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Heaping Spoonful ReviewHeaping Spoonful, a first novel by magazine columnist and blog queen Shauna Glenn, is surprisingly funny despite its dark premise.The story opens with the main character, Claire Hamilton, who has lost her husband to cancer, struggling emotionally in her role as a 30-something widow with two kids and a small business. Her rage erupts in the first scene as she flings a rock into the window of a car that came too close while she jogged. The humor catches up when the driver of the car turns out too be her little sister's new boyfriend and Claire's ex-high-school principal father makes her pay for the window.
Glenn does an amazing job of putting the reader into Claire's roller coaster emotions. The reader feels the boiling anger that keeps Claire from being able to move on in her life emotionally, but is also able to enjoy the often darkly humorous as well as the lovely moments along with Claire. When Claire is scolded by her well-meaning father, the reader suddenly feels like a truant teenager right along with Claire. When Claire's son sleeps in his father's closet on a pile of sweatshirts, the reader's heart aches with Claire.
Claire's mother, an only occasionally lucid woman with Alzheimer's, is touchingly depicted. Her old-fashioned Southern charm comes through during her lucid moments, and her role in helping Claire on her emotional recovery are seamless.
Glenn's characters are very strong, fairly flawed and therefore, incredibly lovable. In particular, Claire's sister, Lucy, is a gem. Glenn's portrayal of the irreverent and irresponsible man-crazy but loving Lucy is wonderful. The unshakable bond of sisters who support and yet still exasperate each other shines through their interactions. Even less central characters leave a big impact. Case in point, Mrs. Sugarman, the well-meaning elderly socialite who anonymously helps put Claire's bakery on the map and then plays cupid as well. Similarly, Claire's restaurant manager, Ben, manages to creep stealthily into the reader's heart as his quiet strength and business skill joins with Lucy's enthusiasm to take Claire's neighborhood bakery to the next level.
As a mother, Claire's interactions with her young children as they too attempt to cope with the reality of their altered existence and their Mother's unhappiness makes the story all the more appealing to parents. The reality of being left entirely alone in what one expected to be the partnership of parenting and having to start all over again is a hidden fear in many of us parents. Glenn manages to avoid the cliché of a moral and asexual widow and instead gives us a very real, desperately hurt and yet still sexual being who is trying to find her way.
Claire's attempts to break back into dating and sex are comically bungled, and leave her even more confused and emotionally troubled. From torrid ill-planned sex with a completely inappropriate man to the perfectly planned but badly executed relationship with a near perfect man, Claire can't seem to get it right. It is only when Claire finally gets what she thinks she really wants, that she realizes what she really needs. The surprising twist at the end was quirky and unexpected, but it will leave the reader feeling almost giddy, albeit in a "...and they lived happily ever after" sort of way.
Each of the characters lend their own form of support to the seemingly fraying fabric of Claire's life. As the story comes to a close, the underlying theme of the importance of friends and family is clear. Any reader who has survived a dark or difficult patch will recognize that regardless of our individual strength, it is essential to have loved ones to prop us up, hold us close, and ultimately kick us in the pants when we most need it.
All in all, Heaping Spoonful is a moving and engaging story, full of honest, funny, and tender moments. You will enjoy the ride.Heaping Spoonful Overview
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