Where the Crawdads Sing--Possible Spoilers

I usually don't buy brand new books, especially of authors I don't know. I am reluctant to shell out lots of money on something that I might regret buying. I do regret investing in Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. If I had obtained the book from the library or second-hand, I would probably shrug off the rather mediocre storyline and the disappointing ending. I really wanted to donate the book to my retirement village library since it rarely acquires best-sellers, but I am sure some of the readers would be offended by the sexual scenes. It is a coming-of-age book with several sexual encounters. 

I never quite understood what the phrase "where the crawdads sing" meant. I had never heard it before, and even after reading the book I doubt it was widely used by people in North Carolina, if ever. It has a sort of mythological fantasy aura, and in that sense it fits well with the book which is largely improbable and unbelievable. 

I can see how those who loved the book romanticized the successful overcoming of poverty and abandonment of the main character Kya. There are poignant passages about her loneliness and sense of isolation, of not fitting in but desiring to. Her intimate knowledge of the marsh creatures and flora become her ticket to acceptance in adulthood. Those readers rooting for Kya to succeed are given a spark of joy in what has been a dismal tale. I did enjoy the descriptions of the natural world. They were lyrically done. 

I knew the story revolved around the survival of a young girl whose family abandons her. She does get some help from a black couple, and later in the chapters in the courtroom we find out about others who tried to help surreptitiously. Still it is hard to believe that none of her relatives tried to help her, or that the community left a ten-year-old to fend for herself.

I found the inclusion of "dialect" awkward but OK until I learned more about the background of the parents who grew up in middle-class or well-to-do families. They would not have taken up this dialect as adults and passed it on to their children. The use of dialect is inconsistent throughout the book and seems a contrivance to paint the characters as backward and rural unsophisticates.

The first chapter opens up with the discovery of a body in the sand in 1969. Subsequent chapters alternate between 1969 and 1952 on, flipping back and forth. We learn who Kya Clark is, some background on her relationship with the deceased, and sparse character development of the deceased and other town people of Barkley Cove. 

There are inconsistencies in the narrative. At one point, Kya is oblivious that it is Christmas because she has no calendar, yet she knows exactly when it is July 4 as she waits for Tate. Tate, her friend who becomes a boyfriend, seems kind and sensitive, yet abandons her even though promising to return. He does this even knowing her family history. We all have flaws, but this callous act doesn't fit with how Tate has been presented to us. He would have at least communicated with her.

The sheriff and his deputy are stereotyped as incompetent southern law enforcement, even though the surprise ending vindicates their theories. 

I found the poetry interspersed throughout the book to reflect Kya's feelings poorly written and not a helpful device. There is also deception as to the author of the poems which belies the depths of isolation we have been told Kya endured.

I have visited North Carolina several times. It doesn't make sense for several of the characters to visit Asheville to transact business. It is too far away. Also, when Kya becomes more affluent she has electricity installed in her shack. How did power lines come close to her isolated location? Author voodoo magic. 

The "surprise" at the end of the book negates all of the character development revealed through all of the narrative. It is incongruous and unbelievable. Perhaps the description of the behavior of the fireflies, that things are not as they appear,  is meant to prepare us for this jolt. It does not.

I don't understand the raves for the book. I read that a movie is in the works. I won't be seeing it.