Sandwich - by Catherine Newman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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."--

Book Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"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

"If you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it's just perfect."--Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

"A total delight."--Kate Christensen

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.

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 Quotes

"[Sandwich] practically glows with family feeling . . . . [it] has much in common with Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, though Patchett's novel doesn't have an older generation, a key element here . . . . The laughter begins on the first page . . . and the great lines and witty observations never stop." -- Washington Post

"Sandwich reminds me of Laurie Colwin's Happy All the Time--Newman shares Colwin's ability to write about intertwined happiness and heartbreak (as well as her passion for food). I found myself snorting out loud with laughter, the wheezing kind, then all at once, deeply moved. This is a book about love and change and loss, all packed into an annual family week on Cape Cod. And it's a total delight." -- Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger

"Sandwich is my idea of the perfect summer novel: shimmering and substantive. One more aspect of Newman's book deserves highlighting: like many other recent novels by best-selling female authors--I'm thinking of Jennifer Weiner, Ann Patchett, and Megan Abbott--Newman introduces a storyline here about abortion. She writes about that contested subject--and the emotions it engenders--in a way that I've never encountered in fiction before." -- Maureen Corrigan, NPR's "Fresh Air"

"I loved reading this book! Not only do I want to send this gracious family a thank you note for having me along for a week at the beach, I'm still laughing out loud when I think of some sentences, and lumping up in my throat when I think of others." -- Eliza Minot, author of In the Orchard and The Tiny One

"Finally, literary fiction has started to fully appreciate the joy of an older female narrator . . . . Rocky is a worthy member of this new and much-needed club, not just for her date of birth but also for her relatability . . . . a protagonist like Rocky is so necessary, because a whole generation will now be able to read this wise and exquisitely written story and say I know how you feel. They will say, Same." -- The Guardian

"What I love about this book is we see from the perspective of the mother how incredibly excited she is to bring her family all together again, which is something I can relate to . . . . she is in that sandwich generation, in that middle place in life. Newman did an exquisite job of showing that middle place with a lot of humor and sensitivity and kindness. It's a book I couldn't stop thinking about when I finished." -- Liz Egan, New York Times Book Review podcast

"Newman is warm, generous, always funny--but always with the intent to make you laugh at yourself as much as the characters. A beach novel to pass onto your best friends." -- Oprah Daily

"Secrets are confessed and ties between parents and their adult children are tested on a week's vacation in Cape Cod. Newman's light touch keeps this family drama from slipping into melodrama. Feels like eating pastries (from the "good" bakery) over coffee while venting to my mother on the beach." -- Boston Globe

"With the pacing of a thriller, observations akin to poetry and real-life conflict like memoir, Newman's novel about one family's week on Cape Cod should find a place in your beach bag, even if your own summer vacation is in Bali. The menopausal Rocky, her husband, their two grown children (along with one's partner), and her aged parents enjoy time-honored traditions but also have to figure out how to negotiate time's changes on all of them." -- Los Angeles Times

"If you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it's just perfect." -- Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

"I loved this little beautiful book. You could put it in your beach bag and read it in one sitting. I did . . . . The ultimate beach read." -- Jenna Bush Hager

"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

"This delightful book just begs to get sand between its pages . . . . a beautiful testament to how decisions can reverberate down the decades and into the delicate future." -- People

"If you want a book that has you from 'hello, ' this is the one." -- Ann Patchett, PBS NewsHour

"Sandwich will have you laughing through your tears . . . . You'll be screenshotting paragraphs of this heartbreakingly honest novel to send to your friends." -- Real Simple

"This clever novel . . . . paints a vivid picture of family life and proves that middle-aged characters can be funny, sympathetic and fascinating. It is a beautifully written, moving novel that touches on the complexity of female sexuality and fertility and explores how every pregnancy leaves an indelible mark." -- The Observer

"I don't laugh out loud very often when I'm reading books, but I did while I was reading Sandwich. And I bet I smiled an average of three times per page. Catherine Newman's novel is tons of fun....I bet parents will relate to the nostalgia of Sandwich, which skirts up against sentiment without ever crossing the line because, like Thornton Wilder in the play Our Town, Newman is adept at capturing the everyday details of life that seem insignificant at the time but turn out to have shaped us....Newman's writing is funny, clear-eyed and compassionate." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

"I love [Newman's] writing . . . . I flew through it. I really think it's going to be everywhere this summer . . . . it's incredibly human and real and tender and I loved it. Catherine Newman is so talented." -- Carola Lovering, ABC/Good Morning America

"At times laugh out loud funny, often earthy and irreverent, the book nevertheless also tackles subjects as serious as life and death . . . . The unexpected everyday just keeps coming, in a book with love as its theme, overtly present in every scene: love for children, parents, for enormous sandwiches shared on sandy beaches, for a summer cabin in Sandwich, Massachusetts barely big enough to hold this modern, messy, funny family." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"I couldn't love it more, can't stop talking about it, can't stop texting full paragraphs to my friends saying, Right!! . . . . It's so completely fun and laugh-out-loud funny the way summer reads are supposed to be." -- Jenny Rosenstrach, Cup of Jo

