110 Fairlady/September 2019
SUZYBROKENSHAooks
PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIEDWHERE THE
CRAWDADS SING
BY DELIA OWENS
Kya is just five when
she watches her mother,
carrying a packed suitcase
and wearing her fake
alligator high-heeled shoes,
walk out on her alcoholic
husband, her four children
and the shack they all
live in. One by one the
remaining children follow
suit, except for Kya: too
young to leave, she has to
learn how to survive both
the marsh and her father.
When he doesn’t return
from a fishing trip one day,
she’s left entirely alone.
She devises a plan to pick
oysters and mussels to sell
to a local man in order to
buy a few provisions and
gas for the small boat.
Kya is feral and illiterate
but has a passion for shells
and feathers – and her
beloved marsh.
A young boy, Tate, takes
an interest in her and starts
leaving bird feathers out
for her, and a friendship
develops
between
the two.
Tate
teaches her
how to read
and write,
but Kya
remains
hidden inare taken into care. Kerry
stays in care while Noah
is adopted by a family
who can afford him
opportunities. Now Kerry
is a single mom cleaning
rich people’s houses and
living on a tough London
estate. Noah is a successful
barrister living in a fancy
house with his beautiful
family. Kerry has never
forgotten her brother, but
Noah can’t remember
her. And then something
happens that forces Kerry
to reach out to him, with
life-changing consequences
for both of them.
Themes of race, class
and nature versus nurture
sweep through this
character-driven novel.
Gayle creates a marvel of
a character in Kerry: with
her no-nonsense attitude
and love of bright colours
and Mariah Carey, she
is a gift – a gift her lost
brother needs to unlock his
own life. Gayle succeeds
in giving both Kerry and
Noah distinctive voices.
At times the dialogue is
clichéd and repetitive,
and the resolution seems
drawn-out, but the pages
turn themselves in this
easy-reading novel. I
couldn’t help but respond
emotionally. Remember
those tissues...
Dirk BinnemanHeartbreaking,
intriguing, stimulating
and provoking: a crop
of fresh new paper
leaves for spring. Plus,
what to look for in your
bedtime reading.THE SON OF THE
HOUSE
BY CHELUCHI
ONYEMELUKWE-
ONUOBIA
It’s post-war 1970s
Nigeria, and
Nwabulu
is left in
the care of
her abusive
stepmother,
who sends
her away to
become a
housemaid
at the age of 10. She’s
working for a wealthy
family in the city of Enugu
when she falls in love with
a rich man’s son, but when
she falls pregnant she’s sent
back to her stepmother –
who quickly marries her off
to someone else. After her
son is taken away, Nwabulu
flees and establishes herself
as a fashion designer in
Enugu.
Julie is a teacher born
into a middle-class family.
She’s 34, childless,
unmarried and having an
affair with a married man.
Her family is pressurising
her to marry and have
children, and in an attempt
to make her mother
happy, she enters into a
polygamous marriage with
the promise of bearing
Eugine a son, something
his first wife cannot do.
But Julie is barren.
The two women meet
when Julie wants a dress
made for her son’s wedding.
They become friends, but
one day they are kidnapped.
Trapped together, Nwabulu
and Julie pass the time by
telling each other thethe marshes, where she
feels safe.
The book jumps back
and forth between Kya’s
life in the marshes and
a crime scene years later,
in 1969, where the body of
a local young man, Chase,
has been discovered at the
base of the fire tower.
There are no tracks to and
from the fire tower, and
no fingerprints... just
a few red fibres from
a woollen hat.
This is a weekend read.
It’s a rather far-fetched love
story, but even if it means
skipping a few pages just
to get to the ending, it’s
well worth the read.
Caryn McArthyHALF A WORLD AWAY
BY MIKE GAYLE
Keep the tissues close at
hand! Kerry and Noah
are separated when they