Susan’s review of Where the Crawdads Sing > Likes and Comments
1375 likes · Like
Wow, Susan, you said with many articulate words what I felt after reading a good part of the book “en perpendiculaire”. Reread it to be sure and will give it two stars because I enjoyed some parts if it, like the feeding of gulls on the beach and the lonely heron in the mist.
What a review! I def. feel the emotion in it, as well as will def. avoid the book. Excellente!
Oh my gawd, I love this review! Have been avoiding this book despite it being a group read. Your analysis of what didnt work makes me really respect you as a reader.
I'm only on page 80 (I have a spoiler and am trying not to let this be a DNF) but do agree, it reads like a YA to me.
Love your review. Said so well. I listened to the audio version and rolled my eyes so often I could hardly stand it.
Thanks! I swear I'm waiting for someone who loved the book to get on here and reprimand me.
"unless they were totally depraved, which the author portrays them as not. "
Yes! I was pretty on-board with the story when I thought them being terrible people, that is until the author spent time justifying why they all left. Then I didn't believe it at all.
Learns to read 14, by 20 is published as a scientist and a poet. Oi.
Nailed it. OMG the grits! What is her thing with grits? And I hadn't even realized until you mentioned it about the use of vernacular! Just one more reason out of the hundred I had already found to roll my eyes at this book.
Oh no...it’s going to get worse? I’m at the part where her nipple has been “circled” by her loving boyfriends finger twice in like 3 pages. Why does everything have to be so pat let alone unoriginal. I’m noting several similarities to another novel I felt this way about- The Great Alone. Isolated girl with an incapacitated yet still beloved mother, and abusive alcoholic dad, left in the wilderness to blossom into a rare beauty and be not exploited but cherished by the most altruistic boy ever. Supported by a big, loving black lady...I don’t know; I feel like if you’re at a point in your writing careeer that you’re able to undertake writing something this big, it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid the cheesy cliches.
Great review ! And great comments from 11 more folks !
Hi everyone,
My review is reaching 80 likes, so I am indeed humbled. Thanks so much also for all your insightful comments. That Goodreads makes it possible for us to be a global community of readers who discuss books I find terrific. We do the right thing when we give credit where credit is due and point out those works of literature which are lacking, or trite or overdone, and try to do this specifically and not in just general terms. That is to say, as we are reading a book, we should, while enjoying it (hopefully) have our critic's eye open. This way we will keep literature alive and well.
Thank you thank you! It’s so wonderful to read s review that echoes my thoughts.
And as someone with many years experience with outboard motors, I'm amazed that she had one that ran for years and years with apparently no problems. The whole story was so awful it's hard to describe or critique well. And you forgot to mention that she was a published poet as well -- another little realistic touch. Yuck -- what a mess of a book!
YOU SAID IT Spoiler alert: Unbelievable that the girl, who did not learn to read until age 14, would then go on to become a self-educated scientist and artist and even write several books, all while being entirely on her own in the wilds. "
Susan, I liked the book but you bring up some great points about the unrealistic nature of her situation. That said, I got caught up in the fantasy, drawn in by the “mysterious” nature of the marsh. This is completely out of character for me. I think it should be classified as a fantasy so readers know what they are getting into at the start.
I am so glad I am not the only person to find this book not a great read. I lived in eastern NC during the time frame this story took place and I could go on and on to why this book had poor research. It has so many great reviews that I thought I was the lone reader that was not giving it five stars.
This is the best review I've read of this book yet. 👍
I’m reading this for bookclub. Usually, I don’t check other opinions until I’ve finished, but this time, given how popular this book appears to be, I needed to discover whether or not I was a minority of one in finding it preposterous. Thankfully I’m not. After the first few chapters, like you, I concluded it should have commenced with ‘Once upon a time.....’ As I manoeuvre through its pestilential waters, it only gets worse - and I’m just at page 110. Incredulity piled upon incredulity. The tale of Jake and Maria’s early years had me in stitches. By the way, did you notice that, given the dates, Kya was conceived at the time her father was purportedly hiding out in a French foxhole, rather than on a moonlight cruise somewhere off the North Carolina coast? Evidently, Delia should stick to non-fiction.
