Lesley CreweCritiques

4 stars because it made me laugh out loud several times. I enjoy her shorter pieces more than the novels.

Quite possibly her best book.

I so want to like Lesley Crewe's books, but they just don't do it for me.

Read an advance reader copy. Definitely her most ambitious novel to date with three generations full of characters, and not as much humour as her previous books.

First half was quite funny, then it bogged down until a resolved but pretty unbelievable ending.

Love so much! This was my first Lesley Crewe novel and I hope more will be left under the tree next year! I enjoyed every page. The characters are so lovable, even the antagonist, because Crewe understands we are all imperfect and some our actions, although we are always motivated by what we think is best at the time.

I'm a cynic who hates cheesy novels and prefers mystery and sci-fi, and I loved his book!

I'm not giving this book a rating because I'm quitting at the end of chapter 2, although I did skim a bit ahead to see if it would grip me. It is for book club, but I have so many other things I could/should be reading that I don't have time for a book with a talking dog where a feisty older woman knows best about everything.

A delightful novel about a delightful lady named Emmeline who struggled to fit into her NS family ( a big lump she was called). When she joins a memoir writing class at her library ( when she is older living in Leigh - in - Sea) we hear her story of loneliness, courage and her love of her family. She talks to her dog Vera who talks back helping her think out the many decisions she makes always helping her family back in NS and her friends in UK.
So many wonderful characters in “ The Spoon Stealer”. Emmeline can’t help but taking a little spoon during some of her adventures . She likes a little momento.
This novel reminds me of “ The Chillbury Choir” that I loved.

Overall, I found this book okay. It was entertaining and it resonated emotionally. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times. However, except for Emmaline, the characters were not nuanced and lacked depth.

I loved Emmaline! She was so well drawn as a character. She was a strong person, generous, understanding and forgiving. She was amazing in her ability to understand and help others. Maybe the author under-wrote the other characters so that Emmaline could shine, but I think she would have shone anyway. All three of my stars go to Emmaline!

This is a story about family, and the importance of passing our family history down to younger generations.

Emmeline Darling was born on a summer morning in 1894. She arrived so quickly that her mother did not have time to grab her before she plopped right into the basket of freshly laundered linens her mother was in the process of hanging up to dry. "I don't think she ever forgave me for bloodying those beautiful white sheets," Emmeline writes in her memoir, excerpts of which are featured in the story, detailing Emmeline's life experiences. She recalls that her mother never really seemed to know what to do with her as she grew up on their Nova Scotian farm with her four older brothers. Oh, Emmeline is sure that her mother loved her, but she tried her mother's patience and was always aware that her mother didn't like her very much. Emmeline was a "big" girl who worked hard on the farm alongside her brothers, but was not particularly well-liked in school, either.

The Spoon Stealer opens in 1968. Emmeline, who never had children and has been retired for eight years, confronts her loneliness. Urged on by her devoted and delightful talking dog, Vera (the story of how Vera came to live with Emmeline is both hilarious and reveals the opinionated Emmeline's tenacity), Emmeline enrolls in a four-week course on memoir writing led by the officious and self-important Joyce Pruitt, who "fancied herself a writer of sorts, having had a few articles and poems published in the local paper." Emmeline and five other women gather at the local library, their first assignment having been to commence penning their memoir, something Emmeline did well before signing up for the course. As each woman reads her work aloud, Emmeline praises and encourages them. But when Emmeline begins reading, the other would-be memoirists are mesmerized not by "What she wrote," but, rather, "how she wrote it." Emmeline finds herself drained after reading a few pages. "When you read it out loud to people, it's like living it all over again, but it's not the same," she tells Vera. "Which is the truth -- what happened, or my memory of what happened?"

Emmeline does not, however, reveal her compulsion to her fellow autobiographers that first day. But as she was making her tea when she arrived at the library, she slipped a small, ornate spoon that might have originated in a child's tea set into her pocket and took it home with her. Emmeline is a spoon stealer, and over the years has amassed quite a collection that she keeps in an opulent Chinese enamel box that has brought her solace over the years.

About the first half of The Spoon Stealer is devoted to Emmeline's burgeoning relationships with her classmates. They bond as Emmeline reads her memoir aloud and becomes an increasingly influential friend to each of them. They are an eclectic group. Widowed Sybil Weatherbee cares for her elderly mother and looks for ways to keep herself busy, Mrs. Tucker runs a fish and chips shop with her husband, Una is raising five children whose names all begin with "G" and perpetually has her hair up in curlers, and Harriet is self-conscious about her teeth. Flora, a devout believer in the Ten Commandments, allows her judgmental attitude to get in the way of friendship.

