Where the Crawdads Sing
2018
- solitude
- fiction
- fiction, coming of age
- fiction, mystery & detective, historical
- north carolina, fiction
- nyt:hardcover-fiction=2018-09-23
- abandoned children
- man-woman relationships
- investigation
- young women
The story
For 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. Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, 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.
What it’s like
Lush, patient nature writing in close third person, full of tidal mud, heron wings, cordgrass, and the salt-sharp smell of a North Carolina marsh in every season. The prose is observant and unhurried, moving between the lyrical and the plainspoken, with long passages about tides, feathers, and mussel shells that read like a field naturalist's notebook. The overall vibe is wistful, solitary, and quietly suspenseful, best suited to a rainy weekend, a long train ride, or an evening alone with a cup of tea. The pace is leisurely for most of its length, then tightens into a courtroom-style mystery in its later sections. Emotionally it follows a neglected young woman learning to trust, love, and be let down, so the register is tender and often melancholy. Intensity is moderate: childhood abandonment and a father's cruelty are described with some heaviness, there is an intimate relationship with non-graphic sexual content, and a death and its aftermath drive the mystery, but there is no gore and the violence stays mostly offstage. For readers who love slow, atmospheric literary fiction, nature as a character, and a coming-of-age story with a whodunit undercurrent.
More books like Where the Crawdads Sing
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Where the Crawdads Singand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
