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A review by dunnettreader
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
2.0
I had read very positive reviews of 'Sandwich' and it was nominated for a Goodreads Book of the Year. I have vacationed with adult children a few times and am an empty-nester. This book should have hit my sweet spot. But this book hit a lot of wrong notes for me.
Sandwich is a first-person-narrative about a family's annual week at the seaside in Cape Cod. Rocky/Rachel is anxious for it to be a wonderful time with her beloved children, Willa and Jamie, Jamie's girlfriend Willa, her elderly parents, and, as an afterthought, her husband Nick. Rocky wants to build on the beloved memories of past summers, but she is overwrought about the effects of menopause and memories of the past. Her husband Nick is the only real adult in the book and she is constantly saying terrible things to him.
[Spoilers}
There is a lot of inappropriate dialog with her 21-year-old daughter Willa, a militant lesbian. To be honest, I think Willa would be militant whatever her sexuality.
Although Rocky professes to be in love with her children, and constantly treats them like they are much younger, she is really narcissistic, wrapped up in her own issues. When Rocky's father Mort, accidentally reveals that his grandparents died in the Holocaust at Treblinka, Rocky takes it as a personal slight that she had never realized it and becomes hysterical. I hate to use that word, but Rocky is truly an out-of-control mess.
There are flashbacks throughout the book to the time when Jamie and Willa were very small. It takes a while to see the reason for this device, but Rocky's past abortion is weighing on her mind. And then the possibility of another pregnancy amps up her memories.
Several other reviewers expressed shock that this book is so political. While there are a few mentions of Covid and Trump, the real political issue is abortion. If you do not want to read about the details of a miscarriage and and abortion, skip this book.
This is a book that would have benefited from having other characters' viewpoints. And to be honest, I had to constantly ask myself which character is Willa and which is Maya. Jamie and Maya make very little impression. Very little is done with Rocky's parents, other than to gently foreshadow an impending tragedy. If Rocky os not currently in therapy, she should be.
There were a lot of missed opportunities in this book.
Sandwich is a first-person-narrative about a family's annual week at the seaside in Cape Cod. Rocky/Rachel is anxious for it to be a wonderful time with her beloved children, Willa and Jamie, Jamie's girlfriend Willa, her elderly parents, and, as an afterthought, her husband Nick. Rocky wants to build on the beloved memories of past summers, but she is overwrought about the effects of menopause and memories of the past. Her husband Nick is the only real adult in the book and she is constantly saying terrible things to him.
[Spoilers}
There is a lot of inappropriate dialog with her 21-year-old daughter Willa, a militant lesbian. To be honest, I think Willa would be militant whatever her sexuality.
Although Rocky professes to be in love with her children, and constantly treats them like they are much younger, she is really narcissistic, wrapped up in her own issues. When Rocky's father Mort, accidentally reveals that his grandparents died in the Holocaust at Treblinka, Rocky takes it as a personal slight that she had never realized it and becomes hysterical. I hate to use that word, but Rocky is truly an out-of-control mess.
There are flashbacks throughout the book to the time when Jamie and Willa were very small. It takes a while to see the reason for this device, but Rocky's past abortion is weighing on her mind. And then the possibility of another pregnancy amps up her memories.
Several other reviewers expressed shock that this book is so political. While there are a few mentions of Covid and Trump, the real political issue is abortion. If you do not want to read about the details of a miscarriage and and abortion, skip this book.
This is a book that would have benefited from having other characters' viewpoints. And to be honest, I had to constantly ask myself which character is Willa and which is Maya. Jamie and Maya make very little impression. Very little is done with Rocky's parents, other than to gently foreshadow an impending tragedy. If Rocky os not currently in therapy, she should be.
There were a lot of missed opportunities in this book.