In 20+ years on NC coast, no hurricanes? The boat held up? And, the question that haunts me: why do sea gulls need to be fed?
Mussels and grits all those years and no sickness, sores, scurvy? If you want a truer depiction of children raising themselves by the sea, may I suggest The Innocents.
I'm enjoying all of these comments! I think all of us who were ever children who loved running around wild in the woods and who know something about boating, fishing and southern food will find this book completely off. But I do give the author an "A" for effort nonetheless. And we have to concede that most people who read it loved it.
Karen Brown, thanks for the suggestion, I will look into it.
I agree. I came away with the conclusion she was a clinically antisocial person, not a heroine who braved survival and became a prolific recluse of a biology genius.
Susan thank you for capturing many - but not even all - of the holes in this book. What a tremendous disappointment. Your review was more enjoyable than the novel.
Jules wrote: "Susan thank you for capturing many - but not even all - of the holes in this book. What a tremendous disappointment. Your review was more enjoyable than the novel." Hi Jules, your comment made me smile. Thanks.
Great review, agree 100%. This book was such a disappointment. I can’t believe it has gathered such a cult following, it’s like we read two absolutely different books.
As a person who grew up eating soul food, I really hated all of her descriptions of food. It sounded like someone gave her a list of foods and she just pulled them out of a hat. Black eyed peas and red onions?!
Oh my god, the accent! The author used it to show how “uneducated” Kya was (and the accent got a little less pronounced as she got more “book smart”) versus the “educated” townspeople. It was so obvious and frustrating!
It was also unbelievable that she killed chase Andrews, but kya went against all odds. That’s the point
It didn't get wrecked it got better and better.
THANK YOU! I could not bring myself to finish after reaching the unexpected sexually explicit descriptions. Give me a break! I also felt it was all just so unbelievable and so many inconsistencies.
Took the words RIGHT out of my mouth. So disappointing to me that this book has been hailed by so many as one of the best books of the past several years...
Totally agree. So glad I’m not the only one who hates this book!
Oh god I agree with every syllable of your review. I feel so angrily let down I could throw it out the window.
Maybe into a marsh.
Excellent review -- you nailed it. This is the selection for my book club this month, and I don't think I'm going to make it to the end. Could i just point out -- you're absolutely right about the use of vernacular (painful, PAINFUL clunky vernacular) for the baddies ... and black characters ... I almost died, reading the line of dialogue from the black ambulance driver (page 36, my edition). How did her publishers allow her to do that?
I don't get why so many people liked this book. None of it rings true.
Search me!!! The positive reviews seem to focus on the descriptions of nature (which I found unbearably over-written), and the sadness and triumph of the girl's story. I think I could ALMOST have managed it, if it were only the 1950s chapters -- those had an almost fairytale-like, Cinderella quality (IF you could ignore the dialogue in clumsy dialect ... I can't comment on what others have pointed out, that the author's research into life in NC and the Outer Banks was very superficial ... ) But the modern day chapters were just deadly ... Our book group is discussing it next week ... no one may be speaking to me, by the end ... wish me luck ...
Good luck to you! I am baffled by people who liked this book. It was totally unrealistic, and juvenile. In reality this girl wouldn't have lasted a year. Hurricanes, flooding and heat. Disease and abuse! Give me a break. Be strong, you are right
Well makes sense since it’s fiction but I agree. The characters weren’t memorable and it was cliche and repetitive. The descriptions of nature were beautifully written, overall it’s a specific kind of read. Definitely not for everyone.
Perfect review! This book was just... a waste of time and money for me, unfortunately. Your review is for sure much more enjoyable than the book!
Spoiler Alert- then Tate, having lived intake “shack/cabin “ for what, 40 years, realises the first time he cooks after Kya’s death, that there is a secret hidey-hole!!!!! I mean really,
It’s like you’ve written the review i’m about to make too! May i add : she went to school only for one day, learnt reading from Tate for one day and by the end of the lesson was able to read A Sand County Almanac! Gahhh shot meeee!
