Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke
Book Club Date:October 2026
📖 Book Summary
Yesteryear follows Natalie, an influencer with millions of followers who presents herself as the perfect tradwife, complete with a handsome husband, six children and a picture-perfect farm. Yet behind this idyllic image lies a woman who believes in traditional gender roles while resenting the restrictions of motherhood and domestic life. One day, Natalie wakes up in 1855. Modern conveniences have vanished, her husband has become older and more domineering, and the children around her look familiar but are no longer quite the same. Has she travelled back in time, become the subject of a reality show, or fallen into a psychological crisis of her own?
✍️ Reading Notes
Natalie’s story is intriguing because she seems to be chasing a version of happiness approved by society: a husband who provides, a wife who cares for the family, a spotless home and homemade meals. On social media, the tradwife aesthetic promises an escape from modern pressures through baking, vintage dresses and domestic routines. Yet this seemingly simple life can become another form of work, with personal branding, sponsorships and constant pressure to prove one’s happiness to millions of followers. Natalie’s blunt, often hilarious inner monologue makes her a fascinating but unreliable narrator. She criticises others with confidence while struggling to confront her own contradictions. She can be selfish and arrogant, but how much of her behaviour comes from personal choices, and how much has been shaped by social expectations and psychological pressure? Her unsettling character makes the novel difficult to put down. Even if we dislike her, we want to understand her world and why she believes so firmly in her chosen lifestyle. I think Yesteryear is an excellent book-club pick precisely because it leaves so many questions unanswered. Some readers may find that the ending fails to explore its themes deeply enough, while others may see it as consistent with Natalie's complex psychology. Discussing these different interpretations allows us to discover perspectives we might otherwise have missed—and reconsider the issues the novel raises but never fully explores.
💬 Discussion Points
- 1Would you want to be a tradwife? What do you see as the potential benefits and drawbacks of this lifestyle?
- 2At what point did you begin to see Natalie as an unreliable narrator? What made you question her version of events?
- 3When being a tradwife becomes a monetisable label, should we, as social media users, treat the seemingly exaggerated story of Yesteryear as a cautionary tale? Should it make us more aware of the anxiety and pressure that can lie behind these carefully curated images of an ideal life?