Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Hi there,
Bit of a weird time, right? I mean we did ask for the Roaring 20s so maybe we should have been more specific and asked for it without the major Pandemic outbreak and following economic depression. So far we're tracking along pretty similar to how things were 100 years ago. Yay.
Of course, I don't hope that anyone gets sick, I hope everyone can maintain an income to stay financially ok, and that we can all try to keep our spirits up in iso. Everyone's going through it differently, some worse than others, and I just hope we can all come out the other side sooner rather than later.
I'm very lucky and very privileged compared to a lot of others out there. I did have to take a pay cut but I get to keep my job (so far). I am in my own place and don't have a landlord, but I do have a mortgage and right now its just me, an overexcited puppy and a temperamental cat whilst my friend is away (stuck overseas until further notice). Pros and Cons. Some days are ok, some days are not ok.
Anyway, I'm not here to depress you or go on a tangent about my ping-ponging iso mental health during the global pandemic - that's a whole different blog post. I read a book (one of many) and I have a few thoughts so I want to talk about it.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
**Spoiler Warning**
The book wasn't bad by any means and it was a actually very well written, character driven piece about a girl that basically was left to her own devices.
The story, beginning in 1952, centres around the character of Kya who's family trickles away from the time she's 6 until eventually they're all gone. Her mother leaves, then her brothers and sisters and eventually her abusive, alcoholic father (probably for the best, that last one). Left alone in their marsh shack in North Carolina, Kya has to fend for herself. She learns all about the marsh, fishing, boating and cooking as best she can in order to survive.
Kya never attends school after her only attempt ends with her being driven off by the other children, nicknamed 'the marsh girl' and panned as different (we're talking the American South in the 1950s). Even the adults refer to her as 'marsh trash' and on her infrequent trips to the local town she is given a wide berth, talked down to and left alone. Few offer her any help, kindness or consideration.
She does eventually befriend a couple of the locals of 'Coloured Town' (that's exactly what it sounds like) who do help her in securing money for supplies and slowly but surely become her family. Later still, a boy from the town teaches her to read and write and encourages her to become a self-taught naturalist by observing the marsh around her.
Although the majority of the story focuses on the loves and losses of Kya's life, it is interwoven with a murder investigation. I'd argue that although the novel is well written, its weakest parts are trying to manufacture some semblance of plot within what is more just a character study. The themes I was most interested in - xenophobia, prejudice, crime and punishment - were really just back burner fillers for time. You could have removed the murder altogether and it would have made little difference.
That being said, the murder and its investigation is for all intents and purpose the main plot of the book; the one thing that actually propels the book along.
We do have snippets here and there of how much an outsider Kya is, which are really brought up mainly during the time Kya is on trial for murder (and funnily enough deep down everyone hopes she isn't convicted except maybe the family of the deceased and their lawyer), but for the most part the story is a romance. Yes, really.
The boy who teaches her to read, Tate, is the love of Kya's life and despite everything they go through together its his prejudice that needs to be overcome, not the towns folk, and his perception of needing to fit in. He leaves Kya after promising his return because her wild nature appears to him to be incompatible with the budding academic life he sees before himself.
Tate's departure and failure to return is Kya's greatest hurt, something even I can relate to, because she's seen it with her family. Further, she is left alone by everyone and comes to prefer that, afraid to open up to anyone again lest they, too, desert her. But even Kya doesn't take the black pill, she still wants to be loved and accepted, which is where Chase, our future murder victim, comes in.
Chase is pretty much a fuckboy. Plain and simple. He'd text you 'You Up?' at 2am. He's the town Lothario and pretty much kind of just a dick. At least that's really all we see of him - he's a caricature. Not that I really care to learn his backstory since its not his story but I'm just pointing out that unlike Tate, Chase doesn't get a backstory.
Curious about the 'marsh girl' whom he'd seen from time to time over the years, Chase takes it upon himself to 'bag' her. Yup. Although he does eventually succeed after months of talk of love and marriage, he doesn't hit and run as its actually Kya who ends things when she discovers he's engaged to a girl from town. There's no break up, per se, but Kya makes herself disappear and undiscoverable as she has in the past with social services and curious harassers.
Her hurt over the matter, publication of books regarding her findings and studies of the marsh and tentative reconciliation with Tate lead the story to Chase's murder, investigation and trial following Kya's arrest.
Though the story is told across two timelines, one beginning in 1952 with Kya as a child and the other at the discovery of Chase's body in 1969, they converge at Kya's arrest and the subsequent trial. This didn't bother me in itself, however the pace of the story seemed to dramatically shift and speed up like it was racing to the finish line. It felt sort of rushed to me and added more weight to the idea that the murder wasn't the point of the story, just a convenience to wrap descriptions of the marsh and Kya's life around.
The trial itself did interest me though I wondered how historically accurate it was - it seemed as if the trial could have occurred in a more contemporary period despite the distinct lack of discussion of DNA and other evidence (non existent in 1969-1970 in the way we now know them). The discussion of the defence and prosecution's cases gave plenty of food for thought as to what I thought happened and how the authorities attempted to piece together what happened.
The thought of Kya befriending the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, was sweet and symbolic and as was the detail that the friends she had made all came to support her though she'd considered herself always alone. It also contrasted to the prejudice against her by the townsfolk that I think the author was going for but didn't really land for me.
The trial, which I think was really aimed to highlight how much of an outsider Kya is, didn't really succeed for me in that respect. The author even makes a note to establish at the end of the trial that, albeit secretly in some cases, just about everyone but Chase's family and friends and their lawyer actually involved in the trial are relieved when Kya is acquitted. There is mention right at the end that there are constant rumours and whispers for a while later about what happened and was it really Kya who killed Chase or who else it may have been - which happens in probably all murder cases - but even then that wasn't enough for me. I'll tell you why: Kya did kill him.
Though she is acquitted and lives out a happily ever after life with Tate, the author reveals on the very last page that psyche Kya really did kill him in exactly the ridiculous way the prosecution had described. Before I read that I'd been misdirected. I wondered if not Kya, because the prosecution's theory was so time poor, silly, and required Kya to have a level of confidence in systems she had never used in her life, then who? Was it his wife, a jealous friend, someone else? I hoped that it wouldn't turn out to be one of Kya's friends because them allowing her to stand trial and not come forward was pretty cruel, she was after all the misunderstood, mistreated magical marsh girl.
But it played out as almost a twist to me that she did kill him. Let me explain.
For the entirety of the book we learn about how people misunderstand Kya and are basically mean to her for no reason except they don't know anything about her and that she's different. It was 1950s - 1960s North Carolina, that makes a lot of sense to me. Sad, but true. She's used and abused by various people, including both Tate and Chase, but she's very resourceful, knows the land and has a habit of taking care of herself.
Despite being a dick, when Kya gives Chase the slip that's it for years. No contact, he leaves her alone, all good. Then in August 1969 he stumbles across her and tries to rape her - he doesn't succeed (fortunately) and she kicks the shit out of him (yay) and is witnessed doing so by a couple of fisherman. But then it isn't until late October that he's murdered. That's more than two months later.
Now look, maybe he would have tried it again. I get maybe she lived in fear of it happening again, like she's lived in fear of alot of things in her lifetime. I get she's been used and abused over her lifetime and I can absolutely understand wanting to take out your abuser either preemptively (so that they can't do it again) or as revenge. I get it.
But that doesn't make it right. I mean, not technically. You can't spend a whole book telling me she's great but misunderstood, feed me this nuts MO involving a literal disguise and then mic drop that actually yeah she did murder his ass the end. If the story had been about a girl who society turned into a murderer that would have been more interesting but its supposed to be this empowering character study with themes of xenophobia. Its it still unjustifiable prejudice if you actually did the thing?
A lot people really enjoyed this book, and I did too for the most part, but the ending left me with a lot of questions that subverted the satisfaction her acquittal and happily ever after gave me. I'm not upset she murdered her abuser, I'm upset that I felt she was unfairly treated and finally exonerated only for her to actually have not been arrested as a miscarriage of justice but instead got away with murder.
Am I a bad feminist?
Sam xox
Bit of a weird time, right? I mean we did ask for the Roaring 20s so maybe we should have been more specific and asked for it without the major Pandemic outbreak and following economic depression. So far we're tracking along pretty similar to how things were 100 years ago. Yay.
Of course, I don't hope that anyone gets sick, I hope everyone can maintain an income to stay financially ok, and that we can all try to keep our spirits up in iso. Everyone's going through it differently, some worse than others, and I just hope we can all come out the other side sooner rather than later.
I'm very lucky and very privileged compared to a lot of others out there. I did have to take a pay cut but I get to keep my job (so far). I am in my own place and don't have a landlord, but I do have a mortgage and right now its just me, an overexcited puppy and a temperamental cat whilst my friend is away (stuck overseas until further notice). Pros and Cons. Some days are ok, some days are not ok.
Anyway, I'm not here to depress you or go on a tangent about my ping-ponging iso mental health during the global pandemic - that's a whole different blog post. I read a book (one of many) and I have a few thoughts so I want to talk about it.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
**Spoiler Warning**
The book wasn't bad by any means and it was a actually very well written, character driven piece about a girl that basically was left to her own devices.
The story, beginning in 1952, centres around the character of Kya who's family trickles away from the time she's 6 until eventually they're all gone. Her mother leaves, then her brothers and sisters and eventually her abusive, alcoholic father (probably for the best, that last one). Left alone in their marsh shack in North Carolina, Kya has to fend for herself. She learns all about the marsh, fishing, boating and cooking as best she can in order to survive.
Kya never attends school after her only attempt ends with her being driven off by the other children, nicknamed 'the marsh girl' and panned as different (we're talking the American South in the 1950s). Even the adults refer to her as 'marsh trash' and on her infrequent trips to the local town she is given a wide berth, talked down to and left alone. Few offer her any help, kindness or consideration.
She does eventually befriend a couple of the locals of 'Coloured Town' (that's exactly what it sounds like) who do help her in securing money for supplies and slowly but surely become her family. Later still, a boy from the town teaches her to read and write and encourages her to become a self-taught naturalist by observing the marsh around her.
Although the majority of the story focuses on the loves and losses of Kya's life, it is interwoven with a murder investigation. I'd argue that although the novel is well written, its weakest parts are trying to manufacture some semblance of plot within what is more just a character study. The themes I was most interested in - xenophobia, prejudice, crime and punishment - were really just back burner fillers for time. You could have removed the murder altogether and it would have made little difference.
That being said, the murder and its investigation is for all intents and purpose the main plot of the book; the one thing that actually propels the book along.
We do have snippets here and there of how much an outsider Kya is, which are really brought up mainly during the time Kya is on trial for murder (and funnily enough deep down everyone hopes she isn't convicted except maybe the family of the deceased and their lawyer), but for the most part the story is a romance. Yes, really.
The boy who teaches her to read, Tate, is the love of Kya's life and despite everything they go through together its his prejudice that needs to be overcome, not the towns folk, and his perception of needing to fit in. He leaves Kya after promising his return because her wild nature appears to him to be incompatible with the budding academic life he sees before himself.
Tate's departure and failure to return is Kya's greatest hurt, something even I can relate to, because she's seen it with her family. Further, she is left alone by everyone and comes to prefer that, afraid to open up to anyone again lest they, too, desert her. But even Kya doesn't take the black pill, she still wants to be loved and accepted, which is where Chase, our future murder victim, comes in.
Chase is pretty much a fuckboy. Plain and simple. He'd text you 'You Up?' at 2am. He's the town Lothario and pretty much kind of just a dick. At least that's really all we see of him - he's a caricature. Not that I really care to learn his backstory since its not his story but I'm just pointing out that unlike Tate, Chase doesn't get a backstory.
Curious about the 'marsh girl' whom he'd seen from time to time over the years, Chase takes it upon himself to 'bag' her. Yup. Although he does eventually succeed after months of talk of love and marriage, he doesn't hit and run as its actually Kya who ends things when she discovers he's engaged to a girl from town. There's no break up, per se, but Kya makes herself disappear and undiscoverable as she has in the past with social services and curious harassers.