I loved your comments about the 'vernacular'. I agree whole-heartedly. I'm in the process of writing an episode on Crawdads for my podcast 'BookShook'. Please let me know if I can quote any of that paragraph.
Roger wrote: "I loved your comments about the 'vernacular'. I agree whole-heartedly. I'm in the process of writing an episode on Crawdads for my podcast 'BookShook'. Please let me know if I can quote any of that..."
Hi Roger, Sure, of course you can quote me, I'm very flattered. Sorry, I only saw your comment just now. best, Susan
Excellent review. I was so mad at her for getting the colors of the Monarch butterfly wrong that she lost all credibility with me about all her nature writing. I won't read anything else by her as she is a fraud.
I respectfully disagree
Towards the end of the book it notes that the increased isolation she suffered altered her ability to form connections with human beings, her continual hiding and not been taught much about basic social ques are what gave the impression that she “looked” odd to outsiders. This is acknowledged in the book so I think it’s a bit off to say we are assured she’s not weird. We, as the reader, know she’s not because the author talks about Kyas thoughts, upbringing, development through reading.
I disagree with your view that the authors use of vernacular. Remember it’s set in the south so people speak broken English. It was typical for certain groups, to have broken slabs English over others that got a better education. So it fits in with the context and time of the story.
You say unbelievable of the main plot of Kya learning to read to become a sophisticated scientist. But I think you miss the point of the story. Owens central message is that humans in ways are a lot like animals in that we can survive on our own when we rely on our own instincts “where the crawdad sings”. Through kya, she is able to contrast and compare human interactions to that of wildlife. Although humans are different in that we crave social/ emotional relationships, which kya grows to learn through Tate, Owens shows us how humans can be affected by isolation.
It’s a beautiful coming of age story with poetic writing about nature. It should be a celebration of coming of age and the human spirit in what it is able to withstand without all the day to day supports we often take for granted.
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Oct 28, 2018 01:45PM
Wow, Susan, you said with many articulate words what I felt after reading a good part of the book “en perpendiculaire”. Reread it to be sure and will give it two stars because I enjoyed some parts if it, like the feeding of gulls on the beach and the lonely heron in the mist.
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What a review! I def. feel the emotion in it, as well as will def. avoid the book. Excellente!
Oh my gawd, I love this review! Have been avoiding this book despite it being a group read. Your analysis of what didnt work makes me really respect you as a reader.
I'm only on page 80 (I have a spoiler and am trying not to let this be a DNF) but do agree, it reads like a YA to me.
Love your review. Said so well. I listened to the audio version and rolled my eyes so often I could hardly stand it.
Thanks! I swear I'm waiting for someone who loved the book to get on here and reprimand me.
"unless they were totally depraved, which the author portrays them as not. "Yes! I was pretty on-board with the story when I thought them being terrible people, that is until the author spent time justifying why they all left. Then I didn't believe it at all.
Learns to read 14, by 20 is published as a scientist and a poet. Oi.
Nailed it. OMG the grits! What is her thing with grits? And I hadn't even realized until you mentioned it about the use of vernacular! Just one more reason out of the hundred I had already found to roll my eyes at this book.
Oh no...it’s going to get worse? I’m at the part where her nipple has been “circled” by her loving boyfriends finger twice in like 3 pages. Why does everything have to be so pat let alone unoriginal. I’m noting several similarities to another novel I felt this way about- The Great Alone. Isolated girl with an incapacitated yet still beloved mother, and abusive alcoholic dad, left in the wilderness to blossom into a rare beauty and be not exploited but cherished by the most altruistic boy ever. Supported by a big, loving black lady...I don’t know; I feel like if you’re at a point in your writing careeer that you’re able to undertake writing something this big, it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid the cheesy cliches.
Great review ! And great comments from 11 more folks !
Hi everyone,My review is reaching 80 likes, so I am indeed humbled. Thanks so much also for all your insightful comments. That Goodreads makes it possible for us to be a global community of readers who discuss books I find terrific. We do the right thing when we give credit where credit is due and point out those works of literature which are lacking, or trite or overdone, and try to do this specifically and not in just general terms. That is to say, as we are reading a book, we should, while enjoying it (hopefully) have our critic's eye open. This way we will keep literature alive and well.
Thank you thank you! It’s so wonderful to read s review that echoes my thoughts.
And as someone with many years experience with outboard motors, I'm amazed that she had one that ran for years and years with apparently no problems. The whole story was so awful it's hard to describe or critique well. And you forgot to mention that she was a published poet as well -- another little realistic touch. Yuck -- what a mess of a book!
YOU SAID IT Spoiler alert: Unbelievable that the girl, who did not learn to read until age 14, would then go on to become a self-educated scientist and artist and even write several books, all while being entirely on her own in the wilds. "
Susan, I liked the book but you bring up some great points about the unrealistic nature of her situation. That said, I got caught up in the fantasy, drawn in by the “mysterious” nature of the marsh. This is completely out of character for me. I think it should be classified as a fantasy so readers know what they are getting into at the start.
I am so glad I am not the only person to find this book not a great read. I lived in eastern NC during the time frame this story took place and I could go on and on to why this book had poor research. It has so many great reviews that I thought I was the lone reader that was not giving it five stars.
This is the best review I've read of this book yet. 👍
I’m reading this for bookclub. Usually, I don’t check other opinions until I’ve finished, but this time, given how popular this book appears to be, I needed to discover whether or not I was a minority of one in finding it preposterous. Thankfully I’m not. After the first few chapters, like you, I concluded it should have commenced with ‘Once upon a time.....’ As I manoeuvre through its pestilential waters, it only gets worse - and I’m just at page 110. Incredulity piled upon incredulity. The tale of Jake and Maria’s early years had me in stitches. By the way, did you notice that, given the dates, Kya was conceived at the time her father was purportedly hiding out in a French foxhole, rather than on a moonlight cruise somewhere off the North Carolina coast? Evidently, Delia should stick to non-fiction.
In 20+ years on NC coast, no hurricanes? The boat held up? And, the question that haunts me: why do sea gulls need to be fed?
Mussels and grits all those years and no sickness, sores, scurvy? If you want a truer depiction of children raising themselves by the sea, may I suggest The Innocents.
I'm enjoying all of these comments! I think all of us who were ever children who loved running around wild in the woods and who know something about boating, fishing and southern food will find this book completely off. But I do give the author an "A" for effort nonetheless. And we have to concede that most people who read it loved it.
Karen Brown, thanks for the suggestion, I will look into it.
I agree. I came away with the conclusion she was a clinically antisocial person, not a heroine who braved survival and became a prolific recluse of a biology genius.
Susan thank you for capturing many - but not even all - of the holes in this book. What a tremendous disappointment. Your review was more enjoyable than the novel.
Jules wrote: "Susan thank you for capturing many - but not even all - of the holes in this book. What a tremendous disappointment. Your review was more enjoyable than the novel." Hi Jules, your comment made me smile. Thanks.
Great review, agree 100%. This book was such a disappointment. I can’t believe it has gathered such a cult following, it’s like we read two absolutely different books.
As a person who grew up eating soul food, I really hated all of her descriptions of food. It sounded like someone gave her a list of foods and she just pulled them out of a hat. Black eyed peas and red onions?!
Oh my god, the accent! The author used it to show how “uneducated” Kya was (and the accent got a little less pronounced as she got more “book smart”) versus the “educated” townspeople. It was so obvious and frustrating!
It was also unbelievable that she killed chase Andrews, but kya went against all odds. That’s the point
It didn't get wrecked it got better and better.
THANK YOU! I could not bring myself to finish after reaching the unexpected sexually explicit descriptions. Give me a break! I also felt it was all just so unbelievable and so many inconsistencies.
