Favourite quote from the book.
“A lot of the times love doesn’t work out. Yet even when it fails, it connects you to others and in theend that is all you have. The connections.”
Read with Rachel on Instagram at @cptbookgirl
Rachel Ward, the latest edition to the Essential Millennial team, is an avid reader, based in Cape Town. Follow her on Instagram at @cptbookgirl to find more of her reviews and to keep up with her literary adventures. You can also keep an eye on our Reviews section for more from Rachel in future!
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