We’re back with the first book club of 2020 and the decade! This month I wanted to take it back to a book that was released in 2018 and is a must-read if you haven’t already – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen. I didn’t get a chance to read this last year so I ordered it over the Christmas break to kick start my reading for 2020 and it was worth the wait! 

Delia Owens

Delia Owens is an American zoologist and has taken inspiration from her work to write her debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing. She has previously co-authored 3 internationally bestselling books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa and her work has been published in many journals. This experience shines through in her first novel with such flair.

Where the Crawdads Sing 

Where the Crawdads Sing topped The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 for a number of weeks and has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. If that’s not an indication of a great book then I don’t know what is! 

Where the Crawdads Sing is set in Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast and is centred around the main character Kya Clark, known as the ‘marsh girl’ by the locals. She’s young, has had a tough upbringing and when her mother and siblings leave her in search of a better life she is pretty much left to fend for herself, with very little money and an almost non-existent relationship with her father (who is barely home). When Chase Andrews is found dead in the marsh, the locals suspect poor Kya.

Painfully beautiful… At once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature 

New York Times Book Review 

I love the way Delia has written this book, switching between the 1950s when Kya is only a young girl trying to find a way to survive and 1969 when the suspected murder takes place. You come to understand more about Kya’s upbringing and family whilst being taken on a ride with the locals trying to solve the murder and the two come together in a very clever way. 

This novel is beautifully descriptive and takes into account nature as much as the characters and action within the story. And can we just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover design.

If you have read this already I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book in the comments below, and if not then please please add this to your reading list! 

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