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Sandwich
By Catherine Newman
Harper, 9780063345164, June 2024, 240pp.

The Short of It:

Reading this book was like curling up with your favorite throw.

The Rest of It:

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.

What you see above is just a little tease of Sandwich, which I found to be utterly delightful. I do not describe many books as delightful so hear me when I say it. Reading this book gave me all the feels and was delightful to read.

One precious week at the beach house. Both adult children able to attend as Rocky and her husband happily recreate all of the memories from years past. The seafood dinners, the snacks on the deck, the trek to the beach, and this year, their son’s girlfriend has decided to join them.

The dynamics have changed. The kids are no longer babies, requiring Rocky’s constant attention, they have their own ideas of how to spend time at the beach house. What’s also changed is Rocky. Experiencing menopause while happily remembering how she raised two small children is touching, but also terribly bittersweet for Rocky. She is definitely going through it in this story.

As the days tick by, the joy of just being together takes center stage. There is a lot of internal dialogue as Rocky comes to terms with her new, older self. I love internal dialogue and for those who love food mentions, all the good stuff is here too. The sandwiches on the beach, the trips to the fish market, the clam shack, etc. I adore these domestic moments.

It’s not all fluff though. Rocky, also known as Rachel, has some secrets of her own as she fights to remain level-headed and not be so hormonal, all of the time. As her body betrays her, and that’s really how she sees it, she can’t help but wonder what’s next for her. Her whole life was tending to littles. Now that they’re no longer little, what now? When her aging parents visit them at the beach house, that too becomes a heavy topic. Aging parents. Seeing the slow markers of decline but trying to ignore them and maybe even wish them away.

Sandwich is about a family, in the past, present, and future set amongst a gorgeous Cape Cod backdrop. Newman hits on a few social issues such as pro-choice / pro-life, women’s health, a touch of mental health as well. I’ve been really gravitating towards these types of “life” reads. I was jokingly calling these types of books menopausal fiction but no, it’s not really that. These stories are more about life than anything else and I just love them.

This book reminded me of Same as it Ever Was, which I recently reviewed but this one is happier, cozier, just more enjoyable overall. I loved it so much that I plan to buy my own copy as the one I read was borrowed.

Highly recommend.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Catcher in the Rye
By J.D. Salinger
Back Bay Books, 9780316450867, Nov 2018, 288pp.

The Short of It:

Read back in high school and re-read today for book club, and it’s just as wonderful as I remembered.

The Rest of It:

The Catcher in the Rye is of course, a classic. Everyone’s heard of it but I’ll tell ya, not everyone will love it. Why? Because Holden Caulfield is a piece of work! Tossed from private school for failing nearly all of his classes, Holden goes on a three day sabbatical from life. Delaying the inevitable, when he has to return home to his family for the holidays and clue them in to the fact that he has once again been kicked out of school.

Holden packs up his belongings, smokes a lot of cigarettes and ponders life as he hits bar after bar, considering his options. He’s underage but wise beyond his years so he goes from place to place making observations and hoping, longingly for people to spend time with him. He makes a few calls. Meets a few friends. Feels a bit homesick for his baby sister Phoebe, but mostly just flits from one interaction to the next, lost.

Holden is ALL of us. That’s what makes this such a good read. His insecurities are balanced by his overblown opinion of himself. Minus the bluster, the fancy hat, the cigarettes and booze and what you have is a teenage boy desperate for love. His loneliness screams at you while turning those pages.

Funny story. When I was pregnant with my first child, the name Holden was a frontrunner. We decided to go with Evan, instead. But after reading this classic again, my son really IS Holden in real life. I highlighted many passages because they could have actually come right out of my son’s mouth. I shared this observation with him and he wasn’t impressed or compelled to read the book. See? He is Holden.

What stays with me after reading this book is Holden’s voice. Salinger creates this living, breathing, sometimes seething Holden. He’s not the most well-liked guy but he can be charming, and often is, when not overcome with loneliness and doubt.

If you haven’t read this classic, or you read it long ago. I mean, I was 16 the last time I read it, I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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