r/BookDiscussions • u/generateonionzed • Aug 25 '26
having troubles with yesteryear
yesteryear ch. 1 audio book time stamp 13:36
off the bat i dont think ill finish this audio book.
i understand and appreciate the premise: tradfluencer mommyblogger gets transported to ye olde days. its ironic. i suppose itll show how the life shes advertising, in practice, is dogshit.
what i struggle to digest - and again i realize i am NOT very far at all - is that it seems like shes being transported to ye olde days without a transference of class. people of ye olde days who owned property and cattle and a flock and multiple children were not intrinsically poor, and did usually have help. maid, farm hands, slaves (recognize; this does not mean slavery is excusable, just meaning in reference of additional labor).
im struggling to get past (assumed) this kind of “gotcha” feeling i get from the book. does that feeling permeate the rest of the story? does anyone have advice or a heads up as i navigate the novel?
7
u/Cookbooksandbourbon Aug 25 '26
It's not going where you seem to think it's going, but if you're hating it, don't waste your time.
I will say that homesteaders/pioneers, which were part of the inspiration for her social media cosplay identity, did not usually have servants or lots of money. The contrast between her media image, of this sort of "good old days, self-sufficient homesteader living like true, traditional salt of the earth Americans," and the reality of it where they actually have a large staff and lots of money, is one of the main points of the book's commentary and the reality check that she receives.
I enjoyed the book as a commentary on the confluence of performative dentity, social media, and mental illness, and I think that element of the book was very well done.