Where the Crawdads Sing: Reese's Book Club
A #1 New York Times Best Seller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
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Readers say *Where the Crawdads Sing* by Delia Owens enthralls with vivid, immersive descriptions of marshland and a deeply emotional, human story of ...
CW: Racism, domestic/child a*use, and r*pe.
Uh oh… I may get heat for this… But, I kinda hated this book. I’m sad about it. But I truly, truly hated it.
I wasn’t a big fan of the writing style, which I hoped I could suck it up and push through because I wanted to believe all the hype and reciprocate all love this book gets regularly. The story/writing felt like it was going through some sort of identity crisis and didn’t know what kind of book it wanted to be which I think also added to my initial dislike. None of the characters did anything for me except frustrate me or annoy the hell out of me; everyone felt only half fleshed out and not complete/round characters.
I wanted more of the true crime part of this story that the summary somewhat promised me and the only reason I’m not giving Where the Crawdads Sing less is because the last like 50-75 pages picked up and built up to what the kind of story that I was WANTING to read for the entirety of the damn book. The story was slow, boring, repetitive and a lot of it was just… unnecessary for me. It felt like I was reading one of those “Award-Winning-But-Vastly-Boring-and-Self-Important” kind of books written decades prior that I was assigned to read in my high school honors English classes and I also hate that. Ironic, as I teach Language Arts as a day job.
So, for many reasons, Where the Crawdads Sing really didn’t do anything for me except vastly disappoint and bore tf outta me. Whelp. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Uh oh… I may get heat for this… But, I kinda hated this book. I’m sad about it. But I truly, truly hated it.
I wasn’t a big fan of the writing style, which I hoped I could suck it up and push through because I wanted to believe all the hype and reciprocate all love this book gets regularly. The story/writing felt like it was going through some sort of identity crisis and didn’t know what kind of book it wanted to be which I think also added to my initial dislike. None of the characters did anything for me except frustrate me or annoy the hell out of me; everyone felt only half fleshed out and not complete/round characters.
I wanted more of the true crime part of this story that the summary somewhat promised me and the only reason I’m not giving Where the Crawdads Sing less is because the last like 50-75 pages picked up and built up to what the kind of story that I was WANTING to read for the entirety of the damn book. The story was slow, boring, repetitive and a lot of it was just… unnecessary for me. It felt like I was reading one of those “Award-Winning-But-Vastly-Boring-and-Self-Important” kind of books written decades prior that I was assigned to read in my high school honors English classes and I also hate that. Ironic, as I teach Language Arts as a day job.
So, for many reasons, Where the Crawdads Sing really didn’t do anything for me except vastly disappoint and bore tf outta me. Whelp. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Delia Owens depicts Kya & the marsh so vividly — the imagery flows easily through your mind, making this book a joy to read. I loved picking my way through this novel, even after I’d watched the movie & knew what the ending would be.
I made the mistake of listening to this book on audio, and I just could not enjoy the narrator’s voice, but after picking up the book, I did enjoy the story more.
thenextgoodbook.com
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
368 pages
What’s it about?
Six-year-old Kya lives in a isolated marsh off the coast of North Carolina. It is 1951 and her family slowly disintegrates. Remarkably she manages to eek out a lonely existence in an old shack in the marsh by herself. She is called "the marsh girl" and most of the people in town think of her as "white trash" She slowly learns to avoid people. This is Kya's story.
What did it make me think about?
I thought Kya's situation was sad and then I was quickly drawn into the plot.
Should I read it?
So this book received so many great reviews and I have been looking forward to reading it for so long. It is part mystery, part love story, part a nature book, and part a survival story. While I thought it was a good book with a good plot- I did not love it like some readers did. Maybe my expectations were just too high. It is well worth reading but this book did not knock me off my feet....
Quote-
" Just like their whiskey, the marsh dwellers bootlegged their won laws- not like those burned onto stone tablets or inscribed on documents, but deeper ones, stamped in their genes. Ancient and natural, like those hatched from hawks and doves. When cornered, desperate, or isolated, man reverts to those instincts that aim straight at survival. Quick and just. They will always be the trump cards because they are passed on more frequently from one generation to the next that the gentler genes. It is not a morality, but simple math. Among themselves doves fight as often as hawks."
If you like this try-
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
368 pages
What’s it about?
Six-year-old Kya lives in a isolated marsh off the coast of North Carolina. It is 1951 and her family slowly disintegrates. Remarkably she manages to eek out a lonely existence in an old shack in the marsh by herself. She is called "the marsh girl" and most of the people in town think of her as "white trash" She slowly learns to avoid people. This is Kya's story.
What did it make me think about?
I thought Kya's situation was sad and then I was quickly drawn into the plot.
Should I read it?
So this book received so many great reviews and I have been looking forward to reading it for so long. It is part mystery, part love story, part a nature book, and part a survival story. While I thought it was a good book with a good plot- I did not love it like some readers did. Maybe my expectations were just too high. It is well worth reading but this book did not knock me off my feet....
Quote-
" Just like their whiskey, the marsh dwellers bootlegged their won laws- not like those burned onto stone tablets or inscribed on documents, but deeper ones, stamped in their genes. Ancient and natural, like those hatched from hawks and doves. When cornered, desperate, or isolated, man reverts to those instincts that aim straight at survival. Quick and just. They will always be the trump cards because they are passed on more frequently from one generation to the next that the gentler genes. It is not a morality, but simple math. Among themselves doves fight as often as hawks."
If you like this try-
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
I loved this book! I watched movie some years ago, but the book was much better. Initially, I thought it would be solely a story of romance but, there were some twists and turns that made the book so much more than just a typical love story. I love the theme of resilience and having the courage to be yourself and do the things you love regardless of what society thinks. Definitely a highly recommended read!
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