Her hurt over the matter, publication of books regarding her findings and studies of the marsh and tentative reconciliation with Tate lead the story to Chase's murder, investigation and trial following Kya's arrest.
Though the story is told across two timelines, one beginning in 1952 with Kya as a child and the other at the discovery of Chase's body in 1969, they converge at Kya's arrest and the subsequent trial. This didn't bother me in itself, however the pace of the story seemed to dramatically shift and speed up like it was racing to the finish line. It felt sort of rushed to me and added more weight to the idea that the murder wasn't the point of the story, just a convenience to wrap descriptions of the marsh and Kya's life around.
The trial itself did interest me though I wondered how historically accurate it was - it seemed as if the trial could have occurred in a more contemporary period despite the distinct lack of discussion of DNA and other evidence (non existent in 1969-1970 in the way we now know them). The discussion of the defence and prosecution's cases gave plenty of food for thought as to what I thought happened and how the authorities attempted to piece together what happened.
The thought of Kya befriending the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, was sweet and symbolic and as was the detail that the friends she had made all came to support her though she'd considered herself always alone. It also contrasted to the prejudice against her by the townsfolk that I think the author was going for but didn't really land for me.
The trial, which I think was really aimed to highlight how much of an outsider Kya is, didn't really succeed for me in that respect. The author even makes a note to establish at the end of the trial that, albeit secretly in some cases, just about everyone but Chase's family and friends and their lawyer actually involved in the trial are relieved when Kya is acquitted. There is mention right at the end that there are constant rumours and whispers for a while later about what happened and was it really Kya who killed Chase or who else it may have been - which happens in probably all murder cases - but even then that wasn't enough for me. I'll tell you why: Kya did kill him.
Though she is acquitted and lives out a happily ever after life with Tate, the author reveals on the very last page that psyche Kya really did kill him in exactly the ridiculous way the prosecution had described. Before I read that I'd been misdirected. I wondered if not Kya, because the prosecution's theory was so time poor, silly, and required Kya to have a level of confidence in systems she had never used in her life, then who? Was it his wife, a jealous friend, someone else? I hoped that it wouldn't turn out to be one of Kya's friends because them allowing her to stand trial and not come forward was pretty cruel, she was after all the misunderstood, mistreated magical marsh girl.
But it played out as almost a twist to me that she did kill him. Let me explain.
For the entirety of the book we learn about how people misunderstand Kya and are basically mean to her for no reason except they don't know anything about her and that she's different. It was 1950s - 1960s North Carolina, that makes a lot of sense to me. Sad, but true. She's used and abused by various people, including both Tate and Chase, but she's very resourceful, knows the land and has a habit of taking care of herself.
Despite being a dick, when Kya gives Chase the slip that's it for years. No contact, he leaves her alone, all good. Then in August 1969 he stumbles across her and tries to rape her - he doesn't succeed (fortunately) and she kicks the shit out of him (yay) and is witnessed doing so by a couple of fisherman. But then it isn't until late October that he's murdered. That's more than two months later.
Now look, maybe he would have tried it again. I get maybe she lived in fear of it happening again, like she's lived in fear of alot of things in her lifetime. I get she's been used and abused over her lifetime and I can absolutely understand wanting to take out your abuser either preemptively (so that they can't do it again) or as revenge. I get it.
But that doesn't make it right. I mean, not technically. You can't spend a whole book telling me she's great but misunderstood, feed me this nuts MO involving a literal disguise and then mic drop that actually yeah she did murder his ass the end. If the story had been about a girl who society turned into a murderer that would have been more interesting but its supposed to be this empowering character study with themes of xenophobia. Its it still unjustifiable prejudice if you actually did the thing?
A lot people really enjoyed this book, and I did too for the most part, but the ending left me with a lot of questions that subverted the satisfaction her acquittal and happily ever after gave me. I'm not upset she murdered her abuser, I'm upset that I felt she was unfairly treated and finally exonerated only for her to actually have not been arrested as a miscarriage of justice but instead got away with murder.
Am I a bad feminist?
Sam xox
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