A review by ed_moore
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

“A real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what’s necessary to defend a woman” 

Owens’ ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ wasn’t what I thought it was be nor what it was made out to be at all. It has focus on two timelines, Kya as she grows up abandoned on the North Carolina marshes, and this timeline slowly catches up to 1970 and the suspected murder of Chase Andrews out on the marsh. It begins as a story of abandonment and a young girl adapting to survive, arguably with far too much ease; Owens does not include many problems within her plot related to the abandonment that Kya genuinely struggles to overcome nor does it particularly deeply look into the complex emotions that must come with such a character. The mystery is introduced quickly but takes a back seat for the large majority of the novel, not much is added to it in terms of clues or red herrings and it is generally quite poorly written and predictable. I was disappointed by the mystery aspect, especially as the book evolved and begun to focus more on this new identity of becoming a romance. 
 
I am often an advocate of separating art from the artist but for a book written in 2018 to frequently use the ’N’ word to no real plot effect or meaningful, especially given the controversial status of Owens as a person, I feel I have to address this as a huge negative. Yes ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ is a historical fiction and trying to reflect American race prejudices of the time in its setting, however this is extremely poorly done and the use of certain phrases was unacceptable for the 21st century in the manner that Owens remorselessly used them. 
 
I enjoyed Owens’ descriptions of setting and intimate relationship with the wildlife of the marshes. It was a completely absorbing atmosphere with a focus on love of nature, however that is about all that wasn’t disappointing or problematic with ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings