August 2024 Group Read (spoiler thread): Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Spoiler thread for Where the Crawdads Sing.

[Judy]

I read this book ages ago. While this isn't technically a spoiler review, it could be perceived that way. I gave it 3 stars.

Here's my review:

I realize I'm going a bit against the grain here with a 3-star (I liked it) rating. I've had many people tell me how much they loved this book, best they've read this year/ever/etc.
Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy it, and the author paints a vividly realistic picture of the marsh. But the plot is thin, the characters cliched, the dialects exaggerated (especially with the black characters of Jumpin' and Mabel), the structure messy, and the ending, while a nice twist, didn't ring true. And for me to take 2 weeks to read a book is very rare. In other words, it's not a page turner.
Now, it could be that I expected so much more because of the hype. Whatever the reason, I mark this as "good, not great."

[Tasha]

I really liked this book and it is one that I feel everyone should read, but... it was slow and although it is a "mystery", I didnt feel that much of the suspense of the unknown that I typically get. I felt that this was more of a love story, coming of age, and finding ones self. If I am looking at it in that light, beautifully written,. I picked this up thinking that it was a murder mystery and that I was going to be on the edge my seat the entire time which was not the case. The movie does not do this book justice but the author herself has a very interesting background- another reason I picked this up. =]

[Marja]

Ray wrote: "I really liked this book and it is one that I feel everyone should read, but... it was slow and although it is a "mystery", I didnt feel that much of the suspense of the unknown that I typically ge..."

I'd never heard of this book. However, I recently watched the movie, and I loved it. I think I want to read the book, too, although it sounds like the movie was better. Hmm.

[DreamReader702]

I absolutely loved this book. I didn’t think I was going to like it anywhere near as much as I did. I just wish I hadn’t seen the movie before reading it. Those last few pages would have had me wide eyed if I didn’t know what was coming.

[Linda]

I started listening yesterday. I also loved it at my first read.

[Franky]

I tend to be wary of very hyped up books and have heard so much about this book for several years now, but I ended up really liking it. Does it have some flaws? Sure. But I was definitely hooked and looked at it more through the lens of coming of age, romance, maybe more so than a mystery, although it is a mystery as well. I just flew through this one and read the last 100 pages or so in one sitting just to find out what happens after the court scenes with Kya and Tate. I love how the marsh itself becomes a character as well and the nature descriptions and how the author writes about the theme of isolation. I also liked how Jumpin' and his wife and their relationship with Kya and how they were like parents to her. At points it definitely had some To Kill a Mockingbird vibes to it. Enjoyable read for me. 4 stars.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Although I enjoyed the writing, it seemed literary quality, I think as others do it was more of a character study, a coming of age novel. I felt the murder was not so much about Chase, but it was how Kya’s personality was murdered.