Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre: Historical Fiction, 4 Stars, 

People who should read this: People who love literary fiction, the south, nature, and coming of age stories. 

“His dad had told him many times that the definition of a real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what’s necessary to defend a woman.”

WHYYYYYYY…..?

*Rips hair out and stares into the distance.*

Fine… I’m being a little dramatic, but the fatal blow was dealt. I was never going to like this book as much as I wanted to. 

Like many books before it, including Circe, Where the Crawdads Sing did the one act that will pull me out of the story in the blink of an eye. With fancy words to hide the crime, there was too much telling instead of showing. Readers were told how Kya felt. We were told over and over how beautiful the marsh was, but never once were we given the chance to fall into the story and live in the finer details. Owens put up a wall and I was never going to make it over. 

And clearly there’s a large group of readers that enjoy this style of writing - look at the reviews for both Circe and Where the Crawdads Sing. But don’t be ashamed if you can’t love it like the rest. How this overly flowy style with constant telling became the form of literary fiction, I’ll never know. It’s become a form of shame for both readers and writers. I’m sorry if I want to spend my reading time absorbed in the world a writer worked so hard to craft. I’m sorry for wanting to know what it felt like to hold the feather in your hand rather than just being told it was picked up and stored with the others.

“She laughed for his sake, something she’d never done. Giving away another piece of herself just to have someone else.

Ok…. rant over. Now to all the good points, because I still really enjoyed the book.

*Gasp*

Did you not see the four star rating above?

Where Owens fell short, she made up in other areas. First, she tried to make the story a little more interesting by adding in a murder. Perfectly timed with the speed of the reveals, the murder added in a layer of suspense that kept me wanting more. I even enjoyed the courtroom scenes in the second half - they were so suspenseful and never dragged the story down. 

Second, a big one for me, I never wanted to shout at the characters. Well… maybe once or twice, but that’s pretty small compared to some books. The characters did what you wanted them to do. There were no cringing moments when you knew the choice they were about to make was the wrong one, all done for the sake of the plot. Owen was even kind with her ending. She didn’t use shock as a way to speed the plot along or to make the reader feel something. Everything that happened felt purposeful. All amazing points that made the telling factor a little less painful. 

“If anyone would understand loneliness, the moon would.” 

Third, even though the book feels like a whopper, everything was important. It all helped to shape Kya. The speed was perfect. Owen didn’t fall into the trap of making the beginning so long that the ending had to be rushed through. Take the courtroom for example - she took the time to show the finer details and arguments instead of just spending a few lines to state the verdict and Kya’s reaction. Looking back through it, I’m actually impressed. My heart was at peace with it. I was content when the last word was read. 

I really appreciate the book for what it was. I appreciate that Owens took a leap and combined two great genres into a well crafted plot. I appreciate that she created amazing characters that acted as real people would. She created Kya with great attention to detail. And Owen’s gave me a trip back home. I miss the south, the loud nights, the lightning storms, and Owens gave me all of that in her work. 

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 68/100