“In the passenger seat of one slightly rusting silver Subaru station wagon: a woman in her fifties…. Her body is a wonderland. Or maybe her body is a satchel full of scars and secrets and menopause.”
Meet Rocky – a middle-aged wife, mom, daughter, and – new to the list! – a member of the Menopause Club! As Rocky embarks on her annual summer family vacation in a small Cape Cod beach town, she is truly on a physical, mental, and emotional rollercoaster. Menopausal or not, your book club is sure to relate to many of Rocky’s experiences, from the highs and lows of parenthood, the challenges of loss in its many forms, and of course, the bane of shopping for new swimwear.
Sandwich is a short book but it packs a punch. Our Sandwich book club questions will help you make the most of your conversation around its characters and themes. In this Sandwich book club guide, you will also find a synopsis, select reader reviews, and suggestions for related reads. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did!
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Sandwich Synopsis
(We always chose to provide the publisher synopsis because we feel that it’s worthwhile to discuss whether the official book description actually squared with your experience of the book.)
Sandwich, Catherine Newman
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.
10 Book Club Questions for Sandwich
These questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience, but if you want more ideas, we also have an article with 101 generic book club questions.
- Do you have any annual traditions or vacation spots? Does the idea of a week-long family vacation sound appealing or exhausting to you?
- Multiple family secrets are revealed throughout the book. Why do you think the characters in Sandwich decided to keep these secrets from their loved ones? Is it ok to withhold secrets from your husband, children, etc.?
- Discuss how the title “Sandwich” reflects the book’s plot and themes.
- “I have had many ideas about myself – and many of them have been ruined.”
How has your view of yourself changed over time? Has any part of your life panned out differently than you imagined it would?
- How do you feel about Rocky and Nick’s relationship? What positive or negative attributes do they display in their marriage?
- “We’re just ruined by sex, women – our bodies, our psyches… Traumatized by conceiving, by not conceiving. But let’s keep at it! Like, you’ve been in a maiming car accident and then you’re supposed to want to get back in the car?”
Discuss this quote. How do pregnancy and fertility challenges impact emotional and physical health?
- Much of the book centers around the range of emotions that are experienced through parenthood. Rocky describes intense love, fear, anxiety, pride, and even resentment at times. Are these experiences of parenting relatable to you?
- “I’ve heard grief described as love with nowhere to go.”
Discuss the various forms of loss described in the book and how the characters process grief.
- How do you feel about the author’s use of humor and sarcasm throughout the book? Do you think it was an effective storytelling technique?
- Which character would you be most likely to befriend in real life?
Select Reviews for Sandwich
(Use these selected Goodreads reviews to compare with your own experience of the book. Do you agree or disagree with the reviews?)
“I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more. Family, parenting, love, Cape Cod and the underestimated smell of being on the beach that brings both clarity and relaxation. Sandwich is a wonderful representation of how families live – love – disagree and how they endure. Marriages, aging parents, children who grow to find their own love and the complicated dance of a marriage between two that ebbs and flows over the course of several decades.”
“All in all, while I enjoyed my reading experience well enough, I was left at the end wanting more. I wanted more depth in characters, more dimension to the story and more relatability (and less menopause). I think my experience with it ultimately came down to me not being part of the somewhat narrow target audience of perimenopausal mothers, and that’s ok!”
“Ultimately, the bits that moved me to laughter or to tears weren’t enough to hold the latitude I so badly wanted to give. They were flash-bang moments of deeply-relatable female angst in the midst of droning melodrama centered on a privileged and sheltered family that was so Instagram-ready with raging faux-humble I was all a-gag on my spoon. The melodrama is almost entirely in Rocky’s head, the protagonist and mother of two well-adjusted adult children she is desperately trying to tuck back into her womb. Granted, menopause makes for unrelenting (personal) drama, but Rocky just wore me out.”
“Beautiful prose, relatable characters and realistic situations, plenty of love, laughter and food (and of course, sandwiches) as well as tears and frustrations, and some truly heartfelt conversations and poignant moments make for a quiet yet incredibly thought-provoking read!”
More Book Club Ideas
The following links go to a reading guide for that particular book. There’s a non-spoiler synopsis on the top of the article with a link to Amazon if you want to check pricing or reviews.
If you’re keen for more women in the menopausal stage, with nearly grown or grown children, and/or history to reflect upon, here are a few options for you: Tom Lake (Ann Patchett), Homecoming (Kate Morton), or How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (Angie Cruz).
And if you’d like more books like Sandwich, check out these offerings:
Golden Girl, Elin Hilderbrand
If you’re craving more ‘summer vacation on the East Coast’ vibes, Elin Hilderbrand has plenty to offer, as nearly all of her novels are set in Nantucket. One of my favorites is Golden Girl, the story of Vivan, a successful author and mother to three nearly-adult children, who is killed in a hit and run accident and is now watching over her family from “the beyond”.
Vivian is given the opportunity to ‘nudge’ events on Earth, forcing her to evaluate what’s most important to herself and her family as they navigate life in her absence. This novel explores the nuances of loss and relationships.
The Wedding People, Alison Espach
Wedding People by Alison Espach follows forty-something Phoebe Stone, who checks into a luxurious beach hotel with the intention of never checking out – life has become too much for Phoebe, following her divorce, infertility challenges, and now the death of her beloved cat. What Phoebe didn’t realize was that the hotel is hosting a wedding celebration that weekend – and the relationship that forms between herself and the bride, Lila, may just change her life.
A Happier Life, Kristy Woodson Harvey
For readers who want more small-town charm, an exploration of family relationships, and a bit of a mystery thrown in, check out A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey. This novel is about Keaton, who heads to North Carolina to list her late grandparent’s family home, and slowly uncovers her grandmother’s past while also exploring new relationships in the present.
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