Why am I passionate about this?
I knew I wanted to be a writer of fiction when I was 10 years old, being raised by my father. He thoughtfully gave me a typewriter, and plenty of other encouragement too. As a youngster, I couldn’t read enough about what youngsters read about: animals, sports, cowboys, child detectives. Soon, I came to love books that probed human conflict through characters who reached deeply into my soul. Not simplistic “good versus evil” driven principally by plot, but gut-pulling interpersonal struggle coming to life (and sometimes death) in characters facing moral and legal dilemma, and facing it with wit, humor, and human frailty.
Joseph's book list on loyalty, morality, and friendship verses the law
Why did Joseph love this book?
What is there not to love about this novel? Let me count the reasons, if I can, that I did love it:
It's unvarnished, simple, elegant prose. The searing vulnerability of not only the central protagonist but many surrounding characters as well. The theme of family failure but also family triumph. Its resonating depiction of life circumstances and survival collides head-on with legal norms and personal choice.
51 authors picked Where the Crawdads Sing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
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For years, rumours 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…