Where the Crawdads Sing

Owens' Debut hat viel Poesie, auch Romantik, aber ich fand verschiedentlich, dass Effekthascherei in den Vordergrund rückt. Kya, die Hauptfigur, ist größtenteils stimmig, aber in der Szene, in der sie sich die Besitzurkunde für ihr Grundstück holt, passte nicht zu ihren sonstigen Verhaltensmustern. Den Wunsch der Autorin, die Geschichte von Kyas Eltern unterzubringen, kann ich nachvollziehen, aber erzählerisch fiel es aus der Reihe - die einzigen Abschnitte im Buch, die von einer personalen Erzählperspektive ins Auktoriale wechseln. Andere Aspekte - die zeitlichen Sprünge zwischen dem mutmaßlichen Mord und der Vorgeschichte - fand ich gut gehandhabt. Das Ende hat mich nicht sonderlich berührt.

This isn't the type of book I would normally read. My book club selected it. I almost abandoned it at several points early on. It finally engaged me slightly about a third of the way in. It's very well written. I admired that the entire time I was reading it. But it was SLOW!

The book tells the story of Kya, the "Marsh Girl". Her family lives in a shack in a North Carolina marsh. At age 6, her mother and most of her family abandon her. By age 7, her father abandons her too. The book follows her as she fends for herself and grows to adulthood. There are some relationships along the way, if you like that sort of thing. There's even an incident that may or may not be a crime. The latter part of the book revolves around that.

Overall, I don't regret reading it. I would have much preferred spending that time with a different book.

When I first saw the title of this book, I knew I had to read it. What a great title! I don't know why it's taken me so long to get to reading it, but: what a great book. The imagery alone makes the book worth reading, and the synergy between story and nature is captivating. Imagine a setting that defies description, and Owens describes it. Repeatedly. And what a story! I found myself imagining a score of endings as I read, my mind racing against the words to untangle what had happened. You gotta read this one!