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This Is Yesterday
Peach lives alone and adrift in London. In her forties, she still works in the Mayfair gallery she once thought would be a stepping stone towards her own career as an artist. She is too old for her drunken hook-ups and nervous breakdowns, too self-aware to think her unhappiness could be cured by a relationship and a baby. She is too young to feel this tired.
Peach is woken one night with news that her father, who suffers with Alzheimer’s, is in intensive care. She has barely seen her family in twenty-five years. What happens when they gather at the hospital will force her to confront a past she has spent twenty-five years trying to avoid.
Spiked with dark humour and written with caustic energy, This Is Yesterday is a story of a woman’s relationship with her art, her body, her memories, herself. It is a story of beginning, ending and becoming.
Peach is woken one night with news that her father, who suffers with Alzheimer’s, is in intensive care. She has barely seen her family in twenty-five years. What happens when they gather at the hospital will force her to confront a past she has spent twenty-five years trying to avoid.
Spiked with dark humour and written with caustic energy, This Is Yesterday is a story of a woman’s relationship with her art, her body, her memories, herself. It is a story of beginning, ending and becoming.
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 13, 2025
Brilliant writing, almost poetic. Easy to get into, with characters that jump off the page and so much to relate to if you were a teen/young adult in the 90s. One of the best novels I’ve read in recent years. Looking forward to reading ‘Birding’ by the same author.
June 30, 2021
Wow! I tore through this story but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate its glory! Extraordinary writing from Rose Ruane about the intricacies of family, growing up, growing old, of age-old childhood sibling rivalry festering into a burgeoning chasm of misunderstanding. A story of parenting, good and bad. A story of love - many kinds. A story of reaching out to reach back, to forgive but not forget. Rose Ruane has a way with words that is stunningly accurate in delicate situations. This could be you, me, any sibling, any child, any parent. Peach, Bella and Greg come together to deal with their father's illness and accident in no particular order, discovering too many things about their childhood that were strange, out of whack, but nobody understood it at the time. A one-of-a-kind story by a talented author.
March 14, 2023
Beautifully crafted novel that’s hugely evocative of the hope and desperation of a young woman at the tipping point between childhood and adulthood. The descriptions of character, time and place often pulled me up short with their brilliance. More than anything, I wanted to reach in and give Peach a hug!
April 4, 2023
she writes beautiful descriptions and had me in the first half but I ended up skipping pages and didn’t bother reading the last chapter - started feeling like a word count needed to be met instead of just letting the story happen
December 28, 2021
An enjoyable read and the author had a unique style of writing which I thought was great!
March 28, 2021
I think I just pipped in at the end of the right demographic for the heavy nostalgia vibes permeating through this book.
Semi-autobiographical archives of pain (geddit)...? Perhaps... anyway, it was a corking read. The style reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro's style with the protagonist slowly feeding information to you, it never felt too slow, and always felt suspenseful. Sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, always intriguing.
Wrapped up with a slightly untidy but lovely resolution to the story. One concern, why were all the male characters such wallies throughout?
Recommend reading for those born close to 1980!
Semi-autobiographical archives of pain (geddit)...? Perhaps... anyway, it was a corking read. The style reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro's style with the protagonist slowly feeding information to you, it never felt too slow, and always felt suspenseful. Sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, always intriguing.
Wrapped up with a slightly untidy but lovely resolution to the story. One concern, why were all the male characters such wallies throughout?
Recommend reading for those born close to 1980!
May 22, 2021
I thought the author had a beautiful, poetic style of writing.
October 13, 2021
As someone who was a teenager in the 90s, a misfit and a Manics fan, and who now works in the art world this book resonated with me on many levels. I loved the cultural references and notes of nostalgia, and the whole story is suffused through with typical Manics 'ennui'. There were some beautiful, lyrical phrases (though sometimes they didn't quite work for me), and scenes.
The downside for me is that it sometimes felt a bit fractured, switching between different storylines and timelines a bit too often. Perhaps this was intentional, but it left my mind feeling a bit cluttered. I was also confused by Greg's purpose - he was positioned as a central character from the start, but didn't add much to the story This was partly explained away towards the end, but not in a way that felt satisfactory to me.
But overall a solid read, and one that sparked a lot of reminiscing, as well as a relatable dose of teenage and millennial angst.
