Note 3 : Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

What is it?

Published in the UK in 2019. 
Set in the 1950s and 60s in the coastal marshland of North Carolina, this is part whodunnit, part love story, part nature handbook. Place and time are important as the marsh - its flora and fauna, play a huge part in the book, as do the attitudes and prejudices of the period. The book’s central character is Kya, a girl whose story we follow from the age of 6 to her mid-twenties and later.  Abandoned by first her mother, then her adored brother and finally her abusive father, Kya survives and eventually thrives alone in the marsh. The who-dunnit element of the story concerns the investigation of the sudden death of a young local man Chase Andrews, found in the marsh in the opening chapter. The narrative jumps back and forward in time to detail Kya’s life, her relationship with the local community – in particular the two men with whom she has relationships -Tate and Chase – and the murder investigation.

Why read it?

We agreed that Kya's longing to be loved, to make contact with others, alongside her struggle to survive, were more interesting then the murder mystery and provided the driving force of the story.  However the strongest element for us were the vivid descriptions of the marsh landscape and the creatures inhabiting it. Much of these were beautifully written and, as the author is a wildlife scientist, no doubt accurate.  They filled what we felt was a gap in the book (see below)  rather as they fill the space left in Kya’s life after she has been abandoned by those she loves and becomes increasingly dependent on the gulls and nature around her.  

Why give it a miss?

In spite of all the publicity and hype about this book, most of us found it disappointing overall: one of us described it as a 'holiday read', another as an 'airport novel'!  We had misgivings about the plot. While elements of Kya’s story were interesting (see above) we found the story of Chase and Tate rather obvious and at times cliched. Beginning the book with the discovery of Chase’s body suggests the author wants us to work out both how he died and why. But for us the answers to this became obvious about midway through the book so the ‘reveal’ at the end fell flat. We also thought many of the characters were close to stereotypes - the policemen, Jumpin the shopkeeper and his wife Mabel, Chase himself. Other downsides were the great deal of repetition in the descriptions of Kya’s life in the marsh which risked becoming tedious; the irritating tendency to list the food everyone was eating and the clothes they wore, much of it, again, repetitive; some of us found the poems over-sentimental, irritating and unnecessary too. All this suggesting the book would have benefitted from stricter editing.  Lastly none of us believed that Kya,  as she had been depicted, could have carried out the complex manoeuvre required to perpetrate the crime.The secondary reveal about the poems' authorship definitely felt like over-egging the pudding.

What we asked

Is the account of Kya’s childhood in the wild believable?

Are the characters of Tate and Chase too stereo-typed as good and evil?

Did we believe Kya capable of the complex manoeuvres and timing required for her to carry out the crime?

Why did the writer choose to write this book?

Is the title apt?

What would the book need to make it a better read?

Was the ending satisfying?
Was it a page-turner?

Score

We scored it 1s and 2s so about 1.5 out of 5 

Note 2: English Passengers by Matthew Kneale

What is it? 

First published in 2000, winner of the Whitbread Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize that year. 

The book is set in the mid-19^th century at the time of the colonisation of Tasmania by the British. The main story is of Captain Kewley a Manx smuggler,  his ship’s crew and the eponymous English passengers who charter his ship. They set off on an expedition to Tasmania in search of the site of the Garden of Eden. The book charts the often extraordinary events that befall them, their chequered relationships and the effects of their experiences. It also tells the story of native Tasmanian Peevay and the grim fate that befell most of his race at the hands of the colonisers.  The story is told by multiple narrators, the chief being the Captain himself, the priest Reverend Wilson- self-styled leader of the expedition, the surgeon Dr Potter and Peevay. Their accounts move the story forward at a lively pace while giving a vivid picture of the prevailing prejudices, beliefs and behaviour of the time. 

Why read it?

We all found this book an entertaining and engaging read with distinct, well-drawn and contrasting characters - from the arrogant, self-deluding Reverend Wilson, his rival the sinister racial profiler Dr Potter, to Peevay who grows from boy to man during the tale.  Each has an idiosyncratic language which adds to the richness and colour of their accounts: from the curious Manx dialect of Kewley, to the cultural amalgam of Peevay’s speech.  We admired the way that the writer has balanced the detailed accounts of the grim treatment of the native Tasmanians with adventure, history, satire and, at times,  laugh out loud humour so that they do not become overwhelming.   The plot detailing the expedition itself is lively and eventful. The historical detail feels well-researched giving the story, particularly the parts set in Tasmania,  validity and weight.  

Why give it a miss?

We had a few quibbles about the length: at 450 odd pages this is a fairly long book and also needs the reader to hold the various narrators in their head until they become familiar. In addition there is some jumping around in time which, although well-signposted, could be confusing. So it's not a book to be read in short bursts but needs longer periods of time.  We also thought that some of the coincidences in the plot – particularly in the fortunes of the Captain and his ship -could be criticised as a bit over-contrived.

What we asked

Do we believe in the characters? Or did they feel like devices to represent certain ideas?

What is the main theme of the book? Is it prejudice? Self-deception/delusion?

Is the author drawing a comparison between the quest for the Christian earthly paradise  and the destruction of the 'paradise'  of pre-colonial Tasmania?

Do the characters learn something about themselves by the end?

Did it leave us feeling sad at what happened to the natives? 

Was the ending satisfying? 

Score

4.5 out of 5

Keep?

Definitely.