Did you ever find yourself excited to hear that a favorite book was being made into a movie? Movies can only cover maybe two hours of plot versus the longer read or audio listen of the original work. But if you truly fell in love with the book, hearing that a movie is coming is exciting. Where the Crawdads Sing is a treasure of a book I enjoyed two years ago and is movie-bound next. I’m crossing my fingers it does the author’s work justice.
Occasionally a movie will miss the mark due to acting or screenwriting (which will rarely satisfies the following of literary fans). We want to see every last moment and word of dialogue. Yet I am cautiously holding out hope that Where the Crawdads Sing will hopefully rise to the high bar set by author Delia Owens.
This novel took the literary community by storm after it was published in 2018. The now famous sun-toned cover was getting mentioned in friends’ social media feeds as their beach books of choice or as a new “discovery read” that surprised readers as to how impactful it was. I began to be intrigued by the book when I started hearing how friends crowed on social media that it was the best read they had enjoyed in a long time. One almost could not help it but to get a copy to see what all the fuss was about (an author’s best advertising, no doubt). So, in 2020, I bought my first copy via Audible. A year later, it still was resonating with me and I listened to it again. And as is my practice when I am taken with a work this much, I buy a printed copy.
Owens takes the reader on a wonder-filled journey for the mind and spirit. The book paints vivid imagery of an Audubon-painted marsh home of a naturalist’s dreams. Once started into the first few chapters, our minds want us to be there in our imaginations. We follow the main character, Kya, through a coming-of-age story, but this story has teeth that make you hurt for, cheer for and believe in the determined spirit of survivors and thrivers. Kya’s resilient personality, born of struggle, inspires the reader forward through each chapter despite obstacles that are common to our society regardless of past or present.
It is a beautiful experience to read this book. Even if you just read it once, it will stay with you in the way the good books do.
Life by Lens and Laptop 