Spoiler Warning: Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens' 2018 novel, has sold more than 12 million copies, cementing its place as one of the best-selling novels of all time. Surpassing the ten million volumes sold metric represents an incredible feat for any novelist. Other books that have climbed to such staggering heights are, for the most part, instantly recognizable classics, including Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man in the Sea, Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, and Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat.

Where the Crawdads Sing follows Kya, a young girl who lives a solitary life in the swamps of North Carolina. Given the novel's success, it's no surprise that the story was eventually subject to a film adaptation, which was released on July 15, 2022.

Though reviews of the recently released film are mixed, most critics agree the performance of Daisy Edgar-Jones (War of the Worlds, Under the Banner of Heaven) as Kya is incredibly powerful. Another element of the film that cannot be denied is its stunning cinematography. Picturesque scenery was absolutely essential to an adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing. The novel relies heavily on descriptions of the North Carolinian landscape. This setting might as well be a secondary character in the story for its importance to the plot. While the location of the novel and the movie are the same, there are many differences between the two.

Here are some differences between the novel Where the Crawdads Sing and its film adaptation.

A Lack of Exposition Regarding Kya's Troubled Childhood KyaHiding

In the novel, a lot of time is spent discussing the early childhood of Kya and the trauma she and her siblings suffered at the hands of their alcoholic father. Fed up with the constant abuse, Kya's mother abandons the family without warning. Her siblings follow shortly thereafter, including her brother Jodie, who in the film is portrayed by Logan Macrae (The Vigil, Blackbird) as an adult, and Will Bundon as a child. This is the sibling with which Kya shared the most intense emotional bond.

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In the film, Kya's emotionally difficult childhood is somewhat under-explored. Obviously, there are time restraints in a movie that would make it difficult to spend a considerable amount of time on the character's backstory. The adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing instead opts to sequester stories about Kya's upbringing into a few courtroom scenes when she shares her past trauma with her lawyer, David Strathairn's (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Nightmare Alley) Tom Milton.

The Choice to Have Kya Arrested Early in the Film

Where the Crawdads Sing
Sony Pictures Releasing

In the novel, Where the Crawdads Sing opens with a murder investigation, The victim is Chase Andrews, portrayed by Harris Dickinson (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The King's Man) in the film, and the primary suspect is Kya. Though readers are introduced to the murder investigation early on, it is not the focus of the novel.

Related: Where the Crawdads Sing Review: Backwoods Bestseller Gets Sluggish Adaptation

In the film, the murder investigation, likely to the fact that it's the most impactful of the film's events, takes center stage. Kya's backstory is only told through discussions of her past with her lawyer, and viewers come to understand the relationship that the character has with the surrounding town. Locals' deep disdain for the "swamp girl" is shown through flashbacks and made evident by the venom of the courtroom drama.

A Tumultuous Relationship With Tate

Kya

Kya's primary romantic interest throughout the duration of Where the Crawdads Sing is Tate Walker, who in the film adaptation is portrayed by Taylor John Smith (Insidious: Chapter 3, Almost Friends). This fact remains unchanged between the two mediums.

However, certain facets regarding the timeline of the relationship between Kya and Tate are changed in the film. One of the best examples of this timeline shift is concerning Kya's literary career. In the film, Tate encourages Kya to publish books about the swamp while they are in a relationship. But in the novel, it is not until Tate returns home from college to find Kya in a relationship with Chase Andrews (the victim film's driving murder) that he encourages her to explore her creative talents, which points to a more complex relationship between the two.

Despite the mixed reviews of Where the Crawdads Sing's long-awaited film adaptation, fans of the novel may still find things to love about the movie. The scenery is utterly gorgeous, and Daisy Edgar-Jones makes for an excellent Kya. One of the most fascinating parts about watching a novel be adapted for the silver screen is seeing how the story changes as the medium is shifted. 2022's Where the Crawdad Sings manages to be a compelling picture while still staying true to the source material.