The story was amazing. But what blew me away about it was how quiet the story was and how nature lived and breathed within the pages. Ms. Owens is a bestselling non-fiction author and a wildlife scientist. In Crawdads, she applies her extensive knowledge of flora and fauna within the setting and creates a rich canvas where Kya, the heroine lives completely alone most of her life. But even when she's alone, she's not. There are the birds she feeds, the insects and feathers she collects lovingly, the marsh. Constant sounds and activities of life surround her. They are her family. She can count on the tide to come in and recede every single day. It never lets her down, not like the people who were supposed to love and care for her but didn't.
I could go on and on about symbolism and the author's knowledge of her subject and how it enhances the reader's experience. But there's something else that makes this book so different. The way it breaks the rules. The rules of writers in many ways.
As a writer who's published several books and continues to work toward larger publishing goals, as most authors do throughout their careers, this baffled me. But as I read and relaxed into the story, I didn't care. I only wanted more. The constantly switching points of view without changing scenes or using devices to do so, the pages and pages of introspection without dialogue where nothing much happened didn't throw me out of the story. Not. One. Bit. This book did all the things every craft class /book says not to, but it did it so well that I didn't care. I just wanted to keep reading.
And there was payoff. I won't say what it was to avoid spoiling it for those who haven't had the pleasure of reading the book, but there was.
So, breaking the rules well, as they say, works. As long as you can get it past your editor. Great job, Ms. Owens. I'm a fan.
Happy summer reading, everyone! Where the Crawdads Sing is wonderful!
Susan
2 comments:
Happy Reading!
denise
Thanks, Denise!! You too!!
Post a Comment