"It's a real beauty." -- Glennon Doyle, We Can Do Hard Things podcast

"I adore Catherine Newman's warm voice and quirky writing style. Her characters are always full of heart, funny, and vulnerable in ways that will make you feel seen and heard. I still can't stop thinking about her last book, We All Want Impossible Things (she somehow made hospice care hilarious?!), and I ripped through her latest, Sandwich, in about a day . . . . Pour yourself a crisp glass of wine, dip your toes in the sand, and enjoy the ride." -- Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editors' Picks

"Newman imbues Rocky's internal struggles with importance and gravity, all while showcasing her very funny observations about life and parenting. She examines motherhood with a raw honesty that few others manage--she remembers the hard parts, the depths of despair, panic, and anxiety that can happen with young children, and she also recounts the joy in a way that never feels saccharine. She has a gift for exploring the real, messy contradictions in human emotions . . . . A moving, hilarious reminder that parenthood, just like life, means constant change." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Books with this one's warmth and humor are truly rare." -- Good Housekeeping

"Newman . . . returns with a story about a woman coming to terms with life over 50. As her family gathers for the annual vacation on Cape Cod, Rocky is worn out by menopause and nostalgia . . . . she is within the sandwich generation, torn between past and present. Readers in this age group will relate to Rocky's woes, and as the novel's tone becomes more serious, they may identify with Rocky's history as well. This is a quick yet moving read that will stay with readers long after the last page." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Newman . . . has skillfully crafted both setting and characters in this novel that will resonate with all in the "sandwich generation," caregivers for parents and children alike . . . . There is just enough humor thrown in that readers may laugh as much as they cry at the all-too-relatable situations and the razor-sharp witty conversations among the family members. Women's fiction readers will gobble this delicious (though at times heartbreaking) sandwich right up." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"An optimistic menopause novel . . . . Sandwich has a line about something being 'a wolf in clown's clothing, ' which is an apt description for this book . . . a funny, readable story about love and family and agreeable clam shack dinners, but in between, it digs up the bloody parts of being a woman and mother . . . . Rocky is me and my sisters and every one of my friends--alternately joyful, forgetful, and enraged." -- LIBER

"Like We All Want Impossible Things, Newman's new novel is borne along by her humor . . . . the story is ultimately about harnessing the power of love and family bonds to overcome sadness and loss." -- Amherst Bulletin

"Catherine Newman nails it all: the hilarious domestic details of family life, the tremendous stakes of our most personal choices, and the vulnerability of loving other human beings wholeheartedly. I feel this book so deep in my bones." -- Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives

"I just finished Catherine Newman's latest novel, Sandwich. I was reading it while waiting at my daughter's ballet class, and I was crying-snorting-laughing." -- Erin Boyle, Big Salad Newsletter

"Newman is a very funny writer. The laughter begins on the first page . . . and the great lines and witty observations never stop." -- Weekly Reader

"If you're looking for something short and snappy, read Sandwich. The new novel from Catherine Newman, the author of We All Want Impossible Things, is a pure delight." -- The Skimm

"Completely did me in with its heartbreak and humor . . . . so well told." -- Detroit News

"A piece of perfection . . . Family, love, secrets, a marriage that is ordinary, imperfect, sexy and beautiful . . . I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more . . . a wonderful book about how families love, disagree, fail one another--and endure." -- Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

"A moving and heartwarming tale of family that rings deeply true." -- Cambridge Day

"Catherine is a national treasure." -- Molly Wizenberg, I've Got A Feeling newsletter

"Catherine Newman has the most effervescent way of elevating mundane situations--from making a sandwich to fumbling with technology to arguing with your spouse. I've loved every Catherine Newman book I've read--from her nearly 10-year-old parenting memoir Waiting for Birdy to her devastatingly sad (and hilarious) novel We All Want Impossible Things--and this one, about the undeniable weirdness of raising adult children and caring for aging parents (all while spending a week at the beach) is no exception." -- Kveller

"What makes Sandwich different from where other novels may go with this set-up is that love and family are the anchors. There is drama, but it is quieter . . . . That is the strength of this novel. That, and the lovely portrayal of traditions that go back years and have thus become cherished. Newman's writing is so on point about this that anyone who has gone to a beloved spot many times will recognize their own trips." -- Daily Kos

"A beautiful story about family . . . . Newman addresses topics like motherhood, love, aging, grief, regret and more in such a realistic way." -- Woman's World

"Newman is the kind of writer who could write 200 pages about paint drying and keep the reader entranced throughout . . . . A lovely and disciplined novel that accomplishes something remarkable: It's a book about the beach that is too good to be considered a beach read." -- The Hippo

"This novel is universally, unanimously loved. How could it not be, with Catherine Newman's hilarious and heartfelt writing driving its success? She's skilled at elevating the mundane, weaving insightful intricacies into the truths of our home and family lives. Newman's writing is witty and sparkles with wisdom, and she's able to balance both levity and depth. Ultimately, I came to the last page with a renewed appreciation for the beautiful chaos that weaves itself all throughout life." -- Today's Chronic