Told over a family holiday, Sandwich is a summer read with added bite. Caught between her grown-up children and ageing parents, 50-something Rocky faces an emotional reckoning on the annual family holiday to Cape Cod. Flooded with memories from her past, she tries to reconcile the tumult of motherhood, menopause and marriage with the bittersweet passage of time.
Through Rocky – frank, funny, the kind of woman you want to get a drink with – writer Catherine Newman gives voice to life’s ‘emotional caretakers’. ‘Most roles that typically fall to women are overlooked,’ says Newman, author of the 2022 best-seller We All Want Impossible Things. ‘That work of making sure everyone’s happy, everyone has what they need, feels cared for but not patronised – I feel that’s women’s territory. Rocky loves it but it’s a lot of labour.’
As the week unfolds, Rocky recalls family holidays from summers past – memories that slowly reveal an unspoken trauma that she has carried with her for years. Her experiences are also a paean to parenting and how it changes. ‘I wanted Rocky to have this experience of looking back on all the different moments of being in Cape Cod, especially with young kids when they just need a million things from you,’ says Newman. ‘I wanted that contrast to life with grown kids, where they don’t need any of that from you but, in a weird way, they still need a lot. The push-me-pull-you of young adults is oddly similar to the pushme- pull-me of toddlers.’
Some of the most amusing passages in Sandwich are borne from flashes of Rocky’s anger, often precipitated by exchanges with her well-meaning but frustrating husband Nick. Their marriage is neither perfect nor broken, and this nuance was deliberate. ‘I wanted to represent a woman who was both furious, but who sees the kind of beauty and tenderness of this man, of this long relationship she’s been in.’
Rocky’s feelings are amplified by the menopause, which Newman paints with unapologetically visceral detail and humour. ‘In the same way that women started talking about how actually incredibly harrowing parenthood could be – when suddenly the lid was off that jar of secrets – I feel like that’s happening now with menopause,’ says Newman. ‘How great that people are talking about it now. I’m like, OK, it’s not just me, I’m not alone, you know? That’s always a gift in writing.’
By Catherine Newman
A funny, moving study of midlife angst.
Grazia's Book Club gives its verdict...
‘This blew me away. A relatable and touching portrayal of family. The themes of motherhood, guilt, child loss, middle-aged marriage and role reversal as parents age were handled fantastically well with bags of empathy and dry humour.’ Aisha
‘It takes you on an emotional roller coaster, from laughing out loud to moments of quiet sadness. It’s full of the nostalgia of family summer holidays, of familiarity and wanting to recapture perfect days that only exist in retrospect.’ Jane
‘Really well-written, this novel stirs you to think more deeply about your own family relationships.’ Sara