Book Beginnings & The Friday 56: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Published on by Margaret

Every Friday Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader where you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading. You can also share from a book you want to highlight just because it caught your fancy.

One of the books I’m reading is Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This is a book that I’ve been hesitating about reading for a while. For one thing I had no idea what crawdads are – they’re crayfish and apparently they don’t actually sing – and for another it has mixed reviews. Anyway, I decided it was worth trying and I started to listen to the audiobook on BorrowBox, but had to return it unfinished and have now borrowed a paperback copy from the library. I’ve got to return it by 7 July as someone else has reserved it, which puts me under pressure to read it right now. It’s obviously in demand!

It begins with a Prologue:

1969

Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky.

Followed by Chapter I Ma:

1952

The morning burned so August-hot, the marsh’s moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog. The palmetto patches stood unusually quiet except for the low, slow flap of the heron’s wings lifting from the lagoon. And then, Kya, only six at the time, heard the screen door slap.

Also every Friday there is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Page 56:

Every warmish day of winter and every day of spring, Pa and Kya went out, far and up and down the coast, trolling, casting, and reeling. Whether the estuary or creek, she scanned for that boy Tate in his boat, hoping to see him again.

Synopsis from Amazon

For years, rumors of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

~~~

It’s looking good so far. Have you read it – if so, what did you think of it?

20 thoughts on “Book Beginnings & The Friday 56: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens”

  2. I keep hearing such great things about this one, Margaret! I’ve been wondering for a while whether I ought to read it. The writing style does sound very descriptive, and it’s an interesting idea for a story. I hope you’re enjoying it.

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  7. I read this one a couple years ago and discussed it with a book group. It went over well with the group and I liked it. Curious about the movie, but probably won’t see it. Enjoy!

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    1. I prevaricated for ages before deciding to read this – but it is much better than I expected. I’ve just read your review and can see why you didn’t love this book and I agree about its predictability, but I was seduced by the descriptive writing about an area completely unknown to me and was prepared to overlook the predictabilty. I thought the trial was pretty poor as well – but I still loved the book as a whole. I guess I was just in the right mood for a book like this right now.

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