Yesteryear

~ MaryG

I read the book that “everyone” is talking about—Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. This debut novel reportedly received a low 7-figure advance and was optioned for a film starring Anne Hathaway before it was even finished. (How does a new author do that?)

In case you haven’t heard, it’s about a tradwife influencer (think Ballerina Farm) who mysteriously finds herself back in the old western pioneer days with no electricity or modern conveniences. The plot twists are compelling and au courant—both in the modern world and in the pioneer one. (Raw milk, going viral, the manosphere, immigrant farm workers, “organic” food, nepo babies, homeschooling, Target—it’s all in there.)

So it’s definitely a page turner, but I can’t say I loved it. The problem is that the main character is so unlikable. And maybe that’s the point. Women my age have been complaining for decades that we were taught to be “nice” and likable above all else. When we grew up, we realized that being nice all the time led to an awful lot of getting taking advantage of, harassment, and even abuse. So we taught our daughters to be strong, confident and to make their own money—in many cases, for their safety. (You shouldn’t need to rely on a man for anything!)

And now there is a myth (I think) that some of those girls then grew up to “hate men.”

But honestly, are there really a bunch of childless “Girl Bosses” running around Manhattan just despising men and their former friends who decided to be stay-at-home moms?

To be perfectly honest, I have said a disparaging thing or two about women in my town who did not do any paid work while raising their kids. Obviously they were fairly wealthy…who else could afford to not work? And I felt that some of them tended to get exceedingly wrapped up in their children’s lives. (Like, the results of travel basketball tryouts could send them into a tailspin for weeks.)

But back to the book…the main character really doesn’t like anyone. Not her sister or the women she grew up with, not her Harvard classmates, not her dumb rich husband, not her babies, not her fans.

It’s almost like the author is saying that women can’t win, no matter what they do.

Maybe they will make the main character more sympathetic in the film. Anne Hathaway can be complex, right?

I’m sure the setting—in the mountains of Idaho—is going to look spectacular.

That’s my two cents. Let me know if you read it.

17 thoughts on “Yesteryear”

  4. I might read it, since I’m oddly lured in by experiencing her unlikeableness, from your review! I’m sure the film will give the character more redeeming qualities, if only in her expressions and proportion of dislike to other characters. 🙂

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    1. Let me know your thoughts, if you do. It’s quick and I had no trouble getting from the library (but maybe a longer wait now). They say Anne Hathaway was weighing in on the book as Burke was finishing it, so I’m expecting an Oscar-level performance out of her!

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      1. I’ll let you know. I would probably read through Libby, so even though I have two library systems on there, if it’s that popular, it’ll take a while. Then again, if it’s short (I hadn’t heard of it until today!), maybe people will get through it fast and the line will move swiftly.

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  5. Not sure if I will read it or not. I am fine with unlikable characters as long as they are interesting. Was the main character interesting? Just as important to me is writing style. I am one of those readers who love well-written sentences and hate overwrought, hackneyed writing. So, how was her writing style? I think the subject is definitely worth exploring. With feminism, we seem to be in a backlash moment where nobody is a winner—women, men, stay-at-homes as well as though who work outside the home. Sigh. I was a stay-at-home for many years and was able to achieve this through hard work and careful budgeting, not because my husband made a lot of money. With the price of housing and everything else, not sure if this would be possible today.

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    1. She’s definitely interesting because she’s so modern. I’ve never read a book where the main character is an “influencer” before – that’s her job. The author is no Barbara Kingsolver but she conjures some interesting things…and the plot is wild. Big reveal at the end! A bit like you’re reading a screenplay.

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  6. This novel was on the list of recommended books to read this summer. But I think I’m going to pass; I read what the news article said and now what you said, and I’m really not getting a good vibe. So, it’s better to spend my time reading something else.

    I agree with your point about women being independent. I know too many women whose husbands decided that they wanted to be 20 again, so they left their wives after 30 years of marriage to chase younger women. I think some men are just afraid of strong women and don’t know how to engage with them, that’s why the manosphere is growing. Having children needs to be discussed as a couple to figure out how to work it out and keep some kind of balance. Children are a lifetime commitment.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Edward. I don’t think you’ll be missing too much by not reading this book. Maybe you’ll catch the movie. Great point about the guys who dump their wives in search of someone younger. I bet one thing they never think about is how much of a pain the broken family is going to be for the next generation. Grandchildren with 4 sets of grandparents (because they all got divorced and have a new partner) are obviously going to see some of their grandparents a lot more than others. Like you said, kids are for life!

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      1. The movie might be a good one. You are 100% correct. A man who abandons his wife and children doesn’t care much about what happens next. I was talking about this same issue with my wife not too long ago, as we are trying to help one of our friends who is going through this situation. We were wondering about the man’s ability to cut loose without hesitation from decades of family commitment to start a new life. It’s just mind-boggling.

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