Hi. Happy Memorial Day weekend … for those in the States. Are you at the beach or a lake? How are you honoring it? We had Canadian long weekend last weekend, which essentially means we are safe now from frost and can plant the garden, yay. The temps went from 30s to 80s in a week’s time (quite a whiplash), and I have been doing much lawn mowing, weeding, and planting. I’m trying to get this place into shape after a lengthy winter.
Also this week I might get in a bit of tennis, golf, and a bike ride … if my new knee permits. Such is retired life when the weather warms up. Above is a photo taken on my way to the golf course, which is about 20 minutes away. Among other things, I need to practice getting my ball out of sand traps, which looks easy on TV but never seems to be in reality, lol.
In book news, I see that Taiwan Travelogue written by Taiwanese author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King won the 2026 International Booker Prize this past week. Apparently it is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award, which celebrates translated works of fiction into English that are published in the UK and Ireland. Set in 1930s Japanese-occupied Taiwan, Taiwan Travelogue is said to follow “the relationship between a well-meaning Japanese novelist touring Taiwan and her secretive Taiwanese interpreter that navigates issues of power, identity, colonialism, and desire through a culinary tour.” It sounds good and I’ve put my name on the library wait list for it.
Among the award’s other short-listed nominees, I tried Daniel Kehlmann’s novel The Director but didn’t get too far before becoming distracted and putting it aside. It sounds like a good premise though and I might return to it … about a filmmaker who in the 1930s returns to Europe from Hollywood and finds himself forced into directing propaganda films under the Nazi regime. Have you read this one or any of the other short-listed nominees? I hope to check out Taiwan Travelogue sometime later this year.
And now I’ll leave you with a review of what I finished lately.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke / Knopf / 400 pages / 2026
4.3 stars. This novel only came out in April but has sprung up everywhere since. It’s safe to say it’s taken off like gang-busters and seems to be the most popular novel this spring … which will likely continue into summer. The author has been fielding many interviews and appeared on Seth Meyers’ Late Show on May 7 where the host said as of then the book had 742 holds at the N.Y. Public Library with a wait time of 10,402 days, Whoa!
I feel lucky to have gotten a copy of both the audiobook and ebook from the L.A. Public Library. I think I put in my hold for them in early April and got them by May. Tina at Turn the Page was kind enough to do a read-along with me of this topical read.
Make no mistake: Yesteryear is a doozy … provocative and scathing in a darkly satirical way. It’s something like a train wreck that I had trouble turning away from. At the heart of it is Natalie, in her early 30s, with five kids and a sixth on the way with her handsome husband Caleb. She’s a tradwife “influencer” on social media espousing her rustic large family life on a farm near the mountains in Idaho. At one point she reaches millions of followers with her posts … about the joys of baking bread and raising kids the wholesome Christian way. Online Natalie is a wonder (and a success at making money from Instagram), but offline Natalie has secret help from two live-in nannies raising the kids and a producer named Shannon who gets the best shots to post of the images Natalie’s trying to project. But her followers – Natalie thinks – don’t need to know about that.
This is the last day of the life I imagined for myself, Natalie says at the beginning.
Then one day Natalie wakes up and it’s 1855 … and her family and husband don’t seem the same. They’re different and her farmhouse has changed too. What’s going on? Is this some time travel event or Natalie’s new reality? One thing is for certain … real pioneer life in 1855 is way more than what Natalie bargained for. It’s not some acting performance for Instagram in today’s world. Natalie soon finds being a pioneer woman is very hard, boring, and at times scary for a woman too, and she’s unsure of the people around her. And “For what it’s worth: I do not recommend giving birth in the pioneer days,” Natalie says. Oh my, is this the life she’s been touting on Insta?
The reader is left toggling between two timelines: the present with Natalie and her family’s farm life on Instagram and how she came to live that idyllic life after her student days at Harvard and her early wedding … and the other time in 1855 with her doing chores and submitting to how pioneer life is like back then. The perspective in both is from Natalie and she is one unlikable protagonist! Be forewarned to spend time with her. She’s portrays herself as a good Christian woman but she’s all about herself and her morals are mean and skewed. She’s not nice to her kids, her husband (“a nice dumb rich guy”), her sister, parents, in-laws, or those who work for her. She’s a piece of work, and is so negative that she’s also a bit funny in a darkly comical, cynical way. I found myself laughing at times about her thoughts and dialogue.
