Movies | One of the most followed actresses of the moment was cast in the lead role of Suo villi laulu, which became a huge book hit: Daisy Edgar-Jones tells what touches the story

of North Carolina the beach is covered with a dense forest of oaks and an even denser cluster of sharp-leaved saw palm trees. There are grassy marshes, motionless black ponds. Movement and noise: sand crabs, water birds, fish, shrimps, deer, geese…

And a 6-year-old girl who has been abandoned by her entire family.

She is by Delia Owens The wild song of the swamp -the main character of the novel, Kya Clark, who is considered suspicious by the villagers: the daughter of a drunkard, a trash bag, abandoned by her family. Kya loves nature and especially the swamp, whose animals, waters and mud she knows. But from the community of people he is separate, an outsider.

In the latter timeline of the story, set in the 1950s and 1960s, the body of the village’s own goldsmith, Chase Andrews, is found in the swamp. Suspicions fall on Kya.

Expectations were not high when the US publishing company GP Putnam’s Son published the retired zoologist’s debut novel in August 2018.

Now The wild song of the swamp (Where the Crawdads Sing) is, however, a worldwide bestseller, which has also been rocking on the best-read list in Finland ever since it was published Maria Lyytinen translated into Finnish in August 2020 (WSOY). More than 10 million copies of the work have been sold around the world, and it has held the top spot, among other things On the New York Times bestseller list for over a year.

Now it has also been made into a movie, in which the main character is seen Daisy Edgar-Jonesone of the most followed young actors of the moment.

The book the winning streak has not been dimmed even by the accusations faced by Owens, who have once again made headlines with the film. American Delia Owens is not only a writer but also a zoologist who lived with her husband by Mark Owens with over 20 years in different parts of Africa.

In Zambia, they not only studied animals but also fought against poaching. In 1994, the ABC television company Turning Point program made a documentary about elephant poaching with the Owenses. The filming followed a patrol trip, during which one unidentified poacher was shot, who was shot twice more as he lay on the ground on his stomach. The shooter is not shown in the documentary.

Delia Owens was not on the patrol, but Mark Owens’ son was Chris is suspected of being the shooter. No charges were filed in the case because the body was never found. Mark Owens is suspected of dumping the body in the river.

Soon after, the Owens returned to the United States. The US Embassy has recommended that they not return to Zambia until the case is resolved.

Zambian police would still like to hear from Mark and Delia Owens about the unsolved murder shown in the documentary, says The Atlantic. Article author Jeffrey Goldberg has also visited Zambia and interviewed locals who have said that the Owenses engaged in many other violent and racist activities.

In addition The wild song of the swamp According to Goldberg, the story of the novel has startling similarities to the murder in Zambia – especially in terms of the novel’s ending.

At least the writer and Kya have a lot in common, Delia Owens told HS in August 2020: love for nature and experiences in the wilderness. And loneliness, living apart from society, which, according to Owens, can affect a person deeply.

“It changes a person. Kya becomes shy, very critical,” Owens characterized at the time.

In September 2018 actor and producer Reese Witherspoon posted a video about the book of the month for his popular book club. “I’m not sure I can even put into words how much I love this book,” Witherspoon gushes in the video.

Vocalist Taylor Swift on the other hand, got excited to write a song based on the book Carolinawhich can now be heard on the soundtrack of the Witherspoon-produced film.

in the United States and Britain The wild song of the swamp premiered in July, but in Finland the film arrives in theaters on September 2. The film has received mixed reviews around the world, but it has gathered an audience – and even the critics who had a negative attitude towards the film in other respects have praised the performance of Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays the main part.

British Daisy Edgar-Jones’ career took off internationally in the miniseries Normal people (2020). She played Marianne, left out at school, who is developing intense relationship with popular soccer player Connell (Paul Mescal) with.

Daisy Edgar-Jones greets in a video call with a smile, her trademark brown bangs catching her eyes.

He read The wild song of the swamp in the winter of 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, and says that he strongly identified with the experience of being an outsider and isolation presented in the book.

“We all probably felt isolated during that time.”

The book was helpful in building the character, says Edgar-Jones. However, a role based on a beloved book always has its own challenges, he admits. Also the role of Edgar Jones Normal people in the series is based on a book loved by many: Sally Rooney to the novel of the same name.

“The only thing I can hope to do is achieve the mood of the book in my character,” he says. “But at the same time, I have to accept that it’s only one perspective on the piece. The readers of the book are very much married to their own interpretations.”

Externality connects Edgar-Jones Normal people Marianne played in the series and The wild song of the swamp Kya.

“It might be related to my age,” 24-year-old Edgar-Jones thinks about the roles that have been offered to him. “Being in your twenties involves thinking about who I am and where I belong, with whom I feel I can be myself the most.”

By normal people In the series, Marianne is 18–20 years old, a period that Edgar-Jones considers very significant in a person’s life. The young person’s perception of himself then changes forever, he describes.

In the middle of the same feelings and changes is also The wild song of the swamp Kya.

Edgar-Jones calls the story timeless. “It’s a story about a person who is an outsider who is misunderstood. There is something in Kya’s character that is in all of us.”

Movie also partly describes injustice and violence against women. Kya is a lonely young woman who learns as a child to fear her alcoholic father, who becomes violent when drunk – until he, too, abandons her. At school, the other kids bully Kya. She has a romantic relationship with Chase, who later becomes aggressive and tries to rape Kya.

Violence and exploitation were handled very subtly when making the film, says Edgar-Jones. For example, the rape scene playing Chase by Harris Dickinson with was difficult, but it was worked through with the intimacy choreographer.

“The subject matter is an important part of the film, and I’m happy with the way we approached it.”

A big part The wild song of the swamp the authors are women, the director Olivia Newmanphotographer Polly Morgan and screenwriter Lucy Alibaria down to.

“It was very stimulating and inspiring to see so many women as creators. I don’t know if it was a conscious decision on the part of the production or not, I just thought these women were the best possible for the job,” says Edgar-Jones, looking seriously into the camera.

She is waiting for a time when women as creators would no longer be a matter of wonder, but something quite ordinary.

in London born and still living Edgar-Jones had never been before The wild song of the swamp in a place like the shacks you describe. She says that the book drew her in so much that she felt that she got to know the environment already on its pages, but the shooting location was an important part of Kya’s role. Some scenes were filmed in North Carolina, but the main filming locations were found in Louisiana, on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.

“I could really experience what it’s like to live among all those creatures. There were animals everywhere: alligators on the embankment, big dragonflies everywhere, storks… It was actually really amazing how rich nature was, and that you could show it in the middle of it all – and not against a green backdrop.”

The wild song of the swamp – the novel is full of the zoologist-writer’s description of the marshland’s nature. Daisy Edgar-Jones also emphasizes the importance of the environment in Kya’s story. By observing animals, plants, water and the sky, Kya learns to understand the world.

“Important part Swamp wild song is a saying that nature has no dark side: it’s about finding ways to survive in the midst of it.”

The Wild Song of the Swamp in cinemas on September 2.

Delia Owens: Where the Crawdads Sing (2018). Finnish Maria Lyytinen. WSOY 2020.