But it is the memoir that lays the foundation for the latter portion of the book. Emmeline reveals her family's history, including the devastating losses they sustained, and the circumstances and events that brought about a lasting fracture between her and her surviving family members. She was just twenty-one years old when she set sail across the Atlantic all alone during World War I, determined to be at her beloved brother Teddy's side. But once she reached Europe, she learned it would be impossible to get back home and remained there for years before returning home to Nova Scotia to be with her family. Although she did not intend to stay long, she ended up spending ten years there. Those years were marked by both further family tragedy, mental illness, resentments, and eventual estrangement, as well as the joy of watching the niece and nephew she adored grow up. But at thirty-five years of age, she found herself a "hopeless spinster" whose only source of "nightly entertainment was darning socks with my mother" so she knew she had to leave "to save her own life," according to Crewe. She returned to Europe and remained there for more than forty years during which her life was filled with adventures, travel, and fascinating people. Emmeline's memoir is richly detailed, emotionally riveting and, at times, overwhelmingly heartbreaking. Crewe shepherds readers through Emmeline's triumphs and successes, as well as her disappointments and innermost emotional struggles, including one moment that Crewe says she found "very, very tough to write" and was in tears as she did so. "It still makes me heartsick thinking about it," she relates. It is equally tough to read, but it is a pivotal point in Emmeline's life and in critical ways informs her story.

Emmeline finds that reading her memoir aloud to her friends opens "the doors she'd been trying to keep nailed shut for years," and it proves to be mentally and emotionally draining, but her supportive friends stand beside her as she unburdens herself, revealing the most shameful moment of her life and her biggest regret. Soon after, she is shocked to learn that her brother Martin, who lived on the family farm his entire life, has died at the age of eighty-two. And willed the property to her. She is baffled. Why would Martin choose to leave the farm to her? She realizes that she wants to see the farm again, as well as her family members, some of whom she has never met or communicated with.

It is a bittersweet homecoming, as she surveys the property remembering her childhood, her fractious relationship with her mother, and the happy times she spent with Teddy, the brother with whom she shared such a special, close relationship, and finds that little on the farm has changed. She catches up with her surviving brother, niece and nephew, and their children. Again, Crewe surrounds Emmeline with a compelling cast of fully developed, complex characters with a myriad of emotional struggles and their own constellation of tangled relationships. Emmeline has opinions about everything and does not hesitate to share them. It is a character trait that both endears her to some family members and angers others who see her as an interlo9per who has no standing to dispense advice about people or situations about which she lacks context and history. She begins renovating the farm, and makes plans for further improvements both to the property and her family's lives but not all of her ideas are welcomed or embraced. Long-ago betrayals and simmering resentments surface and, in some cases, take Emmeline aback but force her to examine the past from others' perspectives. After all, they remained in Nova Scotia while she lived a life completely separate and apart from her family -- a life none of them know anything about.

The Spoon Stealer is entertaining, emotionally resonant, and thought-provoking. Emmeline is a complicated, multi-layered, and flawed, but endearing character who endures heartbreak, loss, and emotional abandonment, but perseveres. She is resilient, stubborn, self-aware, and determined to create a meaningful and purposeful life for herself, but throughout the years never loses sight of the lesson she learned from her dear Teddy -- who "always made my life better" -- as a young girl. "He told me that animals and people who are hurt only need a spoonful of kindness," Emmeline relates in her memoir. And that outlook permeates every aspect of Emmeline's existence, even when is a bit cantankerous and delights in letting Vera torment their unpleasant neighbor, Mr. Henderson, who fusses about his fastidious yard and precious garden gnome.

Crewe tackles difficult topics -- war, mental illness, suicide, resentments and grudges, betrayals and secrets -- in a frank, unsparing, but solidly compassionate manner. Even when her characters behave in despicable ways, Crewe humanizes them and gives readers insight into their histories and motivations. Some of her characters and their behavior are hilariously outrageous, while others' brokenness and demises are horrifyingly, but believably tragic. Through her characters, she illustrates how challenging circumstances and fraught relationships have the power to derail and embitter some people, while strengthening others. And includes some delightful magical realism in the form of Vera, Emmeline's sometimes sarcastically witty, but unwaveringly loyal dog. One revelation will take many readers by complete surprise, providing further insight into Emmeline's choices and why they were absolutely right for her. And about those spoons? The impetus for Emmeline's need to steal spoons wherever she goes is credibly explained . . . and resolved.

Crewe has crafted a steadily paced, always intriguing multi-generational story illustrating the power of family and friendships that is ultimately uplifting, and infused with hopefulness, grace, and joy. The Spoon Stealer is a thoroughly charming and engrossing story populated with unforgettable characters, a spoonful of whimsy, and a great deal of valuable wisdom.

