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Jul 13 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
Delia Owens' bestselling novel "Where the Crawdads Sing" seems to draw from her own involvement in the 1995 murder of an alleged poacher in Zambia. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Owens’ work of fiction #WhereTheCrawdadsSing, which has been adapted into a film produced by Reese Witherspoon, follows an outcast young woman on trial for murder in the 1960s.

It also sheds some light on an unrelated episode from the author’s own life. latimes.com/entertainment-… Image
Owens has a tumultuous history as a conservationist in the African nation of Zambia, where she is currently wanted for questioning in a 1995 murder. latimes.com/entertainment-… Image
It’s resurfaced in a recent article in the Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg. In 2010, Goldberg published an exposé revealing that Owens, her now-ex-husband & his son were suspected by Zambian authorities of being involved in the killing of an alleged poacher. latimes.com/entertainment-…
What does all this have to do with Reese Witherspoon’s new movie, apart from cutting into its marketing plan?

For one thing, there are the book’s blind spots when it comes to race — including some cringe-worthy dialect spoken by a Black man. latimes.com/entertainment-… Image
His characterization and speech share a lot with Owens’ depictions in earlier books of some African people as wide-eyed and subliterate. latimes.com/entertainment-…
The critic Laura Miller marked these parallels in a 2019 essay referencing Goldberg’s reporting, noting that one of Goldberg’s sources had summarized the Owenses’ attitude toward Africa as: “Nice continent. Pity about the Africans.” latimes.com/entertainment-…
Miller also points to greater thematic similarities. The Kya of “Crawdads” communes with nature and is alienated from humanity; if she committed murder, it was only because she was driven to it by an animalistic survival drive. latimes.com/entertainment-… Image
Learn more about why Delia Owens, the author of #WhereTheCrawdadsSing, is wanted for questioning over a murder. latimes.com/entertainment-…

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Jul 13
Six days after the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion, lupus patient Becky Schwarz got an unexpected message from her rheumatologist.

Schwarz was stunned.

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Jul 13
How did Chris Hemsworth prepare for his #ThorLoveAndThunder kiss with Natalie Portman?

"He didn’t eat meat that morning because I’m vegan,” Portman said. “He eats meat like every half hour. That was so thoughtful." latimes.com/entertainment-…
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Jul 13
Doja Cat’s social-media following has reportedly thinned after she blasted “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp last week for exposing their private messages. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Last week, Schnapp posted a now-deleted TikTok with a screenshot of a private Instagram message from the “Get Into It” rapper, in which she asked if he could help put her in touch with his costar, Joseph Quinn. latimes.com/entertainment-…
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Jul 13
Finding a homeless woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy in a tent in the heart of Hollywood’s real estate boom is shocking.

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Jul 13
CHP investigated allegations that UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang drove a car that hit a student skateboarding through a campus crosswalk but said it couldn't determine what happened & recommended no charges, according to documents & interviews.
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Jul 13
Drunk and despondent, David Santillan called his wife.

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