Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens #Review

 I was intrigued when Grace Vincent of Little, Brown invited me to review Delia Owens' debut novel which was published by Corsair in the UK in hardback on January 17th 2019. Where the Crawdads Sing has been very successful in the US and received  much praise from readers. The publisher describes it so:

Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heart-breaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. 

For years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens. 

Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

My Thoughts

What a stunning debut novel this turned out to be. I am so happy that it was brought to my attention. It is a novel which pulls you in, with evocative, descriptive writing and an intriguing central character. You totally feel Kya's isolation which is against her true inclinations. As I followed Kya's story, I could not help but get involved in it and felt a series of emotions at the way she was abandoned by her family and by most of the local community. So sensitive and in tune with nature, she was treated with derision and suspicion. Kya wraps her isolation and loneliness around herself  like a shield. 

    The author's knowledge of and interest in the natural world shines through the writing and becomes part of Kya's existence. Added to that, the mystery around a character's death kept me guessing and despite all my theories, I did not manage to guess the truth. Woven throughout are the poems which Kya loves and which illuminate parts of the story, reflecting nature which becomes her life's blood. It is fascinating to see how her knowledge of the world around evolves as she matures and how she takes part of her understanding of how people are from the environment she so meticulously observes. 

In short: A touching and involving story which I loved.

 

About the Author

 

Delia Owens is the co-author of three internationally bestselling Cry of the Kalahari . She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature , The African Journal of Ecology , and many others. She currently lives in Idaho. Where the Crawdads Sing is her first novel.

nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa including

Book link: Amazon UK

You can follow Delia here: Website   |  Instagram   |  Facebook  

Thanks to Delia Owens and Grace Vincent of Little, Brown for a copy of the book.