#tom milton

[legosaurus]

I have an important mission for you

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[vyntic]

Persistence without insight will lead to the same outcome

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[isobelleposts]

Humanity and Nature in ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya Calrk in an upcoming film adaptation

Although it was hard to separate the author from their art, especially with the close relation of controversy being that ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ is a murder mystery, I cannot lie and say that this book did not keep me on edge late at night and had me absolutely astonished and mouth gaping by the end.

Tate Walker and Kya Clark in 'Where the Crawdas Sing'

FAMILY

The story follows Kya, referred to as the Marsh Girl in town, who lives in an old shack by herself, left and abandoned by her family one by one. Having only spent a few pages with Kya, Owens was already able to have me heartbroken and attached to the love and siblinghood the protagonist eventually came to lose.

But if Ma came back now when Pa was acting decent, maybe they could start over.

Page 67 of ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’

Though already knowing that everything would eventually crumble at some point, the way her father had been with her for the short time after all her siblings and mother left was something I couldn’t help but hold on to and hope so much would stay. But, of course, loss continues to prevail in life.

Still photo from ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ adaptation

NATURE

I have found what I might call the greatest descriptions of nature and its contrast and similarities to humanity in this book. It showcased how both living beings manage to survive in the world with each other as their only companion.

Tate idled back, watching as Kya and Chase spun around each other in the blue-gray waves, in ever-smaller circles like eagles courting in the sky.

Page 180 of 'Where the Crawdads Sing'

You never really know how beautiful a fair description of the world around us can enhance a story until you read a book written by a naturalist with a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior. Reading this book, I was fully immersed in the life Kya lived and felt as if I was there with her and finished with a new view of the world; a new sense of appreciation for its beauty and the way it functions in similar ways to humans.

As she pushed off, she knew no one would ever see this sandbar again.

Page 214 of 'Where the Crawdads Sing'

That line made me think of all the people there are in the world and all the different lives they live and the sights they see from the moment they wake to their last breath. You could see a person in the street, adore the way they smile at a cat passing by, and never see them again or be able to tell them of the beautiful sight you’ve witnessed.

Miss Catherine “Kya” Clark painting in her shack

ENDING

The way the story was set up and led to the trial and final verdict, you were made to think that something was wrong—that another person had murdered Chase Andrews and it certainly would not have been Miss Kya Clark. After all the pages that unraveled Kya’s life, I, as a reader, if not felt I was with her, felt I was her and that I, myself, was the one accused of murder.

Down, down he falls - His eyes still holding mine - Until they see another world

Page 367 of ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’

This book had left me with chills running down my spine, to think that a person I had grown attached to was not fully who I saw them be. To think that I didn’t know myself.

(Click HERE for Writing Commissions)

by Isobelle Cruz, 16/06/2022

[camyfilms]

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING 2022

No, I never hated them. They hated me. They laughed at me. They left me. They harassed me. They attacked me. You want me to beg for my life? I don't have it in me. I won't. I will not offer myself up. They can make their decision. But they're not deciding anything about me. It's them. They're judging themselves.

[tiefighters]

I’ve Lost Visual. He’s Got to be Around Here Somewhere. 

Featuring the Bandai’s The Mandalorian Razor Crest Model Kit. 

Image by Tom Milton || IG

[farewell-to-lorien]

The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it, by Tom Milton.

[abitoflit]

Where the Crawdads Sing

“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,” (Delia Owens).

What on earth was this nonsense? This book was awful. It felt like nothing was happening even with a murder investigation going on in the background and then a trial looming large toward the end of the novel. I don’t understand how an author can make a murder feel so darn dry either. Perhaps the most painful thing for me, however, was how the vast majority of the characters spoke—their deep, southern drawls, their heavily accented speech. It is hard to understand in real life if you are not accustomed to it; it is even more difficult on paper, and I found myself reading the same sentences over and over again in frustration. It was AWFUL! Not to mention, there wasn’t anyone who really drew me in to the story or was particularly interesting. Some characters were better than others, but as a collective, they didn’t appeal to me much. Jumpin’ was probably my favorite though simply because he seemed like both a kind and genuine soul and one of the few who could find it within himself to be kind to the “Marsh Girl.”

With that being said, this novel reminded me of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, in part because of the prejudice Kya faced from her town while on trial and in part because it was a coming of age story in which she fully matured following the events that took place during the trial. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, but the book didn’t seem as original as it could have because it reminded me so much of Lee’s work.

Now, let’s talk about the cover. Why? Just why? I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be Kya and it looks like she’s paddling in a canoe. I don’t recall there being mention of her using a canoe, and the boat she was known for using had a motor. I don’t like how the cover not only fails to tell me anything about the novel’s contents, but how its art is incongruous with what was written within its pages. I honestly wonder who signed off on it. The only thing that redeemed this dumpster fire of a novel at all were the final two pages. That was an interesting ending. But everything else about this novel sucked. Period. End of story.

Rating: 2/5 stars

[legosaurus]

Blue Milk

Image by Tom Milton || IG