An Unforgettable Tune

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It is one thing to be an internationally acclaimed wildlife scientist, awarded for non-fiction books on nature, and quite another to be a masterful storyteller. Delia Owens is both, as 'Where the Crawdads Sing' evinces beautifully. It is a novel that I raced through, from the first page to the last, sucked in and swept along by the effortless, galloping prose, which of course is not effortless at all, only genius enough to appear so.

The bedrock of this novel - the aspect of the writing that grabs you and roots the story from the get-go - is the dizzying detail with which Owens describes the marshy coast of North Carolina where her central characters live, eking out a living amidst an eco-system of plants and creatures that has no need of humans. This is Owens the scientist shining through, crucially not 'showing off' her knowledge, but embedding it into her remarkable story - 'using' it not just as a background, but as a character in itself. The central figure in the novel, through whose eyes we learn about this extraordinary, half-submerged world, is little Kya the 'Marsh Girl', born into a troubled family and forced to make her own way from the age of six. She has to become adept at navigating her harsh, wild, watery surroundings in order to survive, but at every step of the way she learns how to love and respect it too, converting us as she goes.

Set in this rich context, the plot of 'Crawdads' takes off like a rocket, leaving you clinging on until the end. For, as Kya learns, the community beyond the marshes is far more threatening to her than the wildness in which she has to learn to thrive; and yet she needs it too, if she is to find any sort of companionship beyond her own wits and imagination. For, like all humans, Kya longs not to be entirely alone, to be loved. With every interaction however, Kya runs the risk of mocking prejudice for being the 'Marsh Girl', often inviting the wrong sort of attention, from men like the greedy, spoilt Chase Andrews, on the hunt for entertainment with words as smooth as his looks.

When Chase Andrews is found dead, it is only a question of time before the finger of blame swings Kya's way, turbo-charging the already compelling story with the pace of a thriller. There is a case to solve and Owens tackles it with the forensic attention of the scientist she is. Every angle is examined, every possibility scoured, and yet nothing turns out quite the way the characters - or the reader - expects. We are left guessing almost until the final line.

No wonder 'Where the Crawdads Sing' is a bestseller. Suspense, heartache, a natural world that sings (the title is spot on), a plot of ingenious contortions, a love story - this novel has everything! I finished it many days ago now and it is still with me, humming its lovely, unforgettable tune at the back of my head.



View all my reviews