Of course I can’t say too much more … because the story takes some turns especially at the end. I liked the whole topsy-turvy-ness of it, but it won’t be for everyone since the characters are quite unlikable and the plot includes one negative bombshell after another … but I admired how the novel’s put together — its cleverness — and the issues it raises about today’s online culture, consumerism, and fundamentalism. It’s sort of a page-turner which I had to see through. Now done, I can try to put Natalie, her biting voice, and her family behind me and take a breather, but it might be a bit hard to forget her anytime soon.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read Yesteryear — and if so, what did you think? Next post I’ll be looking at June releases and hopefully post my summer reading list.
Great photo, Susan! I thought that The Director would win the Booker, but since the Iran war was going on as well, I thought that the judges would be inclined to pick The Nights are Quiet in Tehran. Depending on your thoughts on Taiwan Travelogue I might add it to my reading list. Great review of Yesteryear—comprehensive and encompassing without major spoilers! It is indeed a doozy; I enjoyed it immensely, which was a relief because my very good to great readings this year have been very far between. I’ve only rated Crux and Yesteryear above 3* from this year’s crop. Dismal! Anyway, enjoy your planting, exercising and the 80s degrees weather. Have a fun week and enjoy your reading!
Hi Carmen, Taiwan Travelogue seemed a surprise win to me as well. I’m not even sure I’d heard of it. But I will investigate.
Glad my review of Yesteryear seems all right to you … it took me a while to think of how to say anything. It was entertaining b/c I didn’t really know where it was going … and Natalie was a piece of work. Glad you liked it too … and Crux, which was a good one. Maybe summer reading will reveal more good books.
And thanks, it’s been fun since the weather turned around here. We’re having a heat wave now, but there’s much to do. And I still need to finish the long fall book – maybe by the weekend. Hope you can find more notable reads.Enjoy your week.
The garden cleanup has been ongoing for us, too! So much weeding! I’m making progress, though.
That’s a great review of Yesteryear, Susan! I’m probably going to listen to the audio. I’ll go ahead and put myself on the waitlist. Hopefully, my wait time won’t be as long as the NY Library! We meet up with a bunch of our daughter’s friends in Montana over the summer, our friends, too, but we only see them once in a while. One woman, a little older than my daughter, is a reader. I’m sure she’ll read Yesteryear, so I’d like to get it done before then so we can talk! My daughter is a big reader, too, so maybe she’ll want to pick it up, too.
Have a great week!
Hi Rachel, I can relate to the weeding and planting. So much of it!
Yesteryear is certainly topical right now … and I hope you won’t have to wait too long for a copy. The audio is good — read by Rebecca Lowman. See what you think … it takes a little while to get into and stick with. But it’s a doozy.
Hope you can get it. That’s half the battle, lol. Enjoy your garden … and have a good week too.
This weekend we went to the “I Madonnari Chalk Painting” at Mission Santa Barbara, which always happens on Memorial Day Weekend. The first day was Saturday, but we went yesterday, the second day, because more progress have been made on the paintings. We like to go in the morning for better parking and in case it gets hot. Yesterday it was overcast and cool, better for us and for the chalk painters. We will go back again tomorrow, after the event is over, because almost all of the painting will be finished. We take lots of photos.
I love that photo with vista including the snow covered mountains in the distance. I hope you are all done with snow. All that work getting your garden ready sounds overwhelming but the results will be rewarding.
I was glad to see your review of Yesteryear. I am still thinking we will be getting a copy. I would be too curious if I never gave it a try. Probably in the last few months of this year.
Hi Tracy, that sounds interesting to see the chalk paintings at the Mission. I hope you include a photo of one on your post.
Yeah the garden is quite a bit of work … but I think we’re finally coming around on it now. Glad you like the photo. It is nice to see on my way to golf. We’re having a heat wave now which seems early for that.
Keep your eye out for a copy of Yesteryear … Maybe it’ll show up at the sale you go to in the fall. I haven’t read much like it … a bit of a different read for me. See what you think. Cheers. Have a good week.
Hi Susan beautiful picture of tbe road to the golf course and the mountains in the distance.
