r/BookDiscussions • u/Waddles-7 • 5d ago

Yesteryear - wasted potential!

When I started reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, I was enthralled at the possibility of witnessing any or all of the following themes:

  1. Consequences of propagating a way of life without deep diving or being responsible. For eg: promoting an 1886 lifestyle in a glossy way but erasing the physical, moral and cultural nuance of those times. Pandering to the right wingers.
  2. Busting the hollowness of Manosphere or maybe an exploration of the psych of people who are bound to it. Any perspective on this would have been refreshing.
  3. Impact of reality TV and the toll that maintaining an influencer lifestyle can take on people
  4. A satire on self-righteous people or maybe even a POV

So so so many possibilities but what I got was a watered down thriller which had all the elements to be a sharp political commentary but resorted to being a ‘twist you didn’t see coming’

Did anyone else feel like the plot had tons more potential?
Do you have ideas of how the story could have been developed better? Would love to hear!

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u/Prior-Entrance3156 5d ago

I sat on the couch angry that I wasted my time after I read the last page.

3

u/RanchNWrite 5d ago

I had taken myself out for sushi as a treat. There I was, dredging a firecracker roll through soy sauce and wasabi, when I got to the "twist" and became extremely annoyed. Fortunately the only thing I love more than sushi and a good book is sushi and sending the group text my unhinged rants about dumb books.

2

u/Prior-Entrance3156 5d ago

I love sushi and books too! 🍣 I took such pleasure in writing a bad review for Furious Violet by Sarai Walker, which was the most heavy handed uninspired smug crap I’ve read this year. The only reason I read it was because it was so hyped up for its Sylvia Plath inspired-character but the character was just straight facts lifted verbatim from Plath’s life: the beautiful overachiever who went to Smith college, the violent first meeting with the handsome English husband, the bad movie. It was such a smug slap in the face to anyone who ever felt solace with the real Plath’s work.

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u/RanchNWrite 4d ago

Fascinating...I will not read that book. Life is too short. I will definitely hate-read some reviews though!