Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The book club selection for March 2020 was Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. How lovely to see at least one snow bird has returned (Hi Mary!) to the fold! That must mean spring is upon us, right?

As promised, the nominations for this year's reading list were distributed to the members in attendance with the intention that we will be voting at our next meeting on April 14th. Not to worry if you weren't able to join us for March's meeting. We have some extra copies available at the circulation desk free for the taking, and we are also happy to mail and/or e-mail out copies if you'd prefer. Additionally, within the next week or so, we will have the nominations posted on the Perham Library's website and you are most welcome to peruse them at will and cast your vote there! Happy voting! 

Back to the book~ 
WARNING SPOILER ALERT: The discussion summary contains a major spoiler, so beware!

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So, in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

When the introductory discussion question was asked of how people liked the book, an immediate response from several members was "I absolutely loved it," followed closely with, "I really didn't care for it" from a few additional members. Wow! What excellent fodder for first-rate conversation! Kya was a universally well liked leading lady. Our members found her fascinating and likable, adding that there must have been an internal battle of sorts going on inside of her, the natural instincts and desires of a human soul warring with her wild and turbulent roots. There seems to be a consensus that this book was very well written, especially with it being the author's first novel; however, the ending wasn't unanimously well-received by the group. Several people said they didn't like that Kya was the one who ended up murdering Chase. They thought that since Chase was the undesirable man that he was, it would have been better, and also believable, if someone other than a key character had killed him (no one wanted Tate to have killed him either). On the flip side, it was suggested that Kya, having lived alone in the marsh most of her life, influenced by nature and all it's hard truths, would naturally feel she had no other choice, maybe even that it was the logical choice, for her to permanently remove Chase from her life~ a poetic justice kind of ending. All present were pleased that in the end Kya found happiness and contentment, and while most didn't like that she killed Chase, the group could agree she had a valid reason to do so, and were relieved that she wasn't convicted of the crime. 

Can someone remind me (or chime in) on why they didn't like that Kya was the killer? Was it because we liked her too much to think of her capable of such an act? Or because the timeline itself was possibly improbable? A mix of the two or something altogether different?

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
  3 stars (alot of 3 stars were awarded, with a couple 4's and 2's mixed in).