Great review of Yesteryear and I ordered the book from Book of the Month Club. I was eager to read it but I have been stalled on page 150. And the reason is Natalie. I found her unlikeable and not in a fun way and so I have been struggling But your review has me interested in continuing on to the end of Yesteryear which raises many important issues about the trad life and what life was really like for a woman in 1856.
Hi Kathy, thanks … I never seem to tire of the view in the distance.
I can see where one could stall out with Yesteryear … it is quite negative and Natalie is unlikeable. In fact I was going to start the beginning chapters again to write my review but I felt I didn’t want to return to it. I’m not sure I’d heard of the trad life term before … and influencers seem quite beyond me. You might be interested to see what happens at the end. But not sure it’ll be the book for you … which I understand. It was quite different for me and put together interestingly I thought. But I don’t need to return to Natalie … as I have had my fill.
Have a good week.
You have been busy! I like your review of Yesteryear and thought it was a page turner. It hits on so much such as social media interaction and persuasion, mental illness, abuse, dishonesty and so much more. This would nake a dyanmite mini series and I heard (not sure if it’s true) that Ann Hathaway bought rights to a film if one were to be made. She would definitley be Natalie.
I started The Young Will Remember and you had posted about that on upcoming books early in May. Holky cow, May is almost over!
Emailing you this morning about the book, etc. We have gutter replacement work happening soon so if Loki starts barking and I can’t concentrate I will finish this afternoon.
Hi Tina, Yesteryear did have a lot in it … I’m finally coming down off of it now … and all its negativity. I was thinking if Ann Hathaway could be Natalie … because I just saw her in Devil Wears Prada 2 and she has a goodie character there … so I’m having trouble seeing her as selfish, mean Natalie. Hmm.
I hope you are enjoying the Eve Chung novel. I might be interested in the author’s first novel too.
I hope the gutters went in Okay … and that Loki is back to calm. Things have been busy here but plan to email later. Cheers!
Your post photo looks almost identical to your blog header today. Very nice.
We had a relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. Drove from Port Townsend to Quinault River (near the lake) on Saturday and have been here since. Today we go a little south before returning to our favorite campground in Oregon for a few more nights. Our days have been lazy with reading, walking, photography, a little blog hopping, and online Mah Jong. I’ve also enjoyed some bird watching now that I have Merlin on my phone. It’s been a fun and added pleasure to our trip. It sounds like your weekend wasn’t quite as relaxing! I’ll have some yard work to tackle when we get home, but certainly not as much as when we lived in Nebraska. Of course, I could always rake the forest… 😉
Your review of Yesteryear has me eager to give the audiobook a listen! I know she’s probably not young enough for the role, but as I read your review, I pictured Nicole Kidman as Natalie. I’ll bet Netflix or another platform creates a series based on the novel, don’t you think? I occasionally watched a Youtuber who sounds a bit like Natalie. One of her episodes shows her make bread from scratch. Then homemade mozarella. Then some other homemade items. All just to make lunch for her kids. Ah! I just found her. Hannah Neeleman (@BallerinaFarm). And, of course, Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) is one who might not have been a tradwife, but portrayed life on a ranch with all the meals beautifully photographed for her viewers. And, as I recall, she had quite a bit of off-screen help.
Hope you get in some nice bike rides in the coming days! Take care.
Hi Lesley, your road trip sounds good. What pretty sights! We have been to Lake Quinault but it was long ago. And Forks, Washington and Port Townsend. Nice places to visit.
I knew nothing about such trad wife influencers before this book! Hopefully they are not (all) like Natalie. As the book goes on — you have to stick with it a bit … wade through some parts to keep going. I was wondering who could play Natalie … needs to be someone who can be pretty narcissistic …
We have a bit of a heat wave going on now and I’d like to be out biking if the winds could die down. But it’s nice it feels like summer. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
I’ve read several complimentary reviews of “Yesteryear.” It seems almost universally liked. I do have it on my reading list and I hope to get to it soon.
A “new knee” sounds like a great gift to me as my own old knees creak and protest whenever I ask them to do something more than stand. I hope you continue to feel great with yours and that you are again able to fully participate in all the activities you love.
Hi Dorothy, Though liked by many, I’m sure Yesteryear also has some naysayers … as it’s not an easy book! It’s a bit diabolical with the characters and in its negativity. So see what you think when you get to it.
