SANDWICH is author Catherine Newman's latest. A family drama perfect for summer, a beach read with enough emotional depth and humour to keep one engaged.
Rocky and her family husband Nick, children Jamie and Willa, and her parents visit the Cape every summer for a week. It has been a long-standing yearly tradition for the family since the children were born. We follow them for a week and primarily through Rocky's POV. She and her husband Nicky are newly empty nesters with Jamie working away and generally living his life and Willa her own. For the vacation week, Jaimie brings along his girlfriend Maya, and Rocky's parents visit them for 2 days that week before driving back to NYC, where they live. Rocky is in her 50s, very emotional and missing her children now that they live away from home. She is also going through menopause and as a family, they openly discuss their emotions and most of everything else too.
Rocky's dynamic with her husband Nicky is fantastic, with her being a low-key narcissist and him being tolerant and loving all the while. They fight and makeup in the same breath. Her relationship with her daughter Willa is the most cool and open. Willa is queer, woke and most like her mother, they get along famously.
Throughout the week Rocky goes through stages and brings the rest along with her for the crazy ride. She starts excited in the beginning, enjoys the moments in the middle and gets sad at leaving towards the end. All the while enjoying the beachside and family time, we see Rocky reminiscing about life past, present and future. She does this by having conversations mostly with herself or her daughter Willa.
There is some back and forth as she remembers the past, and many a time the chapters start with her stating the kid's ages at the time, which felt a little irritating. This is expected when there's a family dynamic and an emotional mother's POV we are reading about.
I enjoyed the whole vacation, it was quick, about a week long. The mundane life and serious moments were presented in a straightforward manner with generous humour and open communication. This made the pages fly and the story relatable. I honestly had nothing to not like or complain about. I enjoyed spending time with Rocky's family on vacation.
If you are looking for a fun read with a family dynamic and plenty of laughs and emotional moments, this is the one. Hope you choose it as one of your summer reads.
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.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy