Sandwich is a new novel by Catherine Newman that centers around a woman coming to terms with the “in-between” stage she finds herself in—sandwiched between her newly-adult children and her aging parents, and trying to take care of everyone all at once. Breathtakingly poignant and seriously funny, the novel takes place over the course of a week on Cape Cod. Rocky, our protagonist, and her husband Nick have rented the same house every summer since their children were little, escaping home for a week of swimming, sunburns, and home-cooked seafood. It’s far from fancy—in fact, the singular toilet clogs every year without fail—but they love it, and because the kids don’t mind sleeping on various surfaces, it houses all seven of them: Rocky, Nick, their son Jamie and his girlfriend Maya, their daughter Willa, and Rocky’s parents. Now that her children are no longer living at home, Rocky finds these rare moments of togetherness even more precious, but also, she’s going through menopause so she alternates between treasuring the togetherness and being annoyed at the world. The week is filled with beach days and game nights, lazy mornings and discussions of what to have for dinner, and amidst all this gentle happiness, Rocky finds herself grappling with memories of summers past, of her marriage and her babies and some pain she’s never allowed herself to heal from. Change is top of mind for Rocky, both in her body and her relationships, and as she tries not to hold onto these people she loves too tightly, Newman captures the day-to-day of it in exquisite, heartwarming detail.
I absolutely loved this book. I’ve been a fan of Catherine Newman for a while—her memoir Waiting For Birdy is a delight, as is her newsletter Crone Sandwich—and have been waiting impatiently for this novel to release all spring. And now it’s finally here, the perfect summer read! Short and engrossing, endlessly funny but insightful in a way that challenges you to think on your own relationships and choices, Sandwich just begs to be slipped into a beach bag. Rocky’s voice is perfect; she’s the quintessential mom, trying to relate to her kids but getting it wrong more often than not (and bearing her kids’ loving teasing with admirable goodnatured-ness), and I could listen to her wacky, sexy, impatient, tender conversations with her husband all day long. Everything about Newman’s writing feels like real life. Every bit of dialogue feels like something I would hear out and about, and every situation evolves naturally, with the same amount of drama you might experience at your own dinner table. And yet, Newman highlights it all so beautifully—she points out the joy hidden in the seriousness and underlines the wonder in the normalcy until you’re wondering why you’re crying over a passage about a trip to the ice cream shop. Sandwich is a poignant gem of a novel, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone interested in family dynamics and the impossibility of loving without breaking your heart… it’s similar in theme to Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
- Anyone who loves a funny, intimate, true-to-life novel… it’s similar in style to You Are Here by David Nicholls
- Anyone looking for something hopeful and joy-inducing… it’s similar in tone to The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
