3 minute book review of one of the most talked about books this year
It is rare that a book can successfully straddle multiple genres (Terry Hayes, I’m not looking at you for The Year of the Locust). But when it happens in the right way, magic can happen.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is a book that left me guessing what in the name of hundred acre fudge, was going on. That means a very long, long time. I can usually intuit the direction of a novel once I reach the midway point. Yes the blurb pretty much gave away the big reveal, however in this case, which I thought was very clever author ploy, it was left up to the reader to figure out the ‘how’.
TL:DR; trad-wife influencer Natalie is a wildly successful online personality making content that focuses on ‘traditional’ values based on women staying at home to look after the home and family. So, proper old school. If you’re not familiar with the trad-wife movement, do look it up, it is fascinating and deserves a five minute time-out for a quick deep dive.
It is 2026. When mum-of-six Natalie and wife to rising politician scion wakes up one day, trapped in the 1850s, she doesn’t quite know what to do. Or think.
She discovers it is easy to wax lyrical about 19th century practices, while living in the lap of luxury and embracing all the comfort and mod-cons afforded by the 21st century.
What we see is Natalie jettisoned far away from her comfort zone, leading her to unravelling as she grapples with her mental health, sanity and ultimately her survival.
I found the book really enjoyable, because its sub-text is thought-provoking and there are several meaty angles (womanhood, post natal depression and more) to really get your teeth into too. How wholesome is the trad-wife movement? Could you eschew all the trappings of 2026 and go back to ‘simpler times’?
It is easy to yearn for times gone by. Just look at one of thousands of Facebook groups titled something like ‘Old Days Gone By’ and it is packed chock full of people wanting to time travel back to the olden days. (The pull of nostalgia is so very magnetic and real.)
Which leads me to a key central question: Is Natalie’s fate fair and does she deserve her ending?
The case of Ruby Franke comes to mind, the influencer and family vlogger who is now incarcerated after being convicted of aggravated child abuse. I binge-watched the Disney Plus documentary last month. I didn’t sleep properly for two nights after that.
I think Caro Claire Burke has cleverly based her novel on the fascinating zeitgeist of living life in a social media glare, seeing the fallout from multiple perspectives of perpetrator (Natalie), victim (children) and enabler (husband).
Anne Hathaway is set to star in the movie adaptation, a release date has not been confirmed for this yet. I cannot wait to watch it. as I love comparing books to their silver screen counterparts.
Will you be reading the book or watching Yesteryear the movie?