Where the Crawdads Sing Audio CD – Unabridged, April 30, 2019

What I liked most about this book is the depictions of believably real (though fictional) characters challenged by real-life issues, with the characters' basic motivations well described and integrated into a story of how the characters succeed or fail against their challenges, and why. I believe the philosophical term for literature of this kind is "metaphysical values."(I haven't seen the movie so far but probably will see it eventually. Meanwhile, the various trailers that I've seen seem to indicate that the novel's main spirit may have been badly mangled in the movie, possibly to emphasize issues such as racial prejudice and other forms of bias against those who are "different," and other contemporary concerns. From various critical reviews on this website, it also appears that the story itself may have greatly misrepresented what North Carolina was actually like in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. But I don't see geographical or historical accuracy as necessarily essential to a fictional story concretizing important metaphysical values.)At the end of the novel, in the Q&A with the author (pp. 376-377), there is a very concise description of what the book is about. The story follows the life of a young girl named "Kya" living mostly alone in fictional marshlands in North Carolina from age 6 to her death from natural causes (unexpected heart failure) at age 64. It's a story of how she survives with minimal help from anyone else. A child of 6 wouldn't have been able to survive alone for long without significant knowledge and experience gained from interaction with other humans, and she did receive minimal interaction with her mother, brother, father, brother's friend Tate (later Kya's first lover and eventual husband after a fateful 2nd love with Chase Andrews), and a married (black) couple in the nearby fictional town of Barkley Cove. Tate and Chase both disappoint Kya deeply, Chase so strongly that Kya becomes the prime suspect when Chase is found dead, apparently murdered. (Chase lied to her about potentially marrying her, and he even tried to rape her, causing her to fear that Chase would keep trying again and again by force.) Before Tate leaves her while he goes to college, she learns to read with Tate's help. He also gives her many old books to read, mostly on life science. She apparently never receives access to any books in literature, history, philosophy, or other general humanities subjects. She remains forever shy and defensive toward most other people despite becoming highly adept at studying the wild animals and plants in the marsh, writing books of her own on her observations, becoming successful as a published author, and painting vivid sketches of what she observed. Along the way, she also learns to count beyond 29 and to count money and make change, again with help from Tate and others.At her trial for the murder of Chase, the prosecution presents serious evidence against her, but the evidence isn't quite strong enough to obtain a guilty verdict from the jury (beyond reasonable doubt). She has an especially good alibi, although it has weaknesses that leave room to doubt her innocence. Since there are also reasonable doubts about her guilt, the jury verdict is "not guilty." One key piece of evidence, a "shell necklace," remains missing until the very last page of the story, shortly after Kya's death, when Tate (whom she had married by then) finds it. For those who want to be surprised, I won't say more about the details of the ending. Kya certainly would have had to be incredibly resourceful and daring, perhaps far larger than real life, to have been able to construct such a convincing alibi, if she actually was the murderer. The symbolic parallel to the mating rituals of fireflies provides a strong hint about Kya's mental state.The events of the story are mainly just the backdrop. The story's main focus is on how Kya felt and how she learned so much about nature and life sciences from her own direct observations and from books that she read, without ever attending school at any level for more than one deeply unpleasant day at age 6. Despite how little she learned about humanities subjects and how to deal with other people, the story depicts her as focused on the reality that she was exposed to, and on how she used her natural intellectual capacity to make sense of it as best she could. She certainly functioned on a reality-is-real premise, though without explicitly identifying that premise or comprehending its higher implications for human living; she also felt her emotions without any explicit appeal to any greater mysticism or other-worldly perspective. (Kya shows no superstitiousness or religious worship of natural phenomena.) But the story doesn't attempt to delve further than that into issues of values, why man needs them, and how best to choose and pursue one's values. With access to books, Kya surely would have had the opportunity to do such deeper reading in real life, even if she remained otherwise isolated from most other people throughout her life. She had Tate, along with the two adult townspeople, her publisher, and to some extent her brother Jodie -- all of whom provided emotional support to her during her trial. She is a heroine of sorts, though a severely stunted and crippled one, especially emotionally toward others.The author describes the story as "primarily about self-reliance, survival and how isolation affects human behavior. Since our species is a social mammal, we have strong genetic tendencies to belong to a group of tightly bonded family and friends." (P. 376.) What "genetic tendencies" does this refer to? How much personal choice do humans have? Man has a non-automatic rational faculty on which he needs to depend for his survival. But he also needs a lot of help from others, especially family, along the way as he proceeds from the stage of a newborn infant to adult life. Without such help in childhood, the stunted growth that may hinder a child's development and readiness for adult living should not be surprising. A more heroic kind of story might explore more fully how much more a person can learn about life from books, and how events might unfold as such a person strives to apply such learnings in practice. Kya certainly makes a valiant and largely successful effort, which, for me, makes Crawdads excellent as far as it goes.

