Well, Hello Hello. Welcome to my first book review. This might be chaotic and unhinged.. but maybe not 🤷♀️
Recently I picked up the book ” Yesteryear” By Caro Claire Burke after one of my coworkers recommended it to me. I figured, why not! Let’s give it a go.Truthfully, I was not completely sure what genre I was getting myself into, so naturally I googled it.It is considered by google “a suspense, psychological thriller and dark, social satire. And honestly? Yeah.. that tracks! I will say I am not going to go into too much detail on the religious or political side of things.
Brief Book Description
So to give a brief feel for the book without giving too much away. Natalie is a “tradwife influencer who has built an online platform around portraying her life as this perfect, traditional,holistic life. The carefully curated image. However behind the scenes you really begin to notice the tumultuous dynamics of the family.
Natalie
I feel like there is a lot to be said about Natalie. As the main character she was not likeable at all.. even remotely. At the beginning, I felt myself eye rolling CONSTANTLY at Natalie’s antics. I thought she was pretentious and just completely full of herself. She is constantly talking about how perfect her life is. Meanwhile I’m sitting here thinking, girl, six kids? Are we okay?! Which later we find out there is more.
There was also this weird tension when people referred to her as a “trad wife.” I kept wondering, Isn’t that literally the image you have been presenting?!
However as the story progressed, I began to feel sorry for Natalie.
She had made this life that she had thought was perfect but beneath the carefully curated image of her life there is an enormous amount of chaos. She is clearly dealing with significant mental health struggles, postpartum depression, and pressure to perform. As well as isolation and the constant expectations in regards to the life she has created.
It feels like it’s a gradual psychological spiral. Natalie loses pieces of herself and the audience “noise ” consumes her. It is so difficult to tell where the true Natalie ends and the influencer she’s created begins.
The Beginning
After the first chapter, I was hooked and honestly was not sure where this book was going to go.
There is a HUGE contrast between how Natalie’s life appears online and what is actually happening behind the scenes. Online as online typically does, everything is simple, wholesome, traditional.. nostalgic.
Behind the scenes though- There is staff, production. There is also resentment and secrets.
There is clearly resentment coming from both her staff and her oldest daughter, which immediately made me suspicious. Also Shannon’s email to Natalie… Excuuuse me ?! I immediately needed to know what was going on with that.
Content Warnings
A few things that may cause discomfort for some readers.
- Postpartum Depression
- Mental Health Struggles
- Turkey- Baster Pregnancies
- Christian/ Cult like religious themes
- Child Neglect
- Psychological distress
- Dysfunctional family
Kailz Thoughts
Okay what the eff. I’ve been sitting here just thinking about this book. I feel like my brain wants to explode. This book was deep.
Things that worked for me
I feel like there was alot that worked for this book. The concept of ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’ really had me spiraling. Natalie’s life is presented as a “charming perfect traditional life.” However I feel like the more you read you see the rot from behind the scenes and how truly oppressive this lifestyle has become.
There was some uncertainty as to what was actually going on with Natalie at times which I feel was truly captivating. Is it supernatural, psychological or is it a consequence of her own actions. There was a lot of tension in this aspect. It really left me questioning what was real and not real.
It really made me think. Like how would I manage in this kind of environment. Yes it sounds “cozy” and nostalgic.. but personally I wouldn’t want to experience all of the aspects. Especially Calebs wrath…like they were kind of awful together ! Their relationship was truly dysfunctional.
THE ENDING
Genuinely i dont know if i truly liked it.. It felt rushed and needed more. That being said.. it really really stuck with me. I’m still thinking about it. I felt like I immediately needed to talk to someone about it because I felt like my brain was pudding. It genuinely made me question what kind of book this was. It was like an onion with so many layers. Every chapter kept peeling them back until it revealed the inside. It just felt like everything collapsed and landed in one chaotic pile 🤣
and somehow, even days later I am still thinking about it.
Things that didn’t
The pacing was everywhere. It made my brain hurt a little. In the beginning I really noticed how Natalie’s world was beginning to unravel, but once that ball started rolling it was going a million miles an hour. I was like oh something is clearly wrong and then I was like ” OH Holy Shit We have Entered dumpster fire life energy. 😭
The ending of this book- It worked and didn’t at the same time. It really felt like I was left to my imagination with some things. It’s very emotional but in comparison the resolution feels inadequate. There were so many layers and so much ambiguity throughout the story that I just wanted MORE at the end.
Overall
This book was a trip. I’m still not sure if I truly liked it but I am glad I read it. It made me uncomfortable at times, questioning what was real. It made me question most things about Natalie- her relationships, the life she created and even my own assumptions that I had made. I am not going to lie, it is also difficult for me to give it a “star” rating.
Would I recommend it though?
Well I think if you enjoy psychological thrillers, messy characters, dark social commentary and books that have you staring at the ceiling after the fact…
Yes, but don’t expect to have any coherent thoughts for at least a day LOL
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