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Sara Brunsvold flooded her next novel The Divine Proverb of Streusel with wisdom and heart. It’s the kind of feel-good story that will both convict you and have you smile-crying over each character in turn.
After reading The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip, I knew I’d give anything by Brunsvold a try; I love the way that she created characters who lived and shared deep, eternal wisdom in entertaining ways. She does that in this next book, too, though with a wider cast of wise characters and with more faults that provide a bit of levity when the heart gets heavy. It’s a tough call, but The Divine Proverb of Streusel tops this short list for me.
The main character in Streusel is an adult, but a young one; not long out of college and still being mentored as a new teacher, and while she’s struggling with really big issues, those are issues that people of all ages can relate. I love the way that this gets explored, and the way that the story keeps getting deeper with time. On the surface, it sounds like it’s about how to deal with a runaway father, and it is. At it’s heart, though, it’s more about how to forgive, how to deal with difficult relationships, how to trust after being hurt, how to give and receive grace, how to be open and hospitable and show love, however much or little you might receive in return.
The recipes that Nikki uses to cook her way through her story are included in the book and are actually family recipes of Brunsvold, and I can’t wait to try a few. So whether you love stories about families, stories about mysteries, stories that will make you cry or those that will have you frantically highlighting all the memorable lines, you need to read The Divine Proverb of Streusel. It’s, well … divine.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.
