Where the Crawdads Sing

“Where The Crawdads Sing” begins with a deep jolt straight to the heart. A disgruntled family living near a marsh abandons each other, leaving only a father and his young daughter in a dilapidated cabin. The father chases his vices as the young one marvels at the joy of the outdoors and the wonderment of discovering birds and insects. When the father ups and leaves, Kya is left to fend for herself.

As the days pass, she meets a boy who teaches her how to read and encourages her to follow her interest in researching the critters that inhabit the marsh. Everything seems to be going great until someone dies and an investigation starts to unravel secrets in the small town.

“Time ensures children never know their parents young.”

I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It actually conjured up memories of my own upbringing. In a way, I understood what the main character was going through. Barkley Cove encapsulates everything about the harshness of a small town, right down to the proclivity to mistreat those who are outcasts. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Kya takes solace in those who are kind and understand her predicament, uses her knowledge of the area to help sustain her way of life, and ultimately unlocks the joy of learning to read.

“If anyone would understand loneliness, the moon would.”

There is quite a bit of pain, loneliness, and fear that surround Kya as she grows older and learns more about the world. Her research grounds her, but she still yearns for someone to share her life with. Something I think we can all relate to.

“Please don't talk to me about isolation. No one has to tell me how it changes a person. I have lived it. I am isolation.”

I'll say nothing more about the story, but I would like to talk a bit about the writing. Sure, it might meander a bit and gloss over pertinent character details, but what it does well is tell a great coming-of-age story. It covers most of the physical and biological touchstones in a primitive setting while providing vivid descriptions of the natural world.

The way the story ends is a keen fascination: We can guess where it might end up, but it takes guts to actually go through with it. Justification might be the way sinners are granted absolution, but in this fictional world, without spoiling anything, I think vindication reigns supreme.

❖ Category: literary fiction / mystery
❖ Rating: 4.5/5