By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff
I picked up Delia Owens’ debut novel just last week, driven by rave reviews from friends and celebrities alike to find out what, exactly, made “Where the Crawdads Sing” such a success.
I am several chapters in, and I now know.
Delia Owens, right, with actress Reese Witherspoon. Photo courtesy Delia Owens Instagram.
Owens blends exquisite descriptions of nature with a compelling storyline to transport her reader to the marshes of coastal North Carolina. Have I ever been there? No. But when I hold Owens’ novel in my hands, I smell the wet earth and the boat fumes. I hear the birds and insects all around. I feel the curiosity and despair that young Kya — the book’s protagonist — feels as she navigates life without anyone reliable left in her family’s swamp shack. All the while, alternating chapters unveil a murder mystery that I’m sure will blow my mind.
Like I said, I’m only about a quarter of the way into “Where the Crawdads Sing,” but I’m starting to understand all the excitement around Owens’ work. In December, it was announced that Reese Witherspoon will be producing the movie adaptation of “WTCS,” so it seems as though everyone will hear or watch this page-turner of a story at some point.
What makes Owens’ rising fame all the more fun is that her current home base is a ranch in North Idaho. Now, fresh off a national book tour, Owens is scheduled to read from “WTCS” next Friday, May 31, at Bonners Books in downtown Bonners Ferry.
Owner and operator John O’Connor said the Bonners Books team is happy to see Owens’ novel do so well, and said the book “captured the energy of the contemporary Me Too, women’s empowerment movement in a charming historical novel, set in place exotic to most of us.”
“We feel lucky to be the bookstore at the right place and time to present her to the North Idaho public,” O’Connor said.
Hear Owens read on May 31 starting at 6:30 p.m. at Bonners Books, located on Main Street in Bonners Ferry. Those with questions can call the bookstore at 208-267-2622.
