Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I finished reading Where The Crawdads Sing last night. I must say that it is one of the most enjoyable books I have read for ages. I can see why it is a best seller and I am sure when it is filmed it will be a huge box office success as well. I am grateful to the Facebook friend who recommended it. It is an addictive read. You must keep going to see what happens next, right up to the sad conclusion and when you think the story is over, there is one final discovery, when the truth is revealed. Having said all that, I do have one or two reservations about this book. I had never heard of the author Delia Owens before, so I looked her up on Wikipedia. She is an American zoologist who worked in the African countries of Botswana and Zambia with her former husband Mark Owens on conservation projects. Their time there was very controversial, and they were criticised for their methods of dealing with poachers and their archaic view of Africans, which she denies. This is her first novel, published at the age of seventy, although she previously published memoirs of their time in Africa.

The plot of the story is very clever because it is a murder mystery story as well as a romantic coming of age tale and an observation on the beauty of nature, so it will appeal to followers of many genres of writing. It begins in 1969 with the discovery of the body of a local football hero Chase Andrews. Then it goes back to 1952 when the protagonist Kya aged six is abandoned by her mother, then her brothers and sisters, and finally by her drunken abusive father. The story travels forward in time as the feral Kya grows up alone in a shack in the swamplands on the coast of North Carolina. She is shunned by the people of nearby Barkley Cove who refer to her as The marsh girl. The book shows the snobbery and hypocrisy of a small town which has lots of churches, but no real Christianity. Kya’s only friends are a black couple Jumpin’ and Mabel. Although you can’t help liking these characters, I think their portrayal is quite patronising, like racial stereotypes. especially big fat Mabel with her ample bosom. Black people are always being portrayed like this.  It is almost as if the author is trying too hard to show that she is not racist. ‘Methinks she doth protest too much’, as Shakespeare once said.

Kya has two love affairs, firstly with Tate Walker who teaches her to read. He goes off to college and doesn’t return as promised. Secondly, with Chase Andrews who proves to be a complete scoundrel. Kya gives up on romance and finds inspiration in the flora and fauna of the coastline. She studies the mating habits of such creatures as the damselfly and the Praying Mantis and how the female treats the male. To reach conclusions about human behaviour from insects seems a bit far fetched to me. I think we are a bit more complicated than that. I found this book quite educational though. As well as learning a bit about nature, for instance I found out what palmettos are. It is a type of swamp cabbage, also grits, and I learned about writers such as Galway Kinnell and Aldo Leopold and singers like Miliza Korjus.

The two threads of the story finally converge in 1970 at the local courthouse. I will not tell you anymore in case you read it yourself. I think you should because you will enjoy it immensely. We are not talking Charles Dickens here, I do not think it is a classic novel, but it is a gripping read which builds to a very emotional conclusion. Also, it deals with subjects relevant to the world today, such as the importance of caring for the planet. One thing that encourages me is the fact that Delia Owens brought out a best-selling novel at the age of 70 which shows that it is never too late for anyone to achieve their ambitions in life.