The downside for me is that it sometimes felt a bit fractured, switching between different storylines and timelines a bit too often. Perhaps this was intentional, but it left my mind feeling a bit cluttered. I was also confused by Greg's purpose - he was positioned as a central character from the start, but didn't add much to the story This was partly explained away towards the end, but not in a way that felt satisfactory to me.
But overall a solid read, and one that sparked a lot of reminiscing, as well as a relatable dose of teenage and millennial angst.
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July 12, 2020I won't give this a star rating because I know the author. But I would like to say that it's a fantastic book. Not only full of vivid description and characterisation, with perfectly chosen phrases and strong imagery on every page, but a proper and very satisfying Aristotelian structure. It eschews the kind of drama that is often used to goose up a book's impact (murder, etc.) in favour of fully exploring the messy complications we are all familiar with. It's also got a lot to say about art and failure and compromise, realities that are sadly all-too familiar to me in my middle age.
September 5, 2025
A very impressive debut novel from Rose Ruane. The writing and characters are excellent and the book flows well through different eras, going back and fourth between 1994 and the present. I enjoyed the Manic Street Preachers references throughout
May 29, 2025
[4.5]
This book perfectly captured being a lost, lonely teenager suddenly finding herself in an adult world and not knowing who she wants or is ready to be yet. It captures being a woman in middle age who still doesn't know but has already been written off by society. It's about navigating yourself as a girl and woman in a mans world, the ways you learn (or are forced) to adapt. It's about being doomed and not reaching your potential or not being allowed to reach your potential.
A couple of things that made be downgrade to 4.5- the quick switches from 1994 to present day came without warning and often changed from paragraph to paragraph making it hard to keep track of which narrative you were in. Also, there were times the wordiness of the prose became obnoxious and took me out of the book for example: "exuding malfeasance", "He was always elegantly tatterdemalion", "Ian's ravaged diminution", "Peach aimed for the insouciance Nick claimed to like" and "a diaphanous floral dress" the words stuck out like a sore thumb to me, but maybe that's just me.
A few favourite quotes:
"From what she later understood was the jealousy the self-conscious have for the freedoms of the unself-conscious"
"She recognised it. Truth: real and banal. Not the sad part of a story which makes redemption more beautiful but the unveiling of her regret, and it was just a bad thing like all the other meaningless bad things that happen on millions of days to millions of people between birth and death. Not a poem or a song. Not art. Just very sad and shit. Because Peach doesn't do anything anymore except go to work feeling sad and come back feeling sadder.
Nothing winged will fly down and scoop her out of herself. No good, just or capricious, will mete out a fate more to her liking. The better angels of her nature are turning out to be just as much a bunch of cunts as the bitter, lesser ones anyway."
"Powerlessness made small acts of resistance mistakeable for power"
Introspection always seemed to turn into brooding these days, leaving her claustrophobic in her own head. She sat on the floor. She didn't know, then, how that feeling could set round you like wet cement and hold you there for decades. Had no idea how perfectly, horrifyingly possible it was to keep repeating yourself, to stay with your own mistakes like a sweaty gambler throwing loss on top of loss, unable to believe it would not come right, that the house would not pay out."
This book perfectly captured being a lost, lonely teenager suddenly finding herself in an adult world and not knowing who she wants or is ready to be yet. It captures being a woman in middle age who still doesn't know but has already been written off by society. It's about navigating yourself as a girl and woman in a mans world, the ways you learn (or are forced) to adapt. It's about being doomed and not reaching your potential or not being allowed to reach your potential.
A couple of things that made be downgrade to 4.5- the quick switches from 1994 to present day came without warning and often changed from paragraph to paragraph making it hard to keep track of which narrative you were in. Also, there were times the wordiness of the prose became obnoxious and took me out of the book for example: "exuding malfeasance", "He was always elegantly tatterdemalion", "Ian's ravaged diminution", "Peach aimed for the insouciance Nick claimed to like" and "a diaphanous floral dress" the words stuck out like a sore thumb to me, but maybe that's just me.
