Delia Owens’s “Where The Crawdads Sing” has captivated readers worldwide, soaring to the top of bestseller lists and sparking widespread discussion. As a book club favorite and a widely recommended read, it seemed like a must-read. However, despite its accolades and popularity, this book left me profoundly underwhelmed. This review delves into the reasons behind this disappointment, offering a critical perspective on aspects ranging from its celebrated prose to its geographical and cultural inaccuracies.
Overly Embellished Prose: Style Over Substance?
From the very first page, the writing style of “Where the Crawdads Sing” is immediately noticeable – and not in a positive way. The novel is saturated with what feels like an attempt at grand, literary prose, often resulting in sentences that are more convoluted than insightful. Consider the opening description: “Swamp water is still and dark, having swallowed the light in its muddy throat. Even night crawlers are diurnal in this lair. There are sounds, of course, but compared to the marsh, the swamp is quiet because decomposition is cellular work. Life decays and reeks and returns to the rotted duff; a poignant wallow of death begetting life.”
While there’s an attempt at evocative imagery, the result is a sense of pretentiousness. It reads as if the author prioritized sounding profound over clear and meaningful expression. This tendency to overload the narrative with flowery language persists throughout the book, often obscuring the story rather than enhancing it. It feels like a forced effort to achieve literary merit through sheer density of descriptive phrases, rather than through genuine depth or originality.
Dialectical Discord: A North Carolina Novel That Misses the Mark
Setting a novel in a specific region necessitates a degree of authenticity, especially when it comes to dialect. “Where the Crawdads Sing” is set in North Carolina, yet its portrayal of Southern dialect is jarringly inaccurate. North Carolina is a state of diverse regional accents, and the Outer Banks, where the story is situated, has its own distinct linguistic character. The attempt to capture this dialect falls flat, sounding more like a caricature of a generic “Southern hick” accent rather than anything specific to the region.
Marsh landscape at dusk, reflecting the somber and isolated atmosphere of the novel's setting.
Furthermore, the way dialect is used in the book raises uncomfortable implications. Characters deemed “good” are depicted as shedding their dialect and adopting “proper” English, while those portrayed negatively, like Chase, retain a stronger dialect. This suggests a problematic class bias, implying that “proper” English equates to intelligence or virtue, and regional dialects are markers of inferiority. This approach feels both inauthentic and subtly offensive, relying on stereotypes rather than genuine linguistic understanding.
Geographical Gaffes: Asheville, Bikes, and Baffling Travel
Beyond dialect, the geographical inaccuracies in “Where the Crawdads Sing” are glaring and detract significantly from the book’s credibility. One particularly bewildering instance is the mention of Kya’s father’s family hailing from near Asheville, described with details that are completely out of sync with the region. The description of “land, rich land, raised tobacco and cotton and such. Over near Asheville. Yo’ gramma on my side wore bonnets big as wagon wheels and long skirts. We lived in a house wif a verandder that went a’the way around two stories high. It was fine, mighty fine,” is simply not reflective of Western North Carolina.
Asheville is located in the Appalachian Mountains, a region not suited for large-scale cotton plantations. While tobacco was grown, cotton was not a viable crop due to climate and terrain. The idea of plantation-style wealth in the mountainous Asheville area is historically inaccurate.
Adding to the geographical confusion is the episode where Tate’s mother supposedly travels to Asheville to purchase a bicycle because it was unavailable locally. This is geographically illogical. Asheville is a considerable distance from the Outer Banks, and there are numerous larger cities, including Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and even Charlotte, all much closer to the coast and more likely to have a wider selection of goods. The notion of driving six hours inland to Asheville for a bike, bypassing numerous closer urban centers, strains credulity and reveals a lack of basic geographical understanding of North Carolina.
Nature Writing Overdose and Genre Confusion
While “Where the Crawdads Sing” is often praised for its nature writing, at times, these descriptions become excessive and tedious. Large portions of the novel are devoted to detailed accounts of the marsh’s flora and fauna, which, while potentially appealing to some, can feel like filler, slowing down the narrative momentum. The constant emphasis on nature, while thematically relevant, occasionally overshadows the plot and character development.
Furthermore, the book struggles to define its genre. It attempts to blend elements of a nature ode, a crime novel, and literary fiction, but the combination feels somewhat disjointed. The overwrought prose seems at odds with the crime plot, and the nature writing sometimes feels like a fallback, a comfortable area for the author that doesn’t fully integrate with the other narrative threads.
Awkwardness and Unfulfilled Potential
Beyond these major criticisms, there are other aspects that contribute to the overall disappointment. The sexual scenes are described as awkward and unconvincing. The courtroom drama, intended to be suspenseful, becomes tedious and drawn out. Kya’s character development, while central to the story, requires a significant suspension of disbelief, and her accomplishments often feel improbable.
Even the title itself, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” is somewhat misleading. Crayfish do make sounds, but they are far from singing. The original reviewer points out the more fitting, albeit less poetic, “Where the Crawdads Tap Dance.” The title seems chosen for its lyrical quality rather than its accuracy or relevance to the book’s content.
Conclusion: A Bestseller That Missed the Mark
“Where the Crawdads Sing” is undoubtedly a popular book, but its widespread acclaim is perplexing when considering its significant flaws. From its overwrought and pretentious prose to its inaccurate portrayal of dialect and geography, the novel is riddled with issues that detract from its potential. While it attempts to be a profound exploration of nature, isolation, and resilience, it ultimately falls short, hampered by its stylistic excesses, factual errors, and genre confusion. For readers seeking an authentic and nuanced portrayal of the American South or a tightly plotted and credible narrative, “Where the Crawdads Sing” may not strike the intended chord.
