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A review by mhinnen
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
slow-paced
3.0
As someone who is close to Rocky, the protagonist’s, age and having cherished vacation memories, there was a lot of this book that resonated with me. She is part of the sandwich generation with barely grown adult children and parents who are living along with the love and worries that accompany this stage of life. She also makes sandwiches daily customizing them for each family member’s preference.
Maybe it’s because I was a single mom and younger than Rocky when I had my daughter, but this nuclear family was so different from my experience of parenting.
Rocky is enjoying(?) the annual vacation in Cape Cod with the familiar reminders that anchor them to past and current experiences - a break from the real world and a reunion of three generations. It was interesting to me that there was not much focus or conversation about work. This was a family that enjoyed being together.
But Rocky has secrets. She shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about her reproductive history. I appreciated that she named a lot of realities that women face regarding their bodies and their families. And it was refreshing to normalize the sexuality of Rocky and her husband as well as the sexuality of each of their kids.
There wasn’t really a plot - it was more of a slice of life - the journal of a menopausal woman on vacation with her family, recalling painful secret memories and lashing out at her husband. Her voice is a bit annoying . . . Overusing contemporary expressions like “And also,” “say more,” can you please not,” and “same.” The repeated exclamative “Jesus Christ” was distracting and offensive. The relationship with her children was way too familiar and accepting . . . The way they spoke to her (even though they obviously loved her) was uncomfortable and inappropriate. And also (haha) much of the writing in this story was beautiful, thoughtful, and humorous.
“Life is a seesaw, and I am standing dead center, still and balanced: living kids on one side, living parents on the other. Nicky here with me at the fulcrum. Don’t move a muscle, I think. But I will, of course. You have to.“
So honestly I don’t know what I feel about this book. It was okay? And I know white women my age who perhaps this would resonate with in a more personal way. But overall, this wasn’t for me.
Maybe it’s because I was a single mom and younger than Rocky when I had my daughter, but this nuclear family was so different from my experience of parenting.
Rocky is enjoying(?) the annual vacation in Cape Cod with the familiar reminders that anchor them to past and current experiences - a break from the real world and a reunion of three generations. It was interesting to me that there was not much focus or conversation about work. This was a family that enjoyed being together.
But Rocky has secrets. She shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about her reproductive history. I appreciated that she named a lot of realities that women face regarding their bodies and their families. And it was refreshing to normalize the sexuality of Rocky and her husband as well as the sexuality of each of their kids.
There wasn’t really a plot - it was more of a slice of life - the journal of a menopausal woman on vacation with her family, recalling painful secret memories and lashing out at her husband. Her voice is a bit annoying . . . Overusing contemporary expressions like “And also,” “say more,” can you please not,” and “same.” The repeated exclamative “Jesus Christ” was distracting and offensive. The relationship with her children was way too familiar and accepting . . . The way they spoke to her (even though they obviously loved her) was uncomfortable and inappropriate. And also (haha) much of the writing in this story was beautiful, thoughtful, and humorous.
“Life is a seesaw, and I am standing dead center, still and balanced: living kids on one side, living parents on the other. Nicky here with me at the fulcrum. Don’t move a muscle, I think. But I will, of course. You have to.“
So honestly I don’t know what I feel about this book. It was okay? And I know white women my age who perhaps this would resonate with in a more personal way. But overall, this wasn’t for me.