Sandwich by Catherine Newman

 

In August, we met at Lisa's house to discuss Liz's beach read: Sandwich by Catherine Newman. In the novel, a middle-aged wife and mother named Rocky is vacationing in Cape Cod with her husband, two adult children, and her son's girlfriend. Through the story, we learn about family dynamics, while seeing flashbacks from the past as Rocky experiences the joy of family life when the two kids were growing up.

Most liked the book but weren't completely enamored by it. This led to some discussion around buying decisions. When does one decide to purchase a book to keep? There seemed to be two approaches: buy it first and get rid of books that don't make the cut, or purchase only after reading it elsewhere.

We talked about the main character. Some couldn't relate to how she treated her husband, while others couldn't relate to her involvement in her adult children's lives. This led to discussions about our own relationships with our husbands and children and how we handle difficult topics and decisions within our own families.

We observed how current the book is, as reflected by the trending language from the younger generation's dialog. As in real life, the parents in the book are not up-to-date with these language trends - lol.

The ambiguity of the ending also sparked some discussion as we explored our impressions of the different outcomes. We also discussed the book's sequel and other summer reads, such as books from the author Elin Hilderbrand (who we have read in bookclub and who now has an adapted TV series on Peacock, but for a different book).

It was wonderful to see everyone! As always, it was so nice to share with each other about our own lives including work, kids, parents, travel, and even the Hummam spa experience. We are starting to throw around ideas for another in-person weekend celebration. Will it be in Massachusetts? Or maybe a chateau in France?