A few favourite quotes:
"From what she later understood was the jealousy the self-conscious have for the freedoms of the unself-conscious"
"She recognised it. Truth: real and banal. Not the sad part of a story which makes redemption more beautiful but the unveiling of her regret, and it was just a bad thing like all the other meaningless bad things that happen on millions of days to millions of people between birth and death. Not a poem or a song. Not art. Just very sad and shit. Because Peach doesn't do anything anymore except go to work feeling sad and come back feeling sadder.
Nothing winged will fly down and scoop her out of herself. No good, just or capricious, will mete out a fate more to her liking. The better angels of her nature are turning out to be just as much a bunch of cunts as the bitter, lesser ones anyway."
"Powerlessness made small acts of resistance mistakeable for power"
Introspection always seemed to turn into brooding these days, leaving her claustrophobic in her own head. She sat on the floor. She didn't know, then, how that feeling could set round you like wet cement and hold you there for decades. Had no idea how perfectly, horrifyingly possible it was to keep repeating yourself, to stay with your own mistakes like a sweaty gambler throwing loss on top of loss, unable to believe it would not come right, that the house would not pay out."
June 21, 2024
This was a book I wanted to sit with, enjoy, savor, and never wanted to end.
First of all, this is a perfect summer read. The vibes of this book are perfect for sunny day, or a relaxing spring day…but honestly I’d read this book year round.
One of the aspects of books and of the authors writing style that I desperately yearn for is for my breath to be taken away. Rose Ruane did not disappoint, and delivered in ways that I haven’t read in quite a while. The perfect word to describe it is “lush”. Oozing with depth, emotion, and the rawness you can only get from a talented writer who has spent so much time with herself to craft their art. Mind you, this is her first novel…that is impressive.
Now the story…messy, complicated, bursting at the seams with familial intricacies that pull on your heartstrings. A special type of coming of age novel because not only does it have that going for it, but it delivers with so much heart and depth with the other themes that makes it so refreshing.
Peach and her siblings are called to the hospital due to their divorced dad’s accident, and it’s not quite sure if he is to make it. All 3 siblings are adrift from one another, but the love they hold for their family is deeply rooted that it cannot be mistaken. Such an important factor when it comes to the reason as to why their father is in the hospital in the first place, an act that Peach blames herself for.
Going back and forth between timelines of younger Peach and her older self brings the reader into the conflict that I myself did not see coming. Highly relatable, and the pain that it causes the reader to feel for Peach…the innocence that drives a mistake that changed the aspect of all their lives forever.
Rose Ruane is automatically an auto buy author for myself, and everyone should know her name and read her art. I’m already cracking open her second novel, Birding, because I love her -that- much.
First of all, this is a perfect summer read. The vibes of this book are perfect for sunny day, or a relaxing spring day…but honestly I’d read this book year round.
One of the aspects of books and of the authors writing style that I desperately yearn for is for my breath to be taken away. Rose Ruane did not disappoint, and delivered in ways that I haven’t read in quite a while. The perfect word to describe it is “lush”. Oozing with depth, emotion, and the rawness you can only get from a talented writer who has spent so much time with herself to craft their art. Mind you, this is her first novel…that is impressive.
Now the story…messy, complicated, bursting at the seams with familial intricacies that pull on your heartstrings. A special type of coming of age novel because not only does it have that going for it, but it delivers with so much heart and depth with the other themes that makes it so refreshing.
Peach and her siblings are called to the hospital due to their divorced dad’s accident, and it’s not quite sure if he is to make it. All 3 siblings are adrift from one another, but the love they hold for their family is deeply rooted that it cannot be mistaken. Such an important factor when it comes to the reason as to why their father is in the hospital in the first place, an act that Peach blames herself for.
Going back and forth between timelines of younger Peach and her older self brings the reader into the conflict that I myself did not see coming. Highly relatable, and the pain that it causes the reader to feel for Peach…the innocence that drives a mistake that changed the aspect of all their lives forever.
Rose Ruane is automatically an auto buy author for myself, and everyone should know her name and read her art. I’m already cracking open her second novel, Birding, because I love her -that- much.
December 23, 2024
(4.5)
Peach and her siblings have hardly spoken in years when they receive news that their father, who suffers from dementia, has suffered an accident. As the family reunites in the hospital, the past comes back to haunt them. The narrative goes back and forth from the family at the hospital to the fateful summer in 1994 that changed everything.
