Have You Read Yesteryear?

We are living in religious times. Just not necessarily the kind you expect

There was a lot I appreciated about Yesteryear—the literary sensation which I, like many readers, found impossible to avoid. I had this one on pre-order, waited impatiently to read it, and when it did arrive, devoured it in a day. I found the construct of Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel so genius. Modern tradwife ends up in historical trad-life? What better way to test the hypocrisy and dishonest romanticising of the “pioneer” lifestyle.

The novel, through protagonist Natalie Heller Mills—“I was perfect at being alive”—delivers a compulsively readable, unreliable narrator. A lot of readers are divided about her character: she is, like everyone else in this novel, unlikable. There are flaws and plot holes. What denomination of Christianity exactly does she belong to? What is actually motivating her to have all these children from whom she feels so distant? And as for the ending… a mess.

But I wonder if people are overlooking the point of this novel.