#BookReview of #Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

[ About Yesteryear ]

‘My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive…’

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn’t her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

[ My Review ]

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke published with Fourth Estate April 9th and is described as a ‘domestic thriller’. Being adapted into a film starring the wonderful Anne Hathaway Yesteryear is being termed as an ‘electrifying’ must-read debut with its very topical focus on modern society’s obsession with social media.

In 2023 I read and reviewed Kids Run the Show by Delphine de Vigan, a novel set primarily in Paris, which I described as ‘a book that is very much a social commentary, exploring our obsession with social media and the impact it can have on those who cross over into obsession territory.‘ Yesteryear is a book with a very similar theme but with an American setting and an influencer who establishes herself online as a tradwife.

Growing up with her sister and mother, Natalie Heller Mills had a quite a structured childhood. With a supercilious attitude, she never rebelled like her college acquaintances, turning her back on their wild behaviour. During those years she met her husband, a young man from a wealthy family. He had little vision and no great drive, having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but Natalie had plenty of ambition for them both. After a few difficult years, they moved to a ranch, where Natalie learnt about the online community and could see the potential in becoming a role-model for women as an influencer. Making numerous mistakes along the way, Natalie unexpectedly achieved viral status as a tradwife. Curating the perfect life with the perfect family was considered aspirational and Natalie sucked every dollar that she could out of her unsuspecting followers. She characterised herself as ‘a flawless Christian woman. The manic pixie American dream girl of this nation’s deepest, darkest fantasies. The mother every woman wanted to be, and the wife every man wanted to come home to.’

As Natalie pushed herself forward, always hungry for more, she ignored the signs around her. Her children were now developing personalities as individuals and her husband was spending way too much time on forums. She had assistants, all very discreet, but Natalie was blinded by her need for success and the pedestal she found herself on. She was greedy.

But, one day, everything changes when she wakes up in a parallel universe. Her children are there (she is unsure), her husband is there (but older?), her beautiful things are all gone, the floors are dusty, all her mod cons have disappeared and it feels like she has stepped back in time to the days of the early settlers. Has she been set up? Is this like The Truman Show? Is there a crew off to the side somewhere monitoring her every move? Natalie is aware that something is clearly very wrong with her normally perfectly world but no one will listen to her, no one will acknowledge what is clearly a mistake…or is it?

We all see the curated clips online of beautiful people with their perceived perfect lives. The manosphere is topical right now with its toxic contributors and the aspirational lifestyle they advocate. Girls and women are inundated with images that promote insecurity and self-hate. With 24/7 access to these curated worlds, there is no escape. Natalie Heller Mills represents everything that is wrong with society today and its constant desire for more. Her personality and behaviour are brilliantly depicted. She is not a nice person and everyone she surrounds herself with are unpleasant individuals. Caro Claire Burke does not include any particular character that the reader can warm to, with little empathy in the pot for any of them. And this is what makes this such a compelling read.

Much of the online world is fake. Perfection is unattainable. Desires are never fully resolved and greed is everywhere. We have created a society that is slowly poisoning us but there does seem to be an unfurling movement encouraging us to slow down, step back and switch off. Novels like this highlight the extreme dangers of living online, and, although fiction, the message is clear.

Relevant, and very much a daring and smart debut, Yesteryear is a parable of sorts, highlighting the dangers of obsession and greed. It is a cautionary and dystopian tale exposing the damage of social media and the risks associated with committing to a life of perceived perfection when the camera is always on.

[ Thank you to Fourth Estate and Netgalley for a copy of Yesteryear in exchange for my honest review]

Caro Claire Burke received her Master’s in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Diabolical Lies, a politics and culture podcast.
YESTERYEAR is her first novel.