Where the Crawdads Sing - Which is better: the book or the movie?

I must have been the last person I know to read Where the Crawdads Sing – the novel by Delia Owens that's part mystery, part coming-of-age story and brings the marshes of North Carolina to life. So when I picked up the library copy of the DVD, I could check out the movie while the book was fresh in my mind.

If you need a re-cap, the novel starts off with the death of a young man, popular local Chase Andrews, who is found at the bottom of an old fire tower. Did he fall or was he pushed? The local sheriff plumps for murder and soon the finger is pointed at Kya, known around town as The Marsh Girl.

We get Kya’s backstory woven through the murder investigation and court case. She was abandoned by her family, all of them victims of a violent and mentally unstable father. At ten she had to learn how to fend for herself, digging up mussels to trade with old Jumpin’ - the guy who sells fuel and a few groceries to fishermen.

Jumpin’ and his wife are black and similarly the victims of prejudice, but take pity on Kya and help her out. Then there’s Tate, the childhood friend who teaches her to read and steals her heart. Tate’s off to university though and like everyone else seems to abandon Kya. No wonder she's drawn to Chase Andrews who has a bit of a reputation around women. She’s just so tired of being alone.

I'd heard the movie was disappointing for the vast number of fans who loved the book. I found it beautifully filmed, and the acting reasonably good while the plot followed the book unusually faithfully. Maybe this was the problem. Cramming a book into a two-hour film means a lot of it feels rushed – there’s a lot of story here after all. If you hadn’t read the book you might even struggle to pick up the subtleties of plot, particularly around the court drama. And then the scripting comes off a bit trite. All those voice-overs.

Even so, Where the Crawdads Sing – the movie – is an entertaining watch. Like the book the story is evocative and atmospheric and there are likeable leads in the roles of the main characters. And the scenery is stunning. But if you can read the book first. 

Posted by JAM

Catalogue links: Where the Crawdads Sing

28 November 2022

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