I was excited about Caro Claire Burke's novel, Yesteryear, given the massive media attention and acclaim it received. The premise is compelling: a trad-wife influencer suddenly finds herself in the 1800s, with a dual-timeline narrative explaining how she got there. However, listening to the audiobook left me disappointed. Below, I'll outline my disappointments and invite discussion. This post contains spoilers.
A Humiliation Fantasy
The novel seems to revel in every embarrassing and pathetic detail of the protagonist, Natalie's, life. We are exhaustively shown how much her children and family hold her in contempt. Her political ignorance is constantly underlined. We even have to endure detailed descriptions of her pathetic sex life. The book concludes with Natalie literally defeated and imprisoned, being interviewed by her now-successful, politically liberal former college roommate. This character appears to be a direct stand-in for the book's target audience. While writing a humiliation fantasy is often merely boring, it becomes problematic when the work clearly references a real person, in this case, the owner of the Ballerina Farms social media account.
A Fundamental Disinterest in the Protagonist
Natalie could have been developed as a nuanced character. She comes from a poor, fundamentally Christian family that de-emphasizes women’s academic education, yet she earns a full-ride scholarship to Harvard University. Hence, she should be a highly intelligent, intellectually curious, and ambitious character. However, her behavior at Harvard contradicts this background. While somewhat ambitious, Natalie fails to show interest in the lives or worldviews of her peers. On top of that, she merely dismisses the new ideas presented by her education instead of engaging with them. This lack of intellectual engagement is unrealistic for a young person who consciously sought to leave behind her former life and community.
Lazily Researched
The novel suffers from lazy research, especially concerning religion. As a well-read Christian who studied theology at an Ivy League institution, Natalie's religious worldview should be nuanced and sophisticated, perhaps incorporating biblical references or analogies related to her inner struggles. However, the book fails to deliver this depth. Her relationship with God appears simplistic, primarily serving to rationalize her "trad-wife" persona and immoral decisions. The author, I feel, lacked the necessary interest in the story and characters to conduct the research that would have enabled the inclusion of those biblical references.
The end is unbelievable
While many have praised the novel's conclusion, I found it deeply disappointing. The revelation that Natalie manufactured an 1800s existence for her family is completely absurd. Her motive was to actually live the "trad-wife" life she had been fraudulently presenting on social media. This makes no sense, considering her husband had previously been planning to leave her and move to New York. Suddenly, he agrees to live in a house without central heating or a functional toilet. Adding to the situation, Natalie's initial children ran away to live with their grandmother. Meanwhile, Natalie has started a new family with the same husband who previously intended to divorce her, raising these new children in a simulated 1800s setting, depriving them of both education and medical care. It strains credulity that both her husband and child protective services would ever consent to this situation.
What do you think about my assessment and the book overall?
by HungerGamesRealityTV