WellRead's June 2024 selection was Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Centred around motherhood, menopause, marriage, loss, ageing parents and empty nesting, Sandwich has a clear audience but it also offers something for everyone.
Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story.
Reading questions for Sandwich by Catherine Newman.
- The realities and rages of menopause are at the heart of Sandwich. Have you read many fiction books that centre this part of women’s lives before? How did it make you feel?
- The family holiday house in Cape Cod is getting older, why do you think Newman decided to set this story during the family holiday, rather than during a typical week of their ordinary lives?
- Sandwich is a small coastal town in Cape Cod – a fact that may escape many Australian-based WellRead subscribers – after finishing the novel, what do you think the title was referring to?
- Despite having such a close-knit family, there are secrets uncovered during this trip. Why do you think that Rocky, in particular, felt as though she needed to carry her secrets by herself?
- Sandwich explores lots of big, relatable themes, particularly surrounding parenthood and the big feelings – guilt, resentment, love, self-doubt, joy, exhaustion – that come with it. If you are a parent, was there a passage that particularly hit home for you?
- “I have many ideas about myself – and many of them have been ruined.” There’s something about an annual holiday that calls for reflection on years and dreams past. Did you have that experience while immersed in Rocky and her family’s holiday?