The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe is published by Vagrant Press.
Emmeline lives in a small coastal town with her best friend, Vera, a dog who talks. Emmeline, who is 75, joins a memoir writing class with a couple of ladies just for something to do to get out more and starts tell her life story. To start, she was born in her mother’s laundry basket on a rural farm in Nova Scotia. Her brothers went off to war, and she fell in love with a young man, which resulted in heartbreak. Her journey led Emmeline back to the farm, but her mother was never the same after losing two sons. In the here and now, Emmeline is forming new bonds with the others in her writing group. Once the classes are over, a few the ladies want to hear more of Emmeline’s story and they meet at her house. These ladies becomes good friends and how story unfolds reveals how true friendship is a blessing. I could easily picture these ladies sitting around with their sandwiches and tea. Emmeline unexpectedly inherits the farm she grew up on and feels she needs go back. She meets family members for the first time after being gone for so long, and with her lovable charm she becomes close to family members she just met and patched things up some the older ones. It’s very touching to see how it all unfolds. There is much satisfaction in this reuniting of her family. Some parts of the story I actually chuckled out loud, and some parts you couldn’t help but feel the anger. It was very easy to follow and I could see the farm and her family, and even though at first I was little taken aback by her talking dog, I was absolutely hooked. This novel is a fun, light read, even if it’s heartbreaking at times. It comes together nicely. I was so invested that I wanted to throttle one of her nastier neighbours, and I read until my eyes couldn’t stay open. Sometimes I find that writers can make time jumps messy and difficult to follow, but Crewe did an excellent job.
Ashley’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Book columnist Ashley White is a mother of two and a self-confessed bookworm. She is passing on her love of reading to her children, and is active in local book groups and her community, including through volunteer work at the Port aux Basques Salvation Army. You can email Ashley at info@wreckhousepress.com.
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