Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024--San Antonio

Sandwich by Catherine Newman was on a list of the top books of 2024 (so far) by the New York Times and was recommended elsewhere as a good summer read.  It is a short, humorous novel with a 54-year-old woman being the central character telling the story.  She is with 3 generations of her family (with her "sandwiched" in the middle) on their traditional summer vacation on Cape Cod in the same vacation cottage they have rented for 20 or so years.  There is her husband, their adult son and his girlfriend of several years, their gay daughter who is a university student, her elderly parents (who, as they have traditionally done, only come for 2 nights), and the elderly family cat.  The woman has been going through menopause which not only is affecting her physically but is also causing her to recall other frustrations from different periods of her life.  She misses her children being at home and tries to make up for it with this week of their presence.  She and her husband have a comfortable and happy marriage, but there are things about the other that irritate each.  There are things that have never been said.  There are worries about the passing of time--the cat and the elderly parents probably near the end of their lives, the children becoming more and more distant as they become independent adults leading their own lives, etc.  And there is an effort to try to do everything that is traditional from past vacations while they are here because the changes that may be coming in their lives might mean that this could be the last chance.  I liked the fact that everything seemed so realistic--the worries, the experiences, the interactions, etc.  And the humor was refreshing and continuous throughout the book.  I gave it 4 stars out of 5.