Sandwich: A Novel by Catherine NewmanPublication Date: June 18, 2024
Pages: 240
Add on: Goodreads
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rating: ★★★½
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Fiction / Family Life
Publisher: Harper / HarperCollins
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.
“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
“A total delight.”—Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger
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.
REVIEW
Catherine Newman’s Sandwich is a wickedly smart and funny dive into the chaos of being wedged between generations, juggling aging parents and grown kids, all while coming to terms with your own shrinking patience and expanding midlife anxieties. The whole thing unravels over one week in a cramped, familiar Cape Cod cottage, where Rocky (Rachel, 54) tries to keep her cool amid the annual family migration. This year, she’s surrounded: there’s her ever-supportive husband Nick, their adult children Jamie and Willa, Jamie’s girlfriend Maya, Rocky’s elderly parents, and even the family cat, Chicken. The house is small, the family history is big, and the air is thick with old jokes, simmering tensions, and all the stuff nobody’s ever really said out loud.
At first glance, not much happens, just a lot of sandy walks, beachside meals, and candid conversations. But just under the surface, Rocky is wrestling with menopause, exhaustion, and the slow heartbreak of letting go, of her kids, her parents, and the person she used to be. The week at the beach turns into a pressure cooker for every regret, anxiety, and burst of love Rocky’s been carrying.
Rocky narrates with hilarious self-deprecation and raw honesty about the indignities of aging and motherhood. She’s neurotic, relatable, and absolutely unfiltered, one minute cracking a joke, the next quietly aching. Nick, her husband, is her anchor in the storm. Willa, Jamie, and Maya bring their own quirks and generational baggage, while Rocky’s parents draw the lines between caretaking and being cared for.
The heart of Sandwich is the sticky, relentless work of the “sandwich generation”, the emotional labour, the messiness, the beauty and absurdity of families. Newman is fearless about the realities of aging bodies and the chaos of daily life, but she’s just as sharp when it comes to loss and longing. The book is laugh-out-loud funny, but it also lands those gut-punch moments that linger long after you close it.
Newman’s writing is warm, intimate, and sharp-edged, filled with dialogue that snaps and internal monologues that feel confessional. She nails the weird push-pull of family life: how love and irritation can share the same breath, and how the past always sneaks into the present.
Sandwich shines brightest in the specificity of Rocky’s voice and the messy, real-life details of her family. The humour is biting, the emotion is real, and the story feels lived-in. If you’re put off by too much neuroticism or frank talk about bodies, you might squirm, but if you love literary fiction that finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, you’ll be right at home here.
Newman’s humour, honesty, and spot-on portrayal of midlife and family ties are a joy. I found myself both laughing and tearing up, and felt seen by Newman’s frankness about caregiving and menopause, even if it sometimes hits a little too close to home.
Bottom line: Sandwich is a heartfelt, hilarious tribute to family, aging, and the bittersweet comedy of ordinary life. If you want a book that makes you laugh, wince, and maybe call your mom, this one deserves a place in your beach bag.