I feel sort of blessed to get new knees … as I had worn out my old ones. I am still working to get one up to snuff but I’m able to ride a bike & play golf which is fun. Do you have any cartilage left in your knees? You should check with your doc … and see if you are a candidate for new ones. Cheers. Have a good week.
Picture on the way to the golf course – very nice! Good luck with your sand trap stuff. My husband’s the golfer in our family, but I know all the words…ha!
Hi Kay, thanks, glad you liked the photo. I don’t tire of the view. Your husband is probably a very good golfer and can out of the traps easily … By the end of the season I hope to be able to as well, lol. Enjoy your week.
I am looking forward to reading Yesteryear. Good to hear you liked it. Our memorial day weekend was rainy plus we had had a few busy weeks leading up to it so we stayed mostly as home and enjoyed each others company.
Hi Hena, See what you think of Yesteryear … it’s a bit of a different kind of read. And sorry to hear of your rainy long weekend … but glad you’re catching up at home after your travels. Cheers. Enjoy the week.
Great review of Yesteryear, Susan. I felt the same – a doozy! Compelling but so many unlikeable characters!
I’ve read some great but challenging books this Spring – Yesteryear, Whidbey (grim), Evil Genius (funny, quirky, intimate partner control/abuse).
I don’t read too much nonfiction, but London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe was a page-turner.
Happy gardening!
Jillann
Hi Jillann, thanks for your thoughts. Good to hear of your reads and that you finished Yesteryear too. What a crazy thing, lol. I might be too chicken to try Whidbey … and I had Evil Genius from the library but then had to return it without getting to it (argh). But good to know about London Falling.
Much to read. I think I’ll try to put out a summer list next time. Hmm.
Thanks we are enjoying all the gardening … Enjoy things there in lovely Kingston.
We had a quiet holiday weekend, planting flowers at the cemetery, enjoying nice weather for the first real time, doing home chores. My friend from Canada came for an afternoon/overnight so that was fun and we had our first cookout of the year.
It sounds like fun i your world. I hope your weather gets better. If you’re like us, you’re just itching to some decent weather — and have it stay. It’s beautiful in your world but on with the spring!
Hi Jeanie, good to hear you had a nice long weekend and yay that you have a Canadian friend. It’s nice again to have cookouts!
Now we’re having a 4 or 5 day heat wave which is a bit too early for … but it’s been pretty to see all the leaves come out … things have burst out. Enjoy things there. Happy gardening.
I’m glad I read Yesteryear, though I felt like there was some slippage between the stories where I had to leap over gaps. Probably just me. If nothing else, I hope younger women will read it and realize (before it is too late!) that tradwife life and influencer life are not what they are portrayed.
I’m glad it warmed up there and I hope you are able to get your garden in. We keep getting these unusual cool fronts. This morning I found the temps dropped. And it’s almost June.
Hi Deb, I am a bit surprised you read Yesteryear as it is quite negative! I thought some of it was clever … how it was done. The timelines sort of collapse after a while. But I’m glad to move on in my reading too. As I’m sure you are.
I’m so impressed that your garden is already producing! We are just putting ours in but there’s a heat wave here now … So I’m watering lots for the young plants. It’s good you have cool times amid the heat. Enjoy the week.
Another beautiful photo… hope you enjoyed the golf that followed. We had a very soggy, but busy Memorial Day weekend. Went to our daughter and son-in-law’s house Saturday to celebrate his birthday, then drove up to central NY on Sunday. We’re finally back home now… and exhausted!
Yesteryear sounds like quite a page-turner. My daughter was telling me about it over the weekend. She really enjoyed it, too. I finished Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman, which was fun. Now I’m reading Elizabeth Bowen’s The Death of the Heart. Ann Patchett mentioned it in her Friday video and the time was right to start another book. So far, so good.
Hope you’re having a good week!
Hi JoAnn, sounds like you had a busy but good long weekend there with travels. But nice that you are back in Conn. now. Rest up.
Glad to hear your daughter liked Yesteryear … it’s a bit of a different kind of read! And Lippman is usually fun. Much to read … now if we only had more time, ha ha. Speaking of Ann Patchett …. she has a new novel out soon. Hmm.
Enjoy your week.
I’m really intrigued by Yesteryear, so I decided to see if my library has a few copies. And they do: I can jump in line at number 2,733 for a hardback copy or number 3,219 for an audiobook. And that’s the county library. If I go to the city of Houston library, the numbers are even more intimidating. Gonna be a while.
Ha ha Sam. Those are major wait lists for Yesteryear. Yikes. Hard to believe it’s in the thousands now …. You might get it by fall if people give up. You’ll just need to keep reading others in your stacks. Have a great week.
I can’t figure out if I want to read Yesteryear or not. I don’t usually read time travel, but this one sounds so intriguing.
I hope your knee holds up with all the warm weather activities!
Hi Helen, I think you might find Yesteryear interesting. I can see you reading it — as it seems quite topical … and hits on various things & issues. See what you think …. also I *don’t* read time travel stories either … but got caught up in this.
You don’t know exactly where it’s going.
And thanks, slowly but surely I’m trying to get the new knee up to snuff. But still needs more a bit more time.
Hope you have a great week.
Hello. I’ve picked up Yesteryear and put it down again in the bookstore more than once. Can’t decide if all that influencer stuff is for me or not. I enjoyed your review. Does it have any nods to Little House on the Prairie? Loved those books!
Hi Nicola, good to hear from you. I think the author of Yesteryear is critiquing tradwife influencer life in making the lead character so unlikable. She is bashing it in ways. I wish it were as wholesome as Little House but it is a bit the opposite. See what you think. Hmm. I agree the Little House books were so enjoyable- I read them as a kid (the boxed set!) and should revisit them. Thx for stopping by!
I always enjoy reading your engaging posts and hearing what you’ve been up to! Also very intrigued to learn your take on Yesteryear. I think I’ll be giving it a pass, but have been very interested in readers’ quite varied reactions to it.
Hi Judith, thanks I appreciate your kind words … about my blathering posts, lol. And think it’s fine that you are passing on Yesteryear … I don’t think it’s a novel for everyone. It’s quite a negative story on human nature. I will need something a bit uplifting after this. I hope all is well there and your summer is off to a good start, Cheers!
I just read Tina’s review of Yesteryear and I think I would love the 1855 part in order to see the influencer have to deal with the reality of living “the dream.” I’m sure the modern part would be excruciating to read, at least for me.
Hi Jane, yes the influencer Natalie has trouble coping with “real” pioneer life, which is sort of ironic since she’s espousing that in modern life. I didn’t really know where the author was going with it … and so I kept on to find out. I don’t think it’s a book for everyone … but it had some clever moments. Cheers, have a great weekend.
Taiwan Travelogue sounds good and I added it to my TBR.
Hi Jinjer, you might get to Taiwan Travelogue before me – as I’ve moved it now to fall … so I will see what you think of it. You can vet it, lol. Happy reading.
Yesteryear is a train wreck but one I thoroughly enjoyed! I love being shocked and confounded by unreliable narrators like Natalie. She was so OTT in everything she did, I could never take her seriously.
I’ve heard very mixed reviews abotu Taiwan Travelogue, so not sure if I will get to it but I can highly recommend The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran with its four narrators from the same family separated by a decade each time.
Seeing your name pop up on my blog this morning made me realise that somehow your had fallen off my subscriber list, so I have fixed that again now 🙂
Hi Brona, So glad for your thoughts on Yesteryear … what a crazy, delicious & diabolical read that is! Natalie was OTT to the max. But sort of fun in a darkly funny way.
I need to hold off on Taiwan Travelogue perhaps till the fall and I’m glad you told me about the Tehran novel. I looked at that one and I think I’d like it. I’m adding it on to my fall list. Thanks for the tip.
Glad I am back on your subscriber list … i will add your site back on to mine as well. You’re always reading something good. Cheers! Hope you’ll have a nice winter there … full of good books.
I found the beginning to be a little irritating. She’s just so unlikable but pretty soon I was invested and in the end, I felt like it had plenty to say about influencers and performing for clicks. Social Media is so much a part of our lives now. I wasn’t going to read it but then Hathaway bought the rights and will be starring in the movie and it just took off from there.
I also checked out the inspiration behind the book, Ballerina Farms and honestly, her content is beautiful but it was also so cringe.
Ti: Interesting to hear your thoughts on Yesteryear. I didn’t know about the inspiration behind the novel … but the author certainly had plenty to say about it. I guess I didn’t know much about “influencers” etc. before this but it opens a window into some of that life. I liked your review.