Sandwich (Catherine Newman)

#Sandwich #NetGalley

Any women who have felt that they were a part of the “Sandwich” generation will welcome sitting down on a summer’s day to read this story. Those who are not sandwiched will also enjoy the setting, characters and look at a life that are offered in this title.

As I read this one, I thought of the many kinds of sandwiches that there are for Rocky. It is not just between her children and older relatives. She is in the middle of the sandwich between her regular life and this one week away. Rocky is also sandwiched between her past and future.

Readers will enjoy getting to know Rocky and those around her. They will also enjoy some (virtual) beach time as they turn the pages of a story that can be funny, nostalgic and reflective..

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper for this title. All opinions are my own.

I have not yet finished this book. I may be a little to angsty for me. The jump in time lines is a little distracting.

This book was not for me, so unfortunately it's a DNF.

Sandwich centers around a family's yearly Cape Cod vacation. The narrator is Rocky/Rachel, who is in the throes of menopause, while also learning to navigate relating to her adult children and taking care of her aging parents.

I made it a little over 25% of the way through the book, but I just had a really difficult time finding the motivation to keep going. The writing is sharp and quick-witted, but sometimes jarring. The MC would just randomly throw in a crude or disturbing sentence in the middle of describing what would otherwise be the normal events of a family vacation. I think this can be partly attributed to the almost stream-of-consciousness way that the story is told; sometimes, there's just no filter.

What also made it difficult was just how mean the MC would be when interacting with family members, especially her husband. I understand that this can all be blamed on menopause. But it became almost impossible to be sympathetic to the MC at times because not only would her actions be mean and unprovoked, but her thoughts would be equally as mean.

I think I came in expecting this book to be a lighthearted beach read that would make me want to visit Cape Cod for the summer, but I just didn't get that vibe. However, I do think this book would appeal to readers who are in a similar stage of life to the MC (or have a loved one who is going through it).

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done this, but it feels appropriate in this case - here are five things I loved about this five star read:

1) The prose is just exquisite. It’s touching and funny and a bit melancholy, and, while I’ve never been exactly in the MCs shoes, a lot of her thoughts and feelings really resonated with me.

2) I genuinely loved every single character. They were each so well-rounded and unique, and the way they interacted and showed their love for one another was just wholesome.

3) The setting - as a Massachusetts girl at heart, I’m a sucker for a good Cape Code beach read!

4) The structure - how it covered both a short period of time (their vacation) and a long one with all the flashbacks was an incredibly effective storytelling method.

5) This one is confusing but bear with me - it somehow felt like both a complete story and just the beginning of one, in a way I felt wholly satisfying.

Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for this ARC. Sandwich is out tomorrow!

Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. This is a solid 4.5 star book rounded down to 4 because the liberal agenda of sexuality was just a little too blatant and unnecessary for the development of the story. As the daughter spoke down to her mother who was just trying to connect with her in a loving and open way. Rachel is dealing with middle age and growing children. The challenges of menopause and the transition of her marriage into the empty nest phase. The story follows them on their yearly trip to the cape. Short, sweet and redeeming: i enjoyed the majority of it.

I was looking forward to this book about a family who vacations at the same rental house in Cape Cod every summer. This summer the kids are college-aged and the grandparents are showing their age. Rocky, the mother, is trying to enjoy their time together but has her own issues. Perhaps it was the timing of when I read this book, but it was just okay for me.

This is a beautiful and honest book. It will definitely make you feel things -- especially if you are a woman careening toward or in the midst of middle age (ha!) but I think mothers of all ages will love this book as well. It makes you think about family, about getting older . . . it will make you laugh, make you rage and it's a seriously quick read mostly because it's hard to put down. Definitely recommend!!

Sandwich comes out next week on June 18, 2024, and you can purchase HERE!

We're at the cottage— the same one we've been renting every summer for twenty years. It's late afternoon on Saturday.

We've been here for approximately one hour. Less, maybe.

