Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing is a captivating amalgamation of a coming-of-age novel, love story, and murder mystery. This best-selling novel follows the life of Kya Clark, aka ‘the Marsh Girl’, as she grows up in North Carolina during the mid-1900s. Ostracized from the fictional community of Barkley Cove, Kya finds solace and solitude with the plants and animals of the marsh. Although not exactly a ‘page-turner’, Where the Crawdads Sing is full of vivid imagery, poetry, and character development that immerses you in the life of ‘the Marsh Girl’. Throughout this novel, Kya wrestles with identity, Othering, and place making as she grows up in the marsh.
As suggested by her nickname – the Marsh Girl – Kya is Othered by the residents of Barkley Cove. Children and adults alike will shy away from Kya when she visits town and talk about her as if she is an urban legend. Her identity as a lower-class woman living alone stirs up the misconceptions and prejudices that upper-class, educated individuals use to define Kya. This Othering impedes Kya’s ability to make meaningful relationships with the people in her community and pushes her to embrace isolation in the marsh — where she can live among the mollusks and crawdads without judgment. The marsh becomes Kya’s ‘place’, the foundational part of her identity that creates a sense of belonging and provides liberation from the Othering that she faces in the town. It is in embracing the marsh that ‘the Marsh Girl’ is able to fortify her concept of Self and subjugate the constructs that had ostracized her from her community.
However, the preconceived notions of ‘the Marsh Girl’ weigh heavily against Kya as she finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation surrounding the death of a beloved local, Chase Andrews. Will the community and jury use Kya’s position as Other to convict her of this crime, or will they finally embrace her as part of their community? As you read through the overlaid timelines of Kya’s life growing up and her time on trial, you will find the recurring themes of identity, Othering, and place that make Kya such a dynamic character.
Where the Crawdads Sing is a ‘must-read’ that has remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for over two years and has been recommended by Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. The movie adaptation of Delia Owens’ first novel is also expected to begin production later this year with an unknown release date. Whether you choose to read or view Where the Crawdads Sing, the life and experiences of ‘the Marsh Girl’ will make you think about how our identities tie into our relationships with others and our ability to obtain justice.