I Love Reese Witherspoon, but Here's the One Book Club Pick She Got Wrong

At the time of this publishing, Reese’s Book Club has chosen to spotlight 100 books since May 2017 years (most recently, a beautiful novel by Reese Witherspoon’s high school English teacher). I have read—and loved—many of those 100 books. There’s really only one title I can think of that was a misstep: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Selected in September 2018, Where the Crawdads Sing was a smash-hit. The novel follows a girl named Kya, who grew up in the North Carolina marshes. Everything changes when the police suspect she’s involved in the murder of a local man from her past.

Readers loved the book for its unflinchingly strong protagonist, its celebration of nature and its captivating crime plotline. Unsurprisingly, Hollywood took notice, and it was announced that the book would be adapted into a film produced by Witherspoon and starring Daisy Edgar Jones ( Normal People ) as Kya.  The only problem is, the book—and its author, Delia Owens—isn’t without controversy.

cover: G.P. Putnam's Sons; background: getty images

First let’s chat about Owens’s past: Owens is linked to the 1995 death of an African poacher, detailed in a 2010 New Yorker article by Jeffrey Goldberg. After living in Africa, Owens and her then-husband Mark Owens, wrote about their clashes with elephant poachers in a 1992 memoir. They were then approached by ABC News to film a short documentary episode for Turning Point, which aired in 1996 and included the filmed execution of a man alleged to have been a poacher. As reported by IndieWire in 2022, there’s no statute of limitations on murder in Zambia and Zambian authorities are still investigating the case, with Mark, Delia and Mark’s son, Christopher Owens, currently wanted for questioning. (In the New Yorker article, Delia Owens denied knowledge of as well as involvement in the killing.)

Real-life issues aside, the book has been rightfully chided for its stereotypical characterization of Black characters—specifically Kya’s neighbors Jumpin' and Mabel. In a review, feminist lifestyle and art history blogger The Feminist Gadabout wrote, “I was honestly kind of shocked to read such blatant stereotyping in a novel published in 2018, albeit written by a white woman who grew up in 1950s Georgia. If Mabel isn’t written to fulfill the ‘Mammy’ stereotype, I don’t know who is.”

To be fair, I have no idea what Witherspoon knew about Owens’s past when she chose Where the Crawdads Sing in 2018, but regardless, it’s a rare misstep for the star’s normally aboveboard book club. (I, personally, was never a fan of Crawdads —I wrote about my inability to even finish the novel a few years ago—but I digress.) All of this is to say: With 99 other Reese’s Book Club picks to add to your TBR list, might I suggest opting for a title that’s not mired in controversy? (I’m particularly fond of Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett).

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