We know better than to overwhelm this ancient septic system-there's even a framed calligraphy admonition hanging over the toilet that says, DO NOT OVERWHELM THE ANCIENT SEPTIC SYSTEM!— but, well, here we are.

Thank you Harper for this amazingly witty, insightful, and pitch perfect (for me) novel. Sandwich by Catherine Newman is a charming, nuanced examination of a women at midlife, with all the very real notes on hormones and rage and menopause, and the reconciling of past and present.
Newman makes this story somehow about simultaneously letting go and holding on in a way that just worked in subtly moving ways; the main character, during a family vacation, finds herself examining the past as she sees herself changing and aging and as her family around her, particularly her children (in their 20s) are moving into next steps in their lives. The book is an ode to the messiness of love and parenting, of aging and growing, of accepting that loved ones are flawed and we are imperfectly perfect... that perhaps it is how the imperfections all still fit together over time.

I laughed but also felt teary, nostalgic in a way for the main character's memories and for the connection I felt to the writing, the style, and the use of family vacation as a springboard for reflection and growth.

SANDWICH by Catherine Newman is a touching story of family, parenting, secrets, and letting go of the past. For twenty years, fifty-four-year-old Rocky has looked forward to her family gathering at the quaint beach house they rent every year. It is a place that holds fond memories for everyone, but this year, things are a bit different. Rocky is “sandwiched” between her aging parents, who are experiencing health issues and her adult children, Jamie and Willa, who are facing several major life challenges. Not to mention that Rocky herself is going through menopause which leaves her alternating between puzzling bouts of rage and moments of sadness. When Rocky’s parents join the family for a few nights, secrets are revealed that lead to plenty of drama. The poignant banter between Rocky and her kids was a delight. Her emotions were portrayed with candor, compassion, honesty and humor. I enjoyed this heartfelt story of family and love and I look forward to reading more from Catherine Newman. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Not just a vacation

This book, told in present day and flashbacks based on the children’s ages at the time, is filled with drama and angst. Rocky, the Mom, vacillates between happiness that her whole family is together for one precious week on the Cape each year to mourning the losses and her menopause.

I like the setting but would have enjoyed more specifics, there was really nothing mentioned about the location other than the title. The book moved along quickly, it was funny in parts and desperately sad in others. Lots of descriptions of the female anatomy and its regular functions, I think it’s ok, not a favorite, but I’m sure others will like it.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

This was an interesting story - made me look at the meaning of "sandwich" in a different way.

Rocky, is in her sandwich years - right between elderly parents and grown children. And is the chief sandwich maker for that family on their decades old family tradition of spending a week at the Cape. This story is told over that week long vacation - little bits of each family member, there is a lot of growth, family memories, history, and new discoveries.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I so loved this family vacationing at a rental on The Cape, the same cabin they've booked for 20 summers: Rachel (aka Rocky) the menopausal mom, Nick the handsome dad, Willa the 22-ish scientist daughter, and Jamie the nondescript 25-ish son with his nauseous girlfriend Maya. Sandwich is wittily about a week spent together in remarkably close quarters, the lovingly described picnic food they eat, and the generation straddling simultaneous care of newly adult kids and aging parents; I love the apt title for all of that. But this story is also about fascinating relationship dynamics that don't involve dysfunction. Multiple family secrets are stunningly revealed, but not salacious ones that create havoc, rather these are relatable ones, and they are accepted with truly admirable grace. I love that a character's gayness is not a defining factor, or in and of itself a plot device. I can't believe I've never read Catherine Newman before, her writing had me laughing out loud and in tears; I've already ordered two more of her books.

Thank you net galley for an ARC of this book.

I think if I read this book in my early 20's I might not have made it 1/4 way through before I abandoned it for something else. Now at 50 with 2 kids inching closer and closer to college and my nest being empty this book walloped my heart. We vacation every summer with our extended family and our family of 4 travels together every year as well .These trips are our memories and mean everything to us. I hope to always continue them so we can always maintain that connection no matter where their paths take them. The part of the book that resonated with me was After. After Rachel's trip to the Cape when life goes back to normal but you still don't have your kids back in your nest. They are off leading their own lives but you got them for the week. I think about what our after will look like and she beautifully described what's to come.

Rocky is thrilled to once again be heading to the rental cottage in Sandwich for their annual vacation. Rocky’s kids are adults now and her parents are aging so many things have changed. Caught up in the bittersweet memories, Rocky has to come to grips with some of the trauma that she has kept hidden from her family. She’s also battling hot flashes and wondering how much her dissatisfaction with her husband is just hormonal. What starts out as a lighthearted family sojourn becomes a touching and introspective novel about being a woman, wife, mother and daughter.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This book was odd, and it leaves me with the feeling that I missed a thing or two, and/or didn't pick up on some things the author wanted us to know.

Rocky, a 54 year old wife and mother, is on her annual week-long vacation with her family. Her parents are now much older (her dad stole the show!) and her son and daughter are new adults. Rocky is "sandwiched" in the middle, trying to maintain a healthy marriage to her husband Nicky while figuring out who she is now that she is a middle aged empty nester going through menopause, a fact the author never lets us forget. I felt that her behavior and internal dialogue are a little to "out there" to have been blamed on menopause, though. I am left feeling like I must be missing a mental health diagnosis for Rocky.

Her daughter, Willa, is a 20 year old lesbian who at times seems wiser than her years and at other times I had to go back and make sure what I was reading wasn't one of the flashbacks from when Willa was young. Her son Jamie, and his girlfriend, Maya felt like background characters to me, as did Rocky's husband, Nicky. The entire family seemed delightful, but unrealistic. I couldn't related to any of them, however I loved the openness the kids and the parents have with each other.

I loved Newman's writing style and I will look for her works in the future. I was really drawn into the premise of this book, and thought I'd enjoy it more than I did. Although I couldn't related to this family, the way the author wrote the characters and their story kept me engaged. I also liked how each chapter was one day during their week at the beach. It kept things tidy.

Trigger warnings: descriptive miscarriage and abortion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sandwich is a reflective summer story as Rocky and her family spend their annual week at their rental property in Cape Cod. Told over the course of a week, and also in part over many years, Rocky is navigating middle age, marriage, motherhood, menopause and aging parents. I enjoyed the way Catherine Newman tells Rocky's story, equal parts witty banter with her husband and adult children and touching moments of brutally honest self reflection. I would highly recommend this book for other lovers of family dramas, looking for a shorter summer read, that is not lacking in heart or humor. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Books for this advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

I was really excited to check out this book, since I have recently moved from Cape Cod and we lived right near Sandwich. Parts of the story made me nostalgic to go back and visit but overall, I had a really hard time getting into this book. I felt like I had to force myself to pick it up each time as I wasn’t connecting to the overall story because … what was the story?

To me, the book was short, describing a family’s week long vacation but also dealt with secrets a family keeps and then how said family keeps it together.

I want to create a disclaimer as well for miscarriage and loss, I wish I had known that prior to reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rocky is living her best menopausal life sandwiched between her aged parents and grown-up children. Spending a week together in Cape Cod unleashes family secrets, cherished memories and a whole lot of laughs. This is a heartfelt and really funny novel about the passing of time and family dynamics from a writer whose books are always an automatic purchase for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Catherine Newman, and Harper for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

A thought-provoking read that I finished in a single afternoon. I will preface by saying I'm not at the correct age to fully appreciate or relate to this book. Being close in age to Jamie, Maya, and Willa though, I adored reading about them and understanding more of Rocky's perspective towards them, as Rocky is my mother's age. This read was surprisingly deeper and more heart-felt than I was expecting. My main issue is that it was just a bit too short though. I felt like I needed more time to sit with all the characters and get to know them. I would recommend for women aged 40+ to read for an elevated summery read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy. Unfortunately I did not finish Sandwich. I could not relate To the main character. I had a tough time being interested in the storyline.