Today I will be reviewing Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke!
With the buzz this book’s been getting, it was inevitable that I would eventually read it—but what a pleasant surprise! The story follows Natalie, a tradwife social media influencer, as she is transported back to the 1800s and, with an ironic overtone, must learn to live by the codes and recipes she preached to her followers. Each chapter flips between the past and the present, focusing on Natalie’s rise in popularity (and fall from grace, which is comically disastrous) and her transport to the era of homesteading, punctuated by her desperate attempt to escape. Nothing is ever as it seems in this book in both the literal and metaphorical sense, as not only is Natalie convinced that this antiquated version of her family is some sinister plot against her, but, as the reader learns throughout the story, much of Natalie’s own rise in fame is riddled with familial turmoil, crippling narcissism, and public deceit. That, and Natalie’s general temperament is about as feral as a rabid dog.
Yesteryear is witty, charming, and a great example of modern social critique done well. Natalie is a unique and refreshing take on the unreliable narrator, particularly in relation to the online world. That said, the book makes abundantly clear what it is trying to say, to the reader’s fatigue. Burke makes interesting arguments about the inherent deception required to maintain a good public face and how unstable institutional lies can uproot a person’s entire existence, but much of the social commentary felt heavy-handed, and most of what the author had to say on this came in the first fifty pages. Natalie’s inner monologues are littered with incessant bickering and sarcastic jokes, which quickly grew old. This made some of the more serious moments feel like a comedy sketch, taking away from the gravity of climactic scenes and, most unfortunately, the ending—I can’t say I saw the ending coming, but it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a little disappointed. Overall, the book is a joy to read and offers as much amusement as second-hand embarrassment from Natalie’s failed schemes, yet it constantly feels like it needs to explain itself to the audience when, in reality, the irony never leaves the reader.
Rating: 3/5