This is an impressive debut novel about a young girl feeling lost as she grows up. It’s about more than that, though. It’s about the blows that life deals you. It’s about family, adolescence and heartbreak. Besides being a look at fascinating characters and family dynamic, the story also involves a mystery. Information is slowly divulged to the reader about what happened in 1994.
There’s so many lines from this book that I absolutely loved but I’ll restrain myself and only share one. Peach is talking about art here: “Return repeatedly to Ophelia, whenever you need to remember that certain kinds of drowning always begin with love.” The look on my face when I read that must have been priceless.
The characters kept me engaged the whole time. I was also invested in what happened in the past. I love how the story unraveled. I thought this would go in a completely different direction but I was pleasantly surprised with where the story ended up going. This book was a pleasure to read despite some of the subject matter not being happy. The ending left me feeling like I wanted to read it again immediately and also read anything else this author has written. I’ll be reading Birding in the near future.
In a lot of ways this reminded me of parts of Girl, Interrupted (the movie). I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves books about interesting people, about growing up, etc.
Peach and her siblings have hardly spoken in years when they receive news that their father, who suffers from dementia, has suffered an accident. As the family reunites in the hospital, the past comes back to haunt them. The narrative goes back and forth from the family at the hospital to the fateful summer in 1994 that changed everything.
This is an impressive debut novel about a young girl feeling lost as she grows up. It’s about more than that, though. It’s about the blows that life deals you. It’s about family, adolescence and heartbreak. Besides being a look at fascinating characters and family dynamic, the story also involves a mystery. Information is slowly divulged to the reader about what happened in 1994.
There’s so many lines from this book that I absolutely loved but I’ll restrain myself and only share one. Peach is talking about art here: “Return repeatedly to Ophelia, whenever you need to remember that certain kinds of drowning always begin with love.” The look on my face when I read that must have been priceless.
The characters kept me engaged the whole time. I was also invested in what happened in the past. I love how the story unraveled. I thought this would go in a completely different direction but I was pleasantly surprised with where the story ended up going. This book was a pleasure to read despite some of the subject matter not being happy. The ending left me feeling like I wanted to read it again immediately and also read anything else this author has written. I’ll be reading Birding in the near future.
In a lot of ways this reminded me of parts of Girl, Interrupted (the movie). I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves books about interesting people, about growing up, etc.
June 23, 2024
It was a quick read and I like the continuous flashbacks as that kept it readable; but it was boring and full of unnecessary metaphors and similes which made it jarring to read (like come on girl no 17 year old talks like that). It simultaneously felt like the story was moving quickly and slowly - I think due to the constant addition of random, intermittent subplots, as well as the use of flashbacks. But the overriding story was uninteresting and anticlimactic. Furthermore, it was underdeveloped and lacked substance, but I also wouldn’t want to spend any longer reading this story - I couldn’t connect to the characters or the plot lines and I was trying to finish it as quickly as possible in order to move on to the next book.
February 10, 2024
I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars if I could.
Upsides: Ruane employs beautiful turns of phrase throughout this heavily nostalgic read and in her main character I felt the pull of someone I could learn to root for, despite her obvious flaws. I enjoyed the cultural references scattered throughout the 1994 arc and the characterisations of satellite figures in the story felt largely realistic.
Downsides: it was often confusing figuring out which time period we were in and in the middle of the book this did become a bit of a jumble. Also, the book ends without wrapping up a pretty central story arc. I'm also not entirely sure I bought the twist.
Upsides: Ruane employs beautiful turns of phrase throughout this heavily nostalgic read and in her main character I felt the pull of someone I could learn to root for, despite her obvious flaws. I enjoyed the cultural references scattered throughout the 1994 arc and the characterisations of satellite figures in the story felt largely realistic.
Downsides: it was often confusing figuring out which time period we were in and in the middle of the book this did become a bit of a jumble. Also, the book ends without wrapping up a pretty central story arc. I'm also not entirely sure I bought the twist.
February 11, 2024
This is very much my sort of book, punchy lit fic. Ruane's descriptions are brilliant, whether she's talking about aging or being a teen in the nineties or the feel of suburbia.
Peach's life is messy and as she slides through her forties it seems like it will just get messier. Her dad's been in an accident and she and her siblings gather at the hospital, along with her mother and her mother's partner. Peach thinks a lot about the summer she was seventeen, which is twenty-five years ago. She left school and everything looked briefly like it would be brilliant, but then lots of terrible things happened and really, has anyone ever forgiven anyone else for what happened that summer?
