The Spoon Stealer

This is a story about friendship, family, adversity, perseverance 

and the power of kindness.

The Spoon Stealer is a charming story filled with humour and heart about the life of Emmeline Darling, a septuagenarian who has lived an interesting life and now, in her later years, she shares excerpts from her memoir with a writing class in her small town.

It's through these recitations in the first half of the book that we learn about Emmeline's early years growing up in eastern Canada in the 1890's through to her adventures in her adulthood 'across the pond'. The second half focuses on Emmeline in the 1960's as the sassy, yet lonely, senior we were introduced to initially. This second half had a different feel than the first part - a little less humour, a slower pace, and many characters to keep track of as we witness Emmeline trying to reconnect with her long-estranged family. While it was a bit slower, the story picks up later with an emotional and satisfying ending.

This is a feel good kind of read with the highlight for me being the connection between Emmeline and her best friend Vera. They have a wonderful, deep, and long-lasting relationship that shows friendship at its very, very best. And I loved their sassy quips! As readers get to know her, they will undoubtedly root for sweet Emmeline -- they'll shed a tear (or three) for her losses, and cheer for her successes and how she stands up to the nastier people in her life, all while trying to stay true to her ideal that 'a spoonful of compassion can go a long way'. Emmeline is one character you won't soon forget.

Canadian author Lesley Crewe has written an impressive character-driven story, with memorable, well-drawn characters and a hearty dose of humour and emotion. This is a story about friendship, family, adversity, perseverance, and the power of kindness. It is also a good reminder for readers to sit down and chat with their older family members because oftentimes we have no idea of the rich lives and stories our older generations have experienced. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

 

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Lesley Crewe

Genre: Historical Fiction, Canadian

Type and Source: eBook from NG

Publisher: Nimbus Publishing

First Published: Sept 30, 2020

Opening Line: Emmeline Darling suffered a twinge of discomfort 

in her right hip as she reached over to pull the heavy floral 

draperies across the paned windows in her sitting room.

Book Description from GoodReads: Born into a basket of clean sheets—ruining a perfectly good load of laundry—Emmeline never quite fit in on her family's rural Nova Scotian farm. After suffering multiple losses in the First World War, her family became so heavy with grief, toxicity, and mental illness that Emmeline felt their weight smothering her. And so, she fled across the Atlantic and built her life in England. Now she is retired and living in a small coastal town with her best friend, Vera, an excellent conversationalist. Vera is also a small white dog, and so Emmeline is making an effort to talk to more humans. When she joins a memoir-writing course at the library, her classmates don't know what to make of her. Funny, loud, and with a riveting memoir, she charms the lot. As her past unfolds for her audience, friendships form, a bonus in a rather lonely life. She even shares with them her third-biggest secret: she has liberated hundreds of spoons over her lifetime—from the local library, Cary Grant, Winston Churchill. She is a compulsive spoon stealer.

When Emmeline unexpectedly inherits the farm she grew up on, she knows she needs to leave her new friends and go see the farm and what remains of her family one last time. She arrives like a tornado in their lives, an off-kilter Mary Poppins bossing everyone around and getting quite a lot wrong. But with her generosity and hard-earned wisdom, she gets an awful lot right too. A pinball ricocheting between people, offending and inspiring in equal measure, Emmeline, in her final years, believes that a spoonful—perhaps several spoonfuls—of kindness can set to rights the family so broken by loss and secrecy.

The Spoon Stealer is a classic Crewe book: full of humour, family secrets, women's friendship, lovable animals, and immense heart.