Wow! Oh my gosh! What a stunning storyline! This story is about a girl named Kya and her life growing up poor and basically uneducated in the Deep South marshes in the sixties. She lives in a shack with her family- her father is an abusive drunk who drives her mother and siblings away and then eventually leaves himself leaving Kya alone to raise herself at a very young age, like 10 or 12 -ish. She has very little schooling and what she does know she teaches herself, until her friend Tate who does go to school starts bringing her books and starts teaching her himself. Anyway, it chronicles her life growing up and is very dramatic and reaches a critical point after a local rich boy in town gets murdered and the town blames the “marsh girl” for it. This is really a book you have to read and experience because it just sucks you in and you get caught up in this girls life and drama! It’s surreal that she lived this way! I really loved this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens follows the story of a little girl abandoned by her family and forced to survive alone in the North Carolina marsh during the 1960’s. Growing up in abject poverty, reminiscent of Jeannette Walls’ autographical The Glass Castle, Kya manages not only to survive but to thrive, only to be later accused and tried for murder. The book is tender and beautifully written, with a powerful and authentic voice. It’s not a page turner, however, boring at times, but the characters stay with you. I struggled with the ending, which is why I didn’t give this book five stars. Overall, it’s a solid book.This isn’t my usual read. I selected it because it’s a runaway best seller. In fact, it’s one of the best selling books of all time. After reading it, I’m baffled as to why this book has sold over eighteen million copies and counting. There’s nothing extraordinary about it. I suspect the controversy surrounding the author might have something to do with it.

Where the Crawdad Sings was the debut novel of a non fiction writer who is a learned zoologist, Delia Owens. Miss Owens has an esoteric beautiful way of writing that feels like a fantasy governed by the wild marshes where the heroine, Kyra Clark, the Marsh girl lives. If a book can be sorrowful yet uplifting this book does it with grace and much poetry that fills the pages. Kyra was abandoned as a child by her family and is quick witted enough to live alone and survive with very little help. A black couple help her and she has a teenage romance with a young man . But when he leaves her too, she’s drawn to a wealthy man, good with words and seductive ways, and what follows brings more heartache for Kyra. The descriptions of nature were beautiful beyond belief and this writer has a gift that made Crawdads unique in every way possible. I don’t believe Kyra would have survived her hellish childhood and eventually become an author of nature books if this had been real life. The fantasy the author weaves is spellbinding and I was trapped in it like a fly in a spider web. There was a court trial where Kyra fears she will lose her freedom and her life. The books ending for me was a shock and I felt the author put great thought into it. Snow geese and wildlife are as important to the book as the well drawn out characters. Kyra does have some people who truly care about her and she goes through life as the Marsh Girl, which fits her heart and soul.

I don’t generally read fiction and I always avoid books that get so much attention but this read was spectacular. Felt a little like To Kill A Mockingbird in some respects.The author writes so beautifully, you can close your eyes and see the scene. What a read! If you are thinking there’s been too much hype, read it anyway. My second most favourite read ever behind To Kill A Mockingbird. Grateful that I finally picked it up.

Een heel mooi verhaal maar ik had eerst de film gezien dus had ik die mooie plaatjes ook al in mijn hoofd

Kya, a 6-year-old girl abandoned, first by her mother, then her brothers, and finally, her father, continued to live alone in the marshlands and grew up without friends or an education until she met Tate, a handsome young man who taught her to read and write, but when he left to study biology and did not return on a date he promised he would, she felt as if he too had abandoned her like her family did. She then fell for the charms of Chase, the local cad – handsome and wealthy, but a cad nonetheless. He took sexual advantage of Kya. Then he tried to control her, and when he failed, he became violent. One day he was found dead, apparently from falling off a disused watchtower in the swamps (‘Marsh is not swamp’, Owens writes in the opening line). Was it an accident or was he killed? If he was killed, was Kya the murderer? This book has two time lines, skilfully and seamlessly interwoven, one tells the story of Kya growing up and the other of Chase’s death and Kya’s trial. This book has sold more than 18 million copies. Naturally, a movie by the same name was made, starring Daisy Edgar Jones as the adult Kya, and Jojo Regina as the young Kya. Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson performed as Tate and Chase respectively. Two other characters to watch out for in the movie are Tom Milton (Strathairn), Kya’s lawyer, and Jumpin (Macer Jr) who plays the general store owner who helps Kya with provisions and comfort over the years. Which to choose – the novel or the movie? I would recommend both. The movie follows largely the events described in the book – right down to the script. However, how Kya transformed herself from an illiterate to a writer and illustrator of nature books is not well explained in the movie. The book is better at this. But the most important is how the story ends. The movie has a more dramatic ending. Listen to the last words of Kya in the ending. The real question is, should one read the book first or watch the movie first? Many would think that the books should be first, but I did the reverse, and was not disappointed. It is how good this book – and the movie are.

Why do u have to put a huge sticker at the back of book?! Unremovable as it is the type that will leave behind sticky and unsightly remnants.

Throughout this book you are there, you feel the wind, the sea, you hear the birds, and then the story is gripping, tearing at your soul and with thankfully a happy end

Excellent writing. I could not put the book down and I haven’t finished a book in 3 years.