Seven readers came together for the latest DEG Book Club on 18 August to discuss Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear, a provocative novel about influencer culture, traditional gender roles and the seductive idea that life might have been better in the past.
Opinions on the novel were sharply divided. Some participants found the protagonist Natalie deeply “disturbing” and could not wait to finish the book, while others praised Burke’s writing, found the novel difficult to put down and were quickly drawn into its increasingly unsettling story. This contrast made for a particularly lively discussion and resulted in an overall Book Club score of 39 out of a possible 70 points.
Much of our conversation centred on Natalie herself. A highly successful Trad Wife influencer, she has built an online empire around an idealised version of traditional family life, motherhood and clearly defined gender roles. Yet the life she presents to millions of followers is carefully staged and supported by money, modern technology and paid help.
This led us to discuss the wider phenomenon of Trad Wife influencers and the difference between freely choosing a traditional role today and living in a society in which women have few alternatives. We also considered why idealised images of a simpler past can be so appealing in a complicated modern world and whether social media sells authenticity or merely a convincing performance of it.
Another central question was whether Yesteryear can ultimately be read as a rather dark version of “be careful what you wish for”. Natalie appears genuinely attracted to traditional masculinity and the lifestyle she promotes. But what happens when an attractive fantasy becomes an actual system of power? Our discussion explored the difference between enjoying certain aspects of traditional gender roles and accepting all the restrictions that historically came with them.
The conversation also turned to children and family influencing. How much right do parents have to make their children part of an online brand? Where does a parent’s freedom to choose an alternative lifestyle end when that choice also determines a child’s education, healthcare and future? The novel’s later developments made these questions particularly uncomfortable and prompted comparisons with real-life cases involving family influencers.
With its mix of satire, social commentary and an increasingly disturbing storyline, Yesteryear certainly did not leave our group indifferent. Whether readers loved the novel or were simply relieved to reach the final page, there was plenty to talk about.
The discussion became particularly thought-provoking when we looked at the real-life case of American family influencer Ruby Franke. Franke had built a large online following by documenting family life with her six children on the YouTube channel 8 Passengers, before she was arrested in 2023 and later convicted of aggravated child abuse. For several participants, it was startling to realise that some of the darker themes in Yesteryear were therefore not as far removed from reality as they might initially appear. Burke herself has spoken about the Franke case and her particular interest in the children of family influencers, raising one of the central questions of our discussion: what happens when children become part of a parent’s public brand without having chosen that life themselves?
Next up: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Our next Book Club meeting will take place on 20 October, when we will discuss Annie Hartnett’s The Road to Tender Hearts.
The darkly comic and warm-hearted road novel follows 63-year-old PJ Halliday, a lottery winner whose life has nevertheless been marked by loss. When he learns that his high-school sweetheart is single again, he sets off across America to find her. His journey becomes considerably more complicated when he unexpectedly finds himself responsible for two orphaned children and is joined by his adult daughter and a rather unusual cat with a talent for predicting death. What begins as a quest for lost love develops into a story about grief, family, second chances and the possibility of changing your life.
Annie Hartnett is an American novelist and the author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals. Unlikely Animals won the Julia Ward Howe Prize for fiction and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, while Rabbit Cake was a finalist for the New England Book Award.
Hartnett has received fellowships and residencies from institutions including the MacDowell Colony and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.
We look forward to another lively discussion in October – newcomers are always welcome!
DEG Book Club score
As part of our ongoing effort to reflect on and celebrate the books we’ve explored together, the DEG Book Club is compiling a running list of all past and current reads, complete with average star ratings (1 to 10) as given by our participants. This list will serve as a shared memory of our literary journey – and a helpful guide for anyone looking for thoughtful, diverse reading recommendations. Participants are encouraged to rate each book after our discussion and these are the ratings so far:
| 1. “Hamnet” – Maggie O’Farrell | September 25 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 9) |
| 2. “To Kill a Mocking Bird” – Harper Lee | July 25 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 8.4) |
| 3. “The Shipping News” – Annie Proulx | May 25 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 7.75) |
| 4. “What we can know” – Ian McEwan | April 26 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 7.5) |
| 5. “The Road to Little Dribbling” – Bill Bryson | February 26 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 5.8) |
| 6. “Going Zero” – Anthony Mc Carten | March 25 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 5.75) |
| 7. “The Marmalade Diaries” – Ben Aitkin | June 26 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 5.66) |
| 8. “The Body” – Stephen King | July 25 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 5,63) |
9. “Yesteryear” – Caro Claire Burke | June 26 pick | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (average of 5,57) |
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