Sandwich
Books | Fiction / Humorous / General
3.8
Catherine Newman
Look for Wreck, the new novel by Catherine Newman--a deeply moving story of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn't go as planned--Coming October 2025. INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life."--Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake "If you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it's just perfect."--Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song "A total delight."--Kate Christensen From the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go. For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family's yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and--thanks to the cottage's ancient plumbing--septic too. This year's vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past--except, perhaps, for Rocky's hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing--her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers. It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family's history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.
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Author
Catherine Newman
Pages
240
Publisher
HarperCollins Publisher
Published Date
2024
ISBN
0063345161 9780063345164
Community ReviewsSee all
"1.5 ⭐️s - This book felt so amateur to me. It felt like reading someone’s diary- not in a good way. I was not going to finish it because I found the narrator so unlikable that it felt like a chore to read. But I felt that I had to see it through. The supporting characters were much more likable and had stronger story lines, hence the added .5 star but I really struggled through it. Just as I was coming around to the story and the characters, the author included an unnecessary epilogue that completely threw me for a loop. Would not recommend :/"
"During a week’s vacation in Cape Cod, the lead character, an unlikeable middle-aged woman named Rocky, rattles on incessantly in her head about her babies (now fully grown adults) and spends more time than I could bear listing her worries and concerns about them. The woman spits out some secrets that challenge the family’s relationships. Meanwhile, her husband Nick gets nothing from her. The book is similar to Tom Lake and equally boring. A domestic novel that focuses claustrophobically and exclusively on five people."
"Crazy Chaotic Sad Happy Menopausal Woman<br/><br/>I have never read a book like this before. The author has created a main character who is vacationing at the beach with her grown children and her parents. She is sandwiched in between the two generations and is remembering the people she loves and the regrets she has carried inside of her. She is a 54-year-old woman experiencing menopause with intense hot flashes and letting her mind go where it may, in a stream of consciousness. At times, the narrative is spicy and raw, and at others times, it is as calm as a still pond. I didn't just passively read this novel: I drank in every word. It brought me to tears and made me laugh out loud, repeatedly. It gave me a lot to ponder about family relationships and trauma that arise from our actions, which haunts us until we confront them and accept them as part of who we are. This is an interesting and enlightening book about a woman's life that I recommend."
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Pamela Inskeep
"This is a tender, reflective novel about womanhood, told through the lens of a menopausal woman looking back on her life as a mother, wife, and daughter. Instead of a big, dramatic plot, the story unfolds over a simple week—making meals, sitting on the beach, sharing quiet moments—and that’s what makes it so powerful. I loved how everyday actions, like making sandwiches, became a way to explore deeper themes of love, grief, and identity. The sandwiches especially stood out—they were thoughtful, personal, and showed how deeply the narrator sees and loves her family. Even when she doesn’t fully understand them, she meets them with empathy and care. This book is a beautiful reminder of how much meaning can live in the ordinary."
"This book was not for me, so unfortunately it's a DNF.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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).<br/><br/>Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts."
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Amber Smith