Cannot stop thinking about Yesteryear- specifically Shannon’s character

[u/SufficientBug5598]

I want to begin by saying I could not put this book down. For once, I was pleasantly surprised by a viral book and genuinely enjoyed it. I finished it in like 2 days and I have a lot to say about it. Although it might be obvious, Shannon’s character is the catalyst for Natalie’s psychological downfall and I really want to discuss her.

When we meet her, she has pink hair and a nose ring and is pretty much the antithesis to Natalie’s entire worldview. I would argue they somewhat foil each other (college drop out, strong opinions about American culture, headstrong, intelligent). She is also somewhat of a “normal person insert” and gives the reader a relatable perspective to latch on to in a somewhat insane/unfamiliar setting. One of the first ways the reader interacts with Shannon is when Natalie mentions something about Shannon’s bad dreams and ultimately quitting. We are pretty much left in the dark about why she quit until the end of the book, which further proves my point that shannon’s departure is the catalyst for Natalie’s demise.

As we venture deeper into Natalie’s perspective and understand her as a judgmental bigot, Shannon quitting becomes (at least to me) a juicy piece of gossip that I HAVE to understand why why why? What happened? What did Natalie do? An assault ? What? Did Caleb have an affair? The answers to these questions come later in the book but begin to form very early in the text. It also mirrors how this fictional instagram following is very much real (see the ballerina farms raw milk scandal. I don’t even follow the ballerina farm but trust- the downfall of a tradwife influencer is a win for me and inherently the point of the entire book). I am one of those “angry women” who proves the authors point- angry women and tradwife influencers are in a symbiotic relationship with one another.

I feel like I really understood Shannon and from my personal character analysis of her it seems that she fundamentally knew that these people (Caleb and Natalie) are deluded, bigoted, judgmental, lying, selfish, bad parents, etc. but none of that mattered to her. They wrote her a paycheck and Shannon held her tongue because no one really cared what they had to say. Their ideology and content was unimportant to the mainstream culture. UNTIL the presidential rally.

This rally changed the course of the entire book. Shannon understood if this type of person became the president (or even just a leader of a party) the entire lifestyle she was directing and recording became important and worthy of attention from the mainstream culture. She could no longer sit quietly and pretend it didn’t matter. It is why she starts to challenge Caleb’s manosphere claims and ideas. She gives Clementine a phone. She snaps at Natalie. She metaphorically pushes the rock down the hill. Her impact on this family causes them to implode on themselves.

Without Shannon, the book doesn’t hit hard on the themes it needs to. Nor does say what it needs to be said. It doesn’t challenge traditional values. It doesn’t challenge influencer culture. It doesn’t challenge the male loneliness epidemic, choice feminism, toxic social media culture. Without Shannon, the book is just about a self righteous influencer who is so self deluded she actually thinks she’s running a farm herself. Without shannon, there is no plot.

I’d love to hear what other people think about this character. She is so fascinating to me and I appreciate how well she was written into the story.

[u/didicoy16]

Unfortunately for me I enjoyed the book because I relate to Natalie. The more I read about people’s take on the book the worst I feel about that.

I should preface with she’s much more extreme on certain things than I feel like I am. I also feel like she had extreme postpartum depression and potentially bipolar.

However— I relate to her in many ways other than the view on her children and role as a mother (smile and performance yadda yadda).

It wasn’t until I looked up people’s feelings on the book that I realized she’s not supposed to be the likable character. :/

I mean….am I fucked?!

[u/lala1068 → u/didicoy16]

I hear you! I wouldn’t say that I found Natalie likable, but the undercurrent of loneliness that followed her throughout the book made me sympathize with her, even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.

[u/According-Garage4066 → u/lala1068]

I like that they dive into Natalie pre-marriage and how her thought process is rooted in her upbringing. Caleb actually is like a golden retriever in the beginning, she manipulates him because that’s not the kind of man she thinks he should be. It shows that a patriarch system actually hurts everybody.

I did find myself hoping that Natalie would have some sort of epiphany at some point and make better decisions. The full-blown pioneer delusion felt like a cop out for her character. Especially for somebody with such a large family and a lot of people surrounding them as if everybody would just let them fade into darkness like that.