Egg & Spoon

To say that I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately would be an understatement. For whatever reason, perhaps burnout, stress, or just a general sense of apathy, I haven’t been overly motivated to read (or I simply lose my focus after a few short pages).

I decided to take a book off of the shelf that I received a while ago, one that I was excited to dive into, hoping that it would help reignite my desire to read, but unfortunately, that didn’t unfold exactly how I had hoped it would.

Gregory Maguire, probably most well known for one of his other books, "Wicked"—and the cultural phenomena that has thus ensued surrounding that work—wrote another book that has been nestled on my TBR pile for quite some time: "Egg & Spoon."

Maguire’s "Egg & Spoon" tells the story of two young girls and the journey that ensues when their lives become inexplicably intertwined in the bleak, desolate countryside of Imperial Russia.

Elena and Ekaterina (known as Cat) could not be more different. Elena, growing up in a small village, has been forced to watch her father die, her brother’s be conscripted into governmental service, and her ailing mother suffer through illness and lack of resources. Elena’s life is dismal and bleak, relying on the kind actions of Dr. Peter Petrovich, and a few others in her village, to provide the smallest glimmer of hope, humor, and heart. Cat, on the other hand, comes from a life of wealth and luxury. On her way to meet the godson of the Tsar, Cat—alongside her great aunt, Madame Sophia; her governess, Ms. Bristol; and her butler, Monsieur d’Amboise—gets stuck in Elena’s small village while repairs are being made to the train tracks.

During this stop, Elena and Cat meet and develop the beginnings of an unbalanced acquaintanceship that exposes the realities that each girl is facing. When the train is finally able to leave the station, an unfortunate accident has left Cat stranded in the village, and Elena trapped aboard the luxury locomotive. Each girl, fearing for her safety, assumes the identity of the other in the hopes of surviving long enough to return to their rightful place.

As a somewhat comical journey develops, filled with hijinks and heart, both Elena and Cat learn what it means to look beyond themselves and transition from selfishness into selflessness. Partnered with a lovable cast of characters, this journey takes the motley crew across the forests, cities, and frozen tundras of Russia.

What I liked most this book was the characters. I thought that Maguire did a fantastic job creating characters that seemed as though they were real people; each of the characters had their own desires, dreams, and demons, and I think that they were presented as examples of how we can often fluctuate between the different aspects of our character until we find where we fit in the world. Characters like Baba Yaga and Mewster add quite a bit of humor throughout the book and offer some much needed comic relief.

For whatever reason, and I can’t quite pinpoint what it was specifically, I just couldn’t get lost in this book. There are some books where it seems as though you have only turned a few pages and then suddenly you’re closing the back cover, but this book seemed incredibly long and incredibly slow. Despite my high hopes and expectations, it felt as though I was just trudging along throughout the book waiting for it to finish. I did finish it, but I wasn’t able to read with the fervor that I had been hoping for.

If you are looking for something light, adventurous, endearing, and sometimes humorous, I would recommend picking this up and giving it a try. Bonus points if you have an interest in Russian folklore because this book is filled with references to classic Russian mythology.

2 out of 5 stars.