Yesteryear
By Caro Claire Burke
This book. There is so much to say about this book. If you read over the reviews, it seems people feel one of two ways about it: love it or hate it. I happen to be in the camp of Love it. I did listen to this on audiobook, and the narrator just simply nailed the essence of Natalie. *Chef’s kiss. It isn’t the plot that has me feverishly listening to this novel, but the amazing character work that Burke has done. And reminds me why we dive so deep into literature in the first place. More than entertaining, Burke treats us to a masterclass in creating a deeply complex character that is the true driving force of this novel.
While I am a spoiler-free zone, I am going to really dive into the character of Natalie on this one, so if you don’t wanna know, maybe skip the rest of this post. Official Spoiler Warning!
Natalie. She is almost in her villain era with the spite and anger she is keeping pent up behind that sweet facade of hers. There is so much about Natalie to unpack as we learn more about her as we hop from past to present to past again (in which I mean her personal past, not the actual past Natalie has found herself stuck in). A simple trip to Target is a chance for her to show herself as an amazing mom who does “normal” things with her girls, while getting Starbucks and buying trinkets. It is also when she runs into a woman from her high school days and the vile thoughts Natalie has about this clearly hard-working mother. The judgement pours through her, but it is all a mask. Even her thoughts. They are all an attempt to convince herself that she is a woman worth being jealous of, that her life is perfect, when inside she is miserable.
Natalie has been in a self-induced, one-sided competitive spiral that began in her freshman year at Harvard. She is a devoutly religious girl who has never truly experienced the world. And her own internal conflicts with experiencing these new personalities, well, it’s a lot to take in for a 17-year-old. She desires to earn her degree, to use her intellect and study theology and divinity (which in a way is its own contradiction considering it is very much a male-dominated space- this is kind of central to her character, as gender roles are very ingrained and important to her). It becomes more than that when her beliefs are challenged by the women she is now immersed with; she has to prove them all wrong. That her way of life is better.
She is quick to marry the son of a rich senator from California, and not long after is pregnant and about to leave school because her hubs is graduating and they are eager to start their lives. At least that is what she tells her ex-roommate when they bump into one another. But what she fails to mention is the very disappointing wedding night. Granted, sex chat is out of the question, but she really could have used the advice from those girls who used to invade her dorm at this point in her marriage, at least to spice things up a bit. But then, Natalie is a bit of a prude.
From start to finish, Natalie always manages to make the blood boil, and just when you think maybe she will learn something, maybe she will make the right choice, maybe she will accept that life sucks sometimes and mistakes are made, but oh no, no, no. Not Natalie. She just goes harder and harder, until there is no place left to go.
I will forever stand on my mountain of imperfect characters whom I love to hate. It is like reading the best revenge story you could think of. Take your villain and imagine their spiral and rock bottom. That is what this book is to me. A catharsis. That my life is fine and there is no need to compare it to anyone.
