#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENOMENONMore than 6 million copies soldA Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club PickA Business Insider Defining Book of the Decade “I can’t even express how much I love this book! I didn’t want this story to end!”–Reese Witherspoon“Painfully beautiful.”–The New York Times Book ReviewFor years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet … years, rumors 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.
Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. 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.
more
This novel moved me emotionally by looking deeply into the most basic needs of human nature. The story is beautifully written with fabulous description and a thought provoking plot about life and the most basic desires and needs of humans. I loved it!
This coming-of-age tale, set in the coastal marshes of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, will haunt you with its mystery and the heart-breaking isolation of its young character. Delia Owens’ lyrical prose intertwined with an astonishing intimacy with nature is a joy to experience.
Great book. Highly recommend.
One of the best stories I’ve read in a long time. A book that I will reread again soon!
Although the storyline can be hard to believe at some times it is fiction and the directions drives you to an ending I didn’t see coming. Beautiful nature writing.
This was an interesting book situated in a part of the country I don’t know well. I found the descriptions to be compelling, a place I would like to explore. The story line was interesting highlighting the ongoing damage of abusive relationships and the effects of poverty. Despite this there was much beauty created in the telling of this story
Loved this book! Didn’t want to put it down and wasn’t ready to put it down! Great read!
I loved reading this book, it was tragic, interesting, happy, just keeps you interested, Not wanting to put it down, to see what next.
A brilliant book, with nature as the teacher. Kya, a six-year old girl, sadly abandoned by her family, and shunned by the townspeople, is forced to fend for herself and learn life’s lessons the hard way. At once heartbreaking in her isolation, it is triumphant in her will to survive. She embraces her environment, learning all she can of the marsh, the sea, the insects, the shells, the birds. Never boring, this book captivates the reader with poetry, beautiful prose and little known facts about the natural world of the marsh. A well-crafted mystery/love story with clues found throughout the book, that still had the power to end with a shock.
Great book with interesting characters and unpredictable events. Shows just what the human spirit can endure and how kindness can make such a difference in our lives. Showed how you should never judge a book by it’s cover and how you should not be so quick to judge those that are different and seen as “outsiders.”
Delia Owens, a wildlife scientist in Africa, has astounded the world with her first novel Where the Crawdads Sing. Set in the Outer Banks marshes of North Carolina in the 1950s and 1960s, we meet six year old Kya, who has been abandoned one by one as her mother and siblings escape a drunken, abusive, irresponsible, neglectful father and literally leave her to fend for herself, each deciding to heal their emotional turmoil and physical pain in some other place, leaving the baby of the family as someone else’s responsibility.
By the time she is ten years old, Kya’s father also just walks away without explanation, leaving Kya without money, resources or hope. An outcast living in isolation and shame, Kya draws on her inner strength to find ways to generate income so she can eat and buy gasoline for her little boat that is her lifeline to the rest of the world. The Marsh Girl, as she is derisively called, grows up to be a beautiful, self-educated woman, loved and abandoned by two very different men, leaving emotional scars never to be healed, and embroiling her in scandal that haunts her for a lifetime. The ending of this book might surprise you, but then again, maybe not. Any reader understanding Kya’s innate intelligence and inner turmoil would never expect anything different from her.
Being an industrious, resourceful child, Kya generates income by selling mussels and smoked fish which enables her to subsist mostly on grits and whatever root vegetables she can grow in her marshy garden. Tate, a kind neighbor boy, teaches Kya to read, brings her books, and quietly looks after her from afar as they grow into adulthood. Kya is also befriended by Jumpin’ and his wife Mabel, an African-American couple in the rural south, who unobtrusively help and protect the proud and independent Kya. Kya’s accomplishments surpass all expectations. Living in the modern world is not an option. Kya’s beloved marsh offers a place of comfort and safety and a pathway to critical acclaim.
This book is filled with beautiful sensory images, metaphors, and similes.
Some examples:
*A floating mat of duckweed colored the water as green as the leafy ceiling, creating an emerald tunnel.
*Suddenly the ocean’s face—gray, stern, pulsing—frowned at her.
*Egrets took flight, a line of white flags against the mounting gray clouds.
*…Kya eased alone through the sea toward the village, the sky in a frumpy sweater of gray clouds.
*As evening fell, she took her blanket and slept in the marsh, close to a gully full of moon and mussels, and had two tow bags filled by dawn. Gas money.
Where do the crawdads sing? “Just means far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.” The author emphasizes the differences between marsh and swamp. Its symbolism extends to Kia’s life journey. Keep this in mind while you enjoy the book.
Real characters.
Too much description, had to skim over much of the details about the marsh & birds to get to the action. Read for book club & appreciated it a little more after hearing their discussion but cannot recommend to family or friends.
I cheated using an audio version, but loved the setting, the vivid descriptions and the characters. The story unfolds over the course of a young girls’ life—her losses and loves. She becomes one with her surroundings and overcomes the tragic circumstances of her childhood.
One of my favorites of the year! I couldn’t put it down. A great story, well researched and well written. You will fall in love (and hate) with the characters.
Beautiful writing and a captivating story line!
This is one of the best books I have read. The characters were engrossing go read about. The depiction of the natural world was breathtakingly beautiful. I was sorry to have it end.
Am I the only one in the world who did care for this book? I wanted to like it. I have a few chapters left and I’m forcing myself to finish it (although I gave me self permission years ago to put a book down that I wasn’t enjoying). I don’t find the characters believable at all. I don’t think this girl would have been alone, raising herself, first of all, let alone be a brilliant, clean/attractive to have two men fall in love with her and not be able to coax her to the real world. Give me a break. Just not buying it. I could go on, but this alone will probably get some responses. It’s just “meh” not that great of a story or writing. And to compare her to Kingsolver? Not near the talent of writing (unless you count Kingsolver’s last book, which I couldn’t finish either.
Great characters. Wonderful descriptions of the swamplands and surrounding area. Heartfelt plot development.
Beautifully written. One of my all-time favorite novels.