‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ is one of those books that completely draws you in its simplistic world, through its beautiful writing and intricately woven descriptions of everything! A book that explores all aspects of loneliness, family, love and loss. Set in 50s and 60s, in a small town in North Carolina, where the Clark family lives in the Marsh near the town, away from the bustling town and its people.
Always known as ‘The Marsh Girl,' Kya is abandoned by her entire family, her mother, her siblings; left behind with her drunken father and the house to take care of and eventually her father walked out on her too, leaving her behind in the Marsh to fend for herself at just 7 years of age. The town has never accepted this dirty ragged child, who walked the town once in a week to buy groceries. She left school one day because no one wanted the marsh girl in their class and they made sure she knew that. All she ever wanted to learn was what came after the number 29.
Over the years, Kya embraced her surroundings with arms wide open. Her family were now the Gulls and the crabs on the beach. With the fireflies flickering their lights through the night. She had mapped the whole land by foot and knew her way around every hidden curve. Even though she didn't get a formal education, she was smart enough to make the bare minimum and provide for herself. She befriended an old Black couple in town, who helped her with her daily necessities and watched over her through the years.
“She knew the years of isolation had altered her behaviour until she was different from others, but it wasn't her fault she'd been alone. Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
Kya’s collection of insects, leaves, shells, feathers only grew with her. She knew all the birds that came around and everything about them. Her home walls had become a small museum of the marsh itself. Kya could easily outsmart anyone stepping foot on her land, the only home she had ever known.
At 15, she meets Tate, a coy town boy often seen boating around her house. They become friends and bond over their love for nature and everything in it. He teaches her how to read through his science books and novels. They spent time exploring the depths of the marsh. With Tate around, Kya could feel a little less alone, glad to have connected with another person after living all these years in loneliness.
Kya’s life quickly takes a turn when the town’s favourite athlete, Chase Andrews is found dead and everyone has their fingers pointing at only one person, the marsh girl. Adding the element of a murder mystery to this already unique story was done so amazingly and with such ease, the whole plot fit right in.
Though a slow start, it picks up the pace quickly and I was soon engrossed in the book, enough to breeze through the second part. The vastness of the marsh and its dwellings really shows you how lonely a person can be, living in the middle of this. Kya’s journey is so heartbreaking yet you feel a sense of feminine pride with how she has conducted her life with resilience, dealing with abandonment, loneliness and fear. This novel was not what I had expected, very different from my usual picks, which is what made me fall in love with this story even more.
This book will leave you with a teary eyed smile and a heavy heart.
“He stopped under the deep canopy and watched hundreds of fireflies beckoning far into the dark reaches of the marsh. Way out yonder, where the crawdads sing.”