Thanks to Nimbus Publishing and The Tandem Collective for a paperback copy of the book.

This was a light and easy read about an everyday family with everyday problems. Each character in the novel had to overcome some sort of personal struggle and in the end, they were all able to succeed. The characters were very relatable, so relatable in fact that I pictured members of my own family in the story! I was very surprised at the style of writing in this novel compared to Crewe’s novel The Spoon Stealer which I read last year. Mary, Mary was very light compared to the heavy conflicts presented in The Spoon Stealer but both had that wonderful element of humor that Crewe so easily threads into the story. This is a great book for when you’re looking for something homey and relaxed.

I enjoyed reading a book centered in CapeBreton. Lexie, the heroine , is loveable as is her family of 5 sisters. Lexie lacks confidence in herself so is blown away when a good looking back packer wonders into her life . Then on a weekend get -away she meets another lovely man. Both fall for Lexie and in a small town with a close knit family watching her , Lexie grows up, becomes a mom and learns to love herself, a man and her life.

I enjoyed this as a light, easy read, but I don't think it should be Canada Reads finalist, which it is not. I enjoyed it but I found it a bit overlong and perhaps a bit too preachy towards the end. It's a chatty, easy read about a woman in her 70's from a dysfunctional family. I'm glad to have made the acquaintance of the author and will look for more books by Lesley Crewe if I am in the mood for a light, chatty read. It won't be for everyone though.½

Though Lesley Crewe has written 11 novels, this is the first I’ve read by this Canadian writer. I recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy, heartwarming read.

The novel begins in 1968 with the introduction of 74-year-old Emmeline Darling who lives in a small English town. Though she has a companion dog named Vera with whom she converses, she decides to expand her social circle by joining a memoir-writing course in the library. Here she makes several friends to whom she reads her memoir. To her surprise, she inherits the family farm in Nova Scotia and so decides to take a trip. She was largely estranged from her family, but her parents and siblings are now dead so she wants to connect with nieces and nephews and their families, most of whom she has never met. It’s a visit that changes many lives.

Emmeline is a very likeable character. She is an independent spirit with a great sense of humour. An acquaintance describes her well: “’You are without airs, completely without guile, but not unsophisticated. You are smart, and well-spoken, and I can tell that common sense is your biggest asset. . . . And what is even more impressive is your capacity for love.’” Her philosophy is that all people need a spoonful of kindness, and she dispenses more than one spoonful.

She has not had an easy life and is not perfect. The memoir she shares with her friends reveals that she has had her share of heartbreak. She describes herself as a “big girl” who never felt she fit in, even with her family. Though she means well, she makes mistakes when she arrives back in Canada and tries to take charge of everyone’s lives.

There are several minor characters, Emmeline’s friends and family members, and all emerge as distinct individuals. I loved Mrs. Tucker who has no difficulty telling someone she’s a “’tight-arse.’” Louise, a great-niece, represents the type of life Emmeline might have had if circumstances had been different. And then there’s Vera with whom Emmeline has extensive conversations. Because they function as interior monologues, these chats reveal a great deal about Emmeline’s personality.

There is considerable humour. Conversations between Emmeline and her friends are often hilarious: Uma says, “’Ooh. I hates the doctor. Always wantin’ to look at your Mary-Ellen. . . . Your lady bits . . . Always up there lookin’ around, like they’ve lost their car keys.’” Emmeline replies, “’Well, they wouldn’t find anything up my Mary-Ellen but dust and cobwebs.’” Emmeline’s encounters with Agatha and Joyce are usually comic in some respect.

Though often light-hearted, the book does raise serious issues which were often not openly discussed in the time frame of the novel. One woman obviously has mental health issues for which she receives no help. The stigmas attached to unwed mothers and their children are broached. It is especially significant that Emmeline doesn’t reveal a secret about her life to most of her family and friends: “’I’ve given away so many secrets, but only certain secrets to certain people. I have to trust my own instincts.’”

One of Emmeline’s best friends tells her, “’Ordinary lives are just as glorious as great lives lived by great men and women.’” In many ways, that is the message of the novel. Emmeline is an ordinary woman but she leaves a great legacy by trying to understand and be kind to people. That doesn’t mean Emmeline is a Pollyanna; her comments about Joyce, Agatha, and Mr. Henderson suggest that redemption is not possible for everyone.

Though the ending is a bit sentimental, I’d recommend the book to anyone looking for a charming, feel-good read – something we all need at some times.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).½

Read an advance reader copy. Definitely her most ambitious novel to date with three generations full of characters, and not as much humour as her previous books.

I so want to like Lesley Crewe's books, but they just don't do it for me.

