That's how I felt about a pair of books I finished recently: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, and True Places by Sonja Yoerg. Both books were featured consecutively in my local book club. Both featured female central characters who lived outside the mainstream in rural midAtlantic states. Both cause the reader to examine just what it is we need to feel fulfilled in our lives, right along with the protagonists of each book.
In Where the Crawdads Sing, the book, set in the mid 1900s, takes off with young Kya's mom walking down the road and away from their North Carolina coastal marshland shack, fleeing an abusive marriage. One by one, every member of Kya's family leaves her, until at last she is the only one who remains. Kya turns to the marsh itself for solace: ""The sun, warm as a blanket, wrapped Kya's shoulders, coaxing her deeper into the marsh. ...whenever she stumbled, it was the land that caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother." p. 34
But even the marsh can't protect her from natural human longing for companionship, as she grows up alone, living out her days with gulls and tides as friends. The dual storyline in this book follows a murder investigation and trial of surrounding the death of a prominent young man from the local community, found dead not far from the marsh Kya calls home. Was Kya, the "Marsh Girl," involved somehow?
True Places brings a character very similar to Kya, a young girl named Iris, into our lives, yet in a modern-day setting. This book begins very similarly to Where the Crawdads Sing; Iris has been living alone in the Blue Ridge Mountains, surviving off the land, her father has left the family and her mother has died. Iris is picked up along the roadside by the mom of a quintessential modern family, Suzanne. Suzanne's own two teenage children, Brynn and Reid, are nearly estranged as they are caught up in their own struggles with modern life in the Instagram and Snapchat era. Will Iris' pure innocence make or break this family as they navigate through the mess of possessions, appearances, and relationships that have come to define their lives?
There are many common themes and motifs between these two books, and both are written very well. I especially loved the nature writing in Where the Crawdads Sing, which was beautiful and yet not superfluous. It always seemed to serve the plot or the setting of the story, and in that way, reminded me of some of Barbara Kingsolver's work. In True Places, I loved how the narration slipped between each of the different characters and did so convincingly. I found myself somewhat fatally attracted to the teenage daughter, Brynn, and thought the writing on that character in particular was spot on. She was a perfect representation of a modern teenage girl--you could feel the sarcasm oozing and practically felt spurned yourself through her many perceived eyerolls.
Overall, while both books were really great and kept me completely absorbed, I liked Where the Crawdads Sing a little bit better. The main character was so compelling, and I just found myself completely cheering for her until the very end. In that sense, it reminded me of another great book, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I also highly recommend. In comparing those two books, they both feature women who are stronger than they first realize, who have been through trauma, and who have been marginalized from mainstream society, in one way or another.
Lastly, if you take Crawdads as an ovearching metaphor for the sort of struggle between human-kind and nature, I think it's comparable to A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley. Both could be considered allegory for mankind taking advantage of, or manipulating, nature. In one, the ending is very satisfying, while in the other, it feels very pessimistic. I'll let you read either or both books, and tell me what you think.
If you're looking for a great piece of writing with compelling characters and great plot, and you're willing to give yourself completely to a book, try either Where the Crawdads Sing, or True Places. You might find a new favorite that you can't put down and you'll certainly welcome a few unforgettable new fictional friends into your life!
Check out these two books on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36809135-where-the-crawdads-sing
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39904267-true-places
In Where the Crawdads Sing, the book, set in the mid 1900s, takes off with young Kya's mom walking down the road and away from their North Carolina coastal marshland shack, fleeing an abusive marriage. One by one, every member of Kya's family leaves her, until at last she is the only one who remains. Kya turns to the marsh itself for solace: ""The sun, warm as a blanket, wrapped Kya's shoulders, coaxing her deeper into the marsh. ...whenever she stumbled, it was the land that caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother." p. 34
But even the marsh can't protect her from natural human longing for companionship, as she grows up alone, living out her days with gulls and tides as friends. The dual storyline in this book follows a murder investigation and trial of surrounding the death of a prominent young man from the local community, found dead not far from the marsh Kya calls home. Was Kya, the "Marsh Girl," involved somehow?
True Places brings a character very similar to Kya, a young girl named Iris, into our lives, yet in a modern-day setting. This book begins very similarly to Where the Crawdads Sing; Iris has been living alone in the Blue Ridge Mountains, surviving off the land, her father has left the family and her mother has died. Iris is picked up along the roadside by the mom of a quintessential modern family, Suzanne. Suzanne's own two teenage children, Brynn and Reid, are nearly estranged as they are caught up in their own struggles with modern life in the Instagram and Snapchat era. Will Iris' pure innocence make or break this family as they navigate through the mess of possessions, appearances, and relationships that have come to define their lives?
There are many common themes and motifs between these two books, and both are written very well. I especially loved the nature writing in Where the Crawdads Sing, which was beautiful and yet not superfluous. It always seemed to serve the plot or the setting of the story, and in that way, reminded me of some of Barbara Kingsolver's work. In True Places, I loved how the narration slipped between each of the different characters and did so convincingly. I found myself somewhat fatally attracted to the teenage daughter, Brynn, and thought the writing on that character in particular was spot on. She was a perfect representation of a modern teenage girl--you could feel the sarcasm oozing and practically felt spurned yourself through her many perceived eyerolls.
Overall, while both books were really great and kept me completely absorbed, I liked Where the Crawdads Sing a little bit better. The main character was so compelling, and I just found myself completely cheering for her until the very end. In that sense, it reminded me of another great book, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I also highly recommend. In comparing those two books, they both feature women who are stronger than they first realize, who have been through trauma, and who have been marginalized from mainstream society, in one way or another.
Lastly, if you take Crawdads as an ovearching metaphor for the sort of struggle between human-kind and nature, I think it's comparable to A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley. Both could be considered allegory for mankind taking advantage of, or manipulating, nature. In one, the ending is very satisfying, while in the other, it feels very pessimistic. I'll let you read either or both books, and tell me what you think.
If you're looking for a great piece of writing with compelling characters and great plot, and you're willing to give yourself completely to a book, try either Where the Crawdads Sing, or True Places. You might find a new favorite that you can't put down and you'll certainly welcome a few unforgettable new fictional friends into your life!
Check out these two books on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36809135-where-the-crawdads-sing
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39904267-true-places
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