The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe

September 30th, 2020 Kimberly Review 23 Comments

30th Sep
The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe
The Spoon Stealer
by Lesley Crewe
Genres: Historical Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

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.

historical friends Family 2020 Fave

So a favorite author of mine messaged me and said, “You need to read The Spoon Stealer.” and so I did. I cannot thank her enough for recommending it to me. Lesley Crewe delivered a historical, timeless, heartwarming tale of friendship, family, loss and being the odd duck. If you add any book to your shelf, this Fall make it- The Spoon Stealer.

Our story introduces us to Emmeline Darling, whose brother once told her, “There isn’t anything a spoonful of kindness can’t fix.” Emmeline is in her seventies and lives alone with her dog, Vera. She and Vera have regular conversations in which Vera responds. Emmeline is lonely when she hears about a memoir class at the local library. She takes the memoir she has written and the very first day steals a spoon from the library cupboard.

Her memoir begins in her childhood and includes both WWI and WWII. The present day falls between 1968-1970. The settings are primarily rural Canada and a seaside town in London.

I absolutely adored Emmeline Darling. Her family finds her to be an odd duck and she never connected with her mother, but Emmeline loved her siblings and family. Her life was fascinating and her outlook enviable.

I absolutely adored Emmeline and connected with her on many levels. She is a fixer, a helper and a go-getter who just needed to belong. Her life story was rich and filled with as much joy as there is sorrow.

Crewe delivered a tale that was heartfelt and for those of you who love stories about friendships wait until you meet the ladies. The writing is captivating, smooth and pulls you in like a warm blanket on a crisp fall night. I went through a gamut of emotions, from laughter to unhinged ears.

I could smell the linens on the clothesline and wept with the best of them. While I will pass on the cheese and pickle sandwiches, I would have loved to join the ladies for afternoon tea.

The memoir takes us back through the years of Emmeline’s life, from her birth to her first love and to her last. Themes you will find are friendship, forgiveness, compassion, same sex romances, women’s fiction, animals, service and acceptance.

If you have a book club make tea and sandwiches, then gather to read The Spoon Stealer. You’ll have so much to talk about.

The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe is a remarkable tale of friendship, love and loss that will stay with you long after you've closed the book. #NewRelease #HistoricalFiction Share on X

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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23 Responses to “The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe”

  1. Katherine

    This sounds absolutely fabulous and isn’t one I’d come across before. I’ve added it both to my TBR and my Must Buy list.

  5. Rachel

    Kindness does smooth over so many things, and it seems so lacking today. This sounds like a wonderful feel good story! Never heard of this author, but I’ll check it out. 🙂