Sandwich

“[Sandwich] practically glows with family feeling . . . . [it] has much in common with Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, though Patchett’s novel doesn’t have an older generation, a key element here . . . . The laughter begins on the first page . . . and the great lines and witty observations never stop.” — Washington Post

“Sandwich reminds me of Laurie Colwin’s Happy All the Time—Newman shares Colwin’s ability to write about intertwined happiness and heartbreak (as well as her passion for food). I found myself snorting out loud with laughter, the wheezing kind, then all at once, deeply moved. This is a book about love and change and loss, all packed into an annual family week on Cape Cod. And it’s a total delight.” — Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger

“Sandwich is my idea of the perfect summer novel: shimmering and substantive. One more aspect of Newman’s book deserves highlighting: like many other recent novels by best-selling female authors—I’m thinking of Jennifer Weiner, Ann Patchett, and Megan Abbott—Newman introduces a storyline here about abortion. She writes about that contested subject—and the emotions it engenders—in a way that I’ve never encountered in fiction before.” — Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s “Fresh Air”

“I loved reading this book! Not only do I want to send this gracious family a thank you note for having me along for a week at the beach, I’m still laughing out loud when I think of some sentences, and lumping up in my throat when I think of others.” —  Eliza Minot, author of In the Orchard and The Tiny One

“Finally, literary fiction has started to fully appreciate the joy of an older female narrator . . . . Rocky is a worthy member of this new and much-needed club, not just for her date of birth but also for her relatability . . . . a protagonist like Rocky is so necessary, because a whole generation will now be able to read this wise and exquisitely written story and say I know how you feel. They will say, Same.” — The Guardian

“What I love about this book is we see from the perspective of the mother how incredibly excited she is to bring her family all together again, which is something I can relate to . . . . she is in that sandwich generation, in that middle place in life. Newman did an exquisite job of showing that middle place with a lot of humor and sensitivity and kindness. It’s a book I couldn’t stop thinking about when I finished.” — Liz Egan, New York Times Book Review podcast

“Newman is warm, generous, always funny—but always with the intent to make you laugh at yourself as much as the characters. A beach novel to pass onto your best friends.” — Oprah Daily

“Secrets are confessed and ties between parents and their adult children are tested on a week’s vacation in Cape Cod. Newman’s light touch keeps this family drama from slipping into melodrama. Feels like eating pastries (from the “good” bakery) over coffee while venting to my mother on the beach.” — Boston Globe

“With the pacing of a thriller, observations akin to poetry and real-life conflict like memoir, Newman’s novel about one family’s week on Cape Cod should find a place in your beach bag, even if your own summer vacation is in Bali. The menopausal Rocky, her husband, their two grown children (along with one’s partner), and her aged parents enjoy time-honored traditions but also have to figure out how to negotiate time’s changes on all of them.” — Los Angeles Times

“If you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it’s just perfect.” — Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan Song

“I loved this little beautiful book. You could put it in your beach bag and read it in one sitting. I did . . . . The ultimate beach read.” — Jenna Bush Hager

“Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life.” — Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

“This delightful book just begs to get sand between its pages . . . . a beautiful testament to how decisions can reverberate down the decades and into the delicate future.” — People

“If you want a book that has you from ‘hello,’ this is the one.” — Ann Patchett, PBS NewsHour

“Sandwich will have you laughing through your tears . . . . You’ll be screenshotting paragraphs of this heartbreakingly honest novel to send to your friends.” — Real Simple

“This book has the best description of sandy toes and salty swimsuits I have ever read . . . . It will remind you of the warm and fuzzy feelings you get watching kids romp on the beach combined with the bittersweet reminder of swiftly passing time.” — Good Morning America

“This clever novel . . . . paints a vivid picture of family life and proves that middle-aged characters can be funny, sympathetic and fascinating. It is a beautifully written, moving novel that touches on the complexity of female sexuality and fertility and explores how every pregnancy leaves an indelible mark.” — The Observer

“A beach novel to pass on to your best friends, no matter what the season.” — Oprah Magazine, “Best Books of 2024”

“I don’t laugh out loud very often when I’m reading books, but I did while I was reading Sandwich. And I bet I smiled an average of three times per page. Catherine Newman’s novel is tons of fun….I bet parents will relate to the nostalgia of Sandwich, which skirts up against sentiment without ever crossing the line because, like Thornton Wilder in the play Our Town, Newman is adept at capturing the everyday details of life that seem insignificant at the time but turn out to have shaped us….Newman’s writing is funny, clear-eyed and compassionate.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

“I love [Newman’s] writing . . . . I flew through it. I really think it’s going to be everywhere this summer . . . . it’s incredibly human and real and tender and I loved it. Catherine Newman is so talented.” — Carola Lovering, ABC/Good Morning America

“At times laugh out loud funny, often earthy and irreverent, the book nevertheless also tackles subjects as serious as life and death . . . . The unexpected everyday just keeps coming, in a book with love as its theme, overtly present in every scene: love for children, parents, for enormous sandwiches shared on sandy beaches, for a summer cabin in Sandwich, Massachusetts barely big enough to hold this modern, messy, funny family.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“I couldn’t love it more, can’t stop talking about it, can’t stop texting full paragraphs t