Peach's life is messy and as she slides through her forties it seems like it will just get messier. Her dad's been in an accident and she and her siblings gather at the hospital, along with her mother and her mother's partner. Peach thinks a lot about the summer she was seventeen, which is twenty-five years ago. She left school and everything looked briefly like it would be brilliant, but then lots of terrible things happened and really, has anyone ever forgiven anyone else for what happened that summer?
May 5, 2021
this book portrays some very complex familial relationships (both on the parent-child and the sibling-sibling front) and features some of the best lyrical passages about broken dreams and conflicting desires and how all this fits into the different parts of someone's life and then affects others
plus, reading this totally felt like flicking through a photo album with a heavy dose of nostalgia and overexposed childhood memories but i'm pretty sure that was intentional. i hope it was
as always, thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group for the ARC. it was lovely!
plus, reading this totally felt like flicking through a photo album with a heavy dose of nostalgia and overexposed childhood memories but i'm pretty sure that was intentional. i hope it was
as always, thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group for the ARC. it was lovely!
August 7, 2023
It was…okay. Read it in a day as I wanted to find out what happened, but can’t say it was really worth it. The plot twist didn’t really make sense if you think back throughout the first half of the book, and it was jumping all over the place. The author also needs to lay off the similes - it was overbearing. Plus you never find out what happens with a central point of the story.
All in all it felt like a confession story for the author to get some things off her chest.
I will say as well that, while there is too much flowery simile and metaphor, the author does do it very well.
All in all it felt like a confession story for the author to get some things off her chest.
I will say as well that, while there is too much flowery simile and metaphor, the author does do it very well.
March 3, 2023
I really loved this book, it drifts through time in a thoughtful and seamless way that squarely placed me in the shoes of the protagonist recalling the past. It takes place over a short period of time where not much actually happens, but through recall and reminiscing it covers a much deeper and further reaching narrative that I really enjoyed. I thoroughly recommend it as a wistful and reflective coming of age story that is beautifully written.
January 5, 2021
I loved this book. I wasn’t sure I would but there was something seriously mesmerising about it. So readable and relatable and wonderfully expressed. Left me with a strange nostalgia that didn’t leave for weeks. Family, love, music, secrets. I can’t wait for some one to turn it in to a film or tv series.
January 8, 2021
I’m bereft! I’ve literally just put this fabulous novel down, and I’m at a loss as to what to do with myself.
I’ve waved the beautifully realised characters, woven with beautiful simile and metaphor, into the sunset and...I can’t believe they’ve gone from my life!
This is a beautifully crafted novel that paints a story so real it could be about me, you...any of us.
I’ve waved the beautifully realised characters, woven with beautiful simile and metaphor, into the sunset and...I can’t believe they’ve gone from my life!
This is a beautifully crafted novel that paints a story so real it could be about me, you...any of us.
March 29, 2021
This felt very real with family complexities, damaged relationships, secrets, with mental health and dementia tackled head on. Written well.
Didn't hugely grip from start to finish but some really lovely passages, phrasing and characterization.
Very relatable.
Didn't hugely grip from start to finish but some really lovely passages, phrasing and characterization.
Very relatable.
June 14, 2023
It’s written well with thoughtful perceptions but the plot kept jumping back 20 years and forward to the present day which was confusing. There was an unexpected plot twist at the end which means we we never find out what happens to one of the characters
January 3, 2021
I adore this book. Insightful, lyrical, clever, compelling, full of truth and brilliance. It took my breath away.
March 17, 2021
the poetic language used in this book was so lovely. so well written and beautifully relatable
June 26, 2021
I enjoyed the beautiful descriptive language the author used throughout the book.
It was a slow start for me but once I got into the narrative I found it hard to put down.
It was a slow start for me but once I got into the narrative I found it hard to put down.
August 12, 2023
Unique and pleasing writing style
July 31, 2024
3.5
Slightly spurious premise salvaged by some interesting characters.
Slightly spurious premise salvaged by some interesting characters.
August 12, 2024
Amazing. The writing is beautifully poetic, the book has a nostalgic and very human feel to it with flashbacks that keep the story suspenseful
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews