Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

 Hasn't everyone read this already?! I feel like they have...

Set in the mid 20th Century, Kya is still a young child when her mother walks out of the family home and never looks back, shortly followed by her siblings. Left alone with her often violent father, Kya takes comfort in the North Carolina marsh and the animals and birds that inhabit it. When her father also finally leaves, Kya must fend for herself, learning to live off the land and build a life for herself amidst the stares and mutters of the local townspeople who see her as 'dirty' and 'marsh trash'.

I really thought this book was stunning. The descriptions of the marsh landscape, with all its sights, sounds, smells and textures were so rich and evocative, it's almost as though I was there.  Kya's personality and the way she is treated spoke volumes about the way we see and treat difference and otherness. She is introverted and intelligent, learning from the landscape around her and possessing a quiet confidence that she doesn't need to go to school or conform to what is expected of her - because she knows and feels that she is enough.  Here is a character who has never asked for anything from anybody, except to be accepted for who she is, or to be left alone. And yet loneliness is a theme that permeates every aspect of this novel; it is a raw, unyielding feeling that eats away at Kya's existence.

The novel shows clearly the cycles and knock on effects of abandonment and domestic violence. Kya learns early on in life that there is no other human being on earth that she can rely on, nobody that she can trust to not leave her behind. As a result, the marsh itself becomes her mother - she says she is 'born of' the marsh - and a character in its own right, a living and breathing entity that envelopes Kya and protects her when she needs it the most.

Without giving too much away, it is Kya's knowledge of and deep connection with the natural world around her that ultimately saves her from her would-be fate. The book carries such a powerful message, particularly relevant in today's climate of consumerism and waste, that the earth beneath our feet can sustain us and provide us with all that we need. It also teaches us that the most important opinion of us is the opinion that we have of ourselves; Kya knows what people say about her and yet deep down it never truly affects her own sense of self-worth.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone! Part murder mystery, part coming of age novel, it's a really touching story that will stay with me for a long time.