Took the words RIGHT out of my mouth. So disappointing to me that this book has been hailed by so many as one of the best books of the past several years...
Totally agree. So glad I’m not the only one who hates this book!
Oh god I agree with every syllable of your review. I feel so angrily let down I could throw it out the window.Maybe into a marsh.
Excellent review -- you nailed it. This is the selection for my book club this month, and I don't think I'm going to make it to the end. Could i just point out -- you're absolutely right about the use of vernacular (painful, PAINFUL clunky vernacular) for the baddies ... and black characters ... I almost died, reading the line of dialogue from the black ambulance driver (page 36, my edition). How did her publishers allow her to do that?
I don't get why so many people liked this book. None of it rings true.
Search me!!! The positive reviews seem to focus on the descriptions of nature (which I found unbearably over-written), and the sadness and triumph of the girl's story. I think I could ALMOST have managed it, if it were only the 1950s chapters -- those had an almost fairytale-like, Cinderella quality (IF you could ignore the dialogue in clumsy dialect ... I can't comment on what others have pointed out, that the author's research into life in NC and the Outer Banks was very superficial ... ) But the modern day chapters were just deadly ... Our book group is discussing it next week ... no one may be speaking to me, by the end ... wish me luck ...
Good luck to you! I am baffled by people who liked this book. It was totally unrealistic, and juvenile. In reality this girl wouldn't have lasted a year. Hurricanes, flooding and heat. Disease and abuse! Give me a break. Be strong, you are right
Well makes sense since it’s fiction but I agree. The characters weren’t memorable and it was cliche and repetitive. The descriptions of nature were beautifully written, overall it’s a specific kind of read. Definitely not for everyone.
Perfect review! This book was just... a waste of time and money for me, unfortunately. Your review is for sure much more enjoyable than the book!
Spoiler Alert- then Tate, having lived intake “shack/cabin “ for what, 40 years, realises the first time he cooks after Kya’s death, that there is a secret hidey-hole!!!!! I mean really,
It’s like you’ve written the review i’m about to make too! May i add : she went to school only for one day, learnt reading from Tate for one day and by the end of the lesson was able to read A Sand County Almanac! Gahhh shot meeee!
I loved your comments about the 'vernacular'. I agree whole-heartedly. I'm in the process of writing an episode on Crawdads for my podcast 'BookShook'. Please let me know if I can quote any of that paragraph.
Roger wrote: "I loved your comments about the 'vernacular'. I agree whole-heartedly. I'm in the process of writing an episode on Crawdads for my podcast 'BookShook'. Please let me know if I can quote any of that..."Hi Roger, Sure, of course you can quote me, I'm very flattered. Sorry, I only saw your comment just now. best, Susan
Excellent review. I was so mad at her for getting the colors of the Monarch butterfly wrong that she lost all credibility with me about all her nature writing. I won't read anything else by her as she is a fraud.
I respectfully disagree Towards the end of the book it notes that the increased isolation she suffered altered her ability to form connections with human beings, her continual hiding and not been taught much about basic social ques are what gave the impression that she “looked” odd to outsiders. This is acknowledged in the book so I think it’s a bit off to say we are assured she’s not weird. We, as the reader, know she’s not because the author talks about Kyas thoughts, upbringing, development through reading.
I disagree with your view that the authors use of vernacular. Remember it’s set in the south so people speak broken English. It was typical for certain groups, to have broken slabs English over others that got a better education. So it fits in with the context and time of the story.
You say unbelievable of the main plot of Kya learning to read to become a sophisticated scientist. But I think you miss the point of the story. Owens central message is that humans in ways are a lot like animals in that we can survive on our own when we rely on our own instincts “where the crawdad sings”. Through kya, she is able to contrast and compare human interactions to that of wildlife. Although humans are different in that we crave social/ emotional relationships, which kya grows to learn through Tate, Owens shows us how humans can be affected by isolation.
It’s a beautiful coming of age story with poetic writing about nature. It should be a celebration of coming of age and the human spirit in what it is able to withstand without all the day to day supports we often take for granted.