Elsie Brooks and her big, complicated family live in a house located in the South End of Halifax that is bursting with secrets.

great, strong characters. I really rooted for Amazing Grace because she was amazing. You care about her and her tough life from growing up in a sick and twisted religious cult, to foster care, to loser professor boyfriend. to gay husband discovery. She climbs back up every time with determination and lots of swearing. I like her and I liked this book.

30 year old Lexie Ivy lives in her own house in Cape Breton, NS. She enjoys her large family, life by the ocean but something is missing- a man with whom to share it. Lexie is also a large woman with self esteem issues some of which are caused by the fact that her three sisters are beautiful women, living very fulfilling lives.

When Adrian, a backpacker shows up needing a place to stay, her life takes a turn to wonderful as he seems to be the man of her dreams. When she finds him making love to her sister, Gabby, who is planning to marry someone else, she sends Adrian away with her sister. Soon after she meets another man at a camping outing and spends the weekend making love. He tells her he is not a man who will settle down so she doesn't try to find him when she finds herself pregnant.

The remainder of the novel is about trials that happen in her family while she lives the life of a single mother until Adrian returns followed by an appearance of Joss, the father of her son.

The novel was the basis for the Canadian film Relative Happiness.

This book was a huge disappointment , it promised so much but failed to deliver. The words and actions of the characters were contrived and predicable. This book is chick lit trying to be adult but fails miserably.

I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program, and I've tried several times to get into it, but it's just not happening. The very first chapter contains an argument between Bay, one of the reuniting sisters in this novel, and her teenage daughter Ashley that is just so cringe-worthy I found it very tough to get past. A novel so heavily dependent upon dialogue requires characters with authenticity and believeability, which takes a very skilled writer to create... and I don't feel like the writer pulled it off here at all. By Chapter 6, after meeting most, if not all, of the characters I was going to meet in this book, I decided I just didn't "buy" what any of them were saying (or how they were saying it, I suppose) and had to stop torturing myself and move on to another in my TBR pile.

An engaging book about the complicated relationship between mother and daughter, this book evokes small town Nova Scotia quite convincingly. I would have liked to see the prodigal sister's character fleshed out a bit more but, overall really enjoyed this book.

Her Mother's Daughter is set in Louisburg, Cape Breton, and chronicles the lives and loves of two sisters and their friends and family throughout a tumultuous series of events. Although this was a sweet little story, it was really predictable and because of that it was hard to take it seriously. Most of the plot points were so telegraphed you could see them coming from a mile away, and the characters weren't engaging enough to make me forget this. This was a quick read, suitable for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but not much else.½

I found the writing style of this novel stilted and unnatural to the point where it was difficult not to laugh out loud at the ridiculous manner in which things were presented and described. If this novel were a television show, it would have been a soap opera. And just like a soap opera can suck you in, the twists and turns in the plot kept me reading, despite the bad writing. The characters were inconsistent in their actions, and their thought processes were rarely explained. Just as one example of bizarre behaviour, you have Gertie, a fat woman, walking home with her groceries one day and her best friend explaining that Gertie does that because she overspends on food to the point of not being able to pay for gas for her car. As unlikely as this might be on its own, it becomes even more inexplicable when Gertie is coaxed into starting a walking program to lose weight but becomes overtaxed by even a short walk. If walking were such a problem for her, how does it make any sense that she'd walk to and from the grocery store? The book is fraught with such bizarre behaviours and actions. Luckily there was a decent plot to keep me somewhat interested despite the very bad writing.

I find that many books that try and introduce many characters in the first few pages, just confuse me, right off the bat. This was not the case with this book. They were explained (and described) so well, that I followed along easily from the beginning. It struck me from the start that the writing was very good, with very different voices for the characters. Tansy was very New York and sophisticated, while Bay had stayed in Louisbourg, and reflected that. I did find it a little predictable in places, and even somewhat cliché. Hard working good girl gets the short end of the stick and her bad girl party sister gets all the good luck. At first I really liked the character of Dermot. Then he started to bug me. Was he being slotted as the good boy or bad boy? Then I just decided he was selfish. He couldn’t decide which sister he wanted, so he was just going to sell his home and business and run away? Come on… All in all I thought the author was brilliant, and I was really touched by her writing. I spent a lot of time thinking about the story when I wasn’t reading it. I did feel maybe the ending was rushed for my taste, and a little too neatly wrapped up. I really enjoyed this book, and honestly assumed that it would stick with me for a long time. I was quiet surprise when I sat down to write this review, and discovered it hadn’t. This wasn’t what I think of as typical Canadian fiction. (Maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much, it wasn’t trying to hard to be ‘literature’.) I will be looking for more from this author in the future.½