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Last House
"An ambitious historical epic that doubles as an intimate family saga. Jessica Shattuck captures and connects it all—the imperial ambitions of the postwar generation, the rebellion of their offspring in the Sixties, and the fallout we’re still sifting through today. . . . This is a wide-ranging novel to savor.” — TOM PERROTTA
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle comes a sweeping story of a nation on the rise, and one family’s deeply complicated relationship to the resource that built their fortune and fueled their greatest tragedy, perfect for fans of The Dutch House and Great Circle.
It’s 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn’t have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.
It’s 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK’s shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she’s caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they’ve made for the causes they believed in.
Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation’s history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle comes a sweeping story of a nation on the rise, and one family’s deeply complicated relationship to the resource that built their fortune and fueled their greatest tragedy, perfect for fans of The Dutch House and Great Circle.
It’s 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn’t have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.
It’s 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK’s shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she’s caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they’ve made for the causes they believed in.
Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation’s history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.
321 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 2024
About the author
Jessica Shattuck
9 books1,039 followersJessica Shattuck is the New York Times Bestselling author of the novels Last House (forthcoming from William Morrow May 2024), The Women in the Castle, The Hazards of Good Breeding, a New York Times Notable Book and finalist for the PEN/Winship Award, and Perfect Life. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Glamour, Mother Jones, Wired, and The Believer, among others. She received her MFA from Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 304 reviews
May 21, 2024
Ambitious in scope, spanning the post-WWII years to the present dayLast House by Jessica Shattuck is a sweeping family saga that follows the fates and fortunes of the members of an American family. The story opens in 1953, where we meet WWII veteran thirty-year-old Nick Taylor, employed as a lawyer with American Oil, a part of a team visiting the Middle East along with a former Yale classmate Carter Weston, who “worked for the government” and whose area of expertise overlapped with Nick’s company’s agenda. With the growth of the oil industry in the United States, Nick’s career flourishes, affording his family financial security and material comforts including a vacation home in Vermont – a choice destination for many of his friends and colleagues. As the narrative progresses, we follow Nick, his wife Bet and his children Katherine and Harry - their hopes, aspirations, regrets and the consequences of the choices they make. “Last House” – their home is Vermont bears witness to their joys and sorrows, their triumphs and their losses and remains a haven for them during challenging times.
The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Nick, Bet and Katherine. The novel starts strong and though I was engrossed in Bet and Nick’s life in the post-WWII years, I found my interest waning as the narrative progressed. Both Nick and Bet’s backstories were interesting, but certain impactful events were merely glossed over. There was more telling than showing several momentous events in this novel. The pacing is on the slower side for the larger part of the story (though it rushes through the end to 2026 ) and the narrative is more than a tad disjointed and lacking in depth despite the rich socio-political backdrop of the novel. Katherine’s political activism and the tumultuous 60s and &70s – the years of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement - were well presented but I wish we had been given a more insightful look into Harry’s psyche and his motivations. A segment from Harry’s perspective would have, in my humble opinion, enriched the narrative. Each of the characters was realistic and well thought out, but with the exception of Katherine, the complexities of the other characters and the family dynamic were touched upon somewhat superficially. However, I did feel that the author does raise a timely and relevant question in terms of how present generations perceive the consequences of the actions of those who came before them.
Overall, though there is a lot to like about this novel and I did enjoy it in parts, it wasn’t an entirely satisfying read.
Many thanks to William Morrow for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Last House was published on May 14, 2024.
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The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Nick, Bet and Katherine. The novel starts strong and though I was engrossed in Bet and Nick’s life in the post-WWII years, I found my interest waning as the narrative progressed. Both Nick and Bet’s backstories were interesting, but certain impactful events were merely glossed over. There was more telling than showing several momentous events in this novel. The pacing is on the slower side for the larger part of the story (though it rushes through the end to 2026 ) and the narrative is more than a tad disjointed and lacking in depth despite the rich socio-political backdrop of the novel. Katherine’s political activism and the tumultuous 60s and &70s – the years of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement - were well presented but I wish we had been given a more insightful look into Harry’s psyche and his motivations. A segment from Harry’s perspective would have, in my humble opinion, enriched the narrative. Each of the characters was realistic and well thought out, but with the exception of Katherine, the complexities of the other characters and the family dynamic were touched upon somewhat superficially. However, I did feel that the author does raise a timely and relevant question in terms of how present generations perceive the consequences of the actions of those who came before them.
Overall, though there is a lot to like about this novel and I did enjoy it in parts, it wasn’t an entirely satisfying read.
Many thanks to William Morrow for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Last House was published on May 14, 2024.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
April 3, 2024
Last House is more of a family saga that takes place in the past than a true historical fiction, at least as I define them. The story follows Nick Taylor, a lawyer for American Oil, and his wife, Bet and then their children. It begins in 1953 as Nick is just getting started, then hops up to 1968. Bet is the typical suburban wife of the time, giving up her own dreams for being a wife pand mother. When they have the ability to buy a second home in the Vermont countryside in an enclave of Nick’s work buddies, they grab it. As their friend Carter says, if WWIII arrives, what better place to be. The second part of the book is told from their daughter, Catherine’s POV in 1968. Post college, she’s writing for a radical newspaper in NYC.
I went back and forth with this book. Not necessarily because it was uneven, but because it didn’t quite meet my expectations. Initially, I expected it to be more about Iran and I wanted more background for the years leading up to 1953. It would have been helpful if Shattuck had found a way to include some of the history to better explain the political situation of 1953 and why Nick and Carter were over there. But then the story comes back to America and it’s obvious it’s more of a family saga. When it flips to Catherine’s story, Shattuck did do a better job of sliding in the historical info I was seeking.
The characters are all richly drawn and felt very real to me. The book gives an interesting take on how the Greatest Generation raised the Boomers, especially the ones coming of age in the late 1960s.
The book does a good job of asking a lot of questions and would make a wonderful book club selection. It’s very philosophical in dealing with a sort of “the sins of the father” thought process. I found myself highlighting multiple passages because of the way they made me see things in a different light.
My thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for an advance copy of this book.
I went back and forth with this book. Not necessarily because it was uneven, but because it didn’t quite meet my expectations. Initially, I expected it to be more about Iran and I wanted more background for the years leading up to 1953. It would have been helpful if Shattuck had found a way to include some of the history to better explain the political situation of 1953 and why Nick and Carter were over there. But then the story comes back to America and it’s obvious it’s more of a family saga. When it flips to Catherine’s story, Shattuck did do a better job of sliding in the historical info I was seeking.
The characters are all richly drawn and felt very real to me. The book gives an interesting take on how the Greatest Generation raised the Boomers, especially the ones coming of age in the late 1960s.
The book does a good job of asking a lot of questions and would make a wonderful book club selection. It’s very philosophical in dealing with a sort of “the sins of the father” thought process. I found myself highlighting multiple passages because of the way they made me see things in a different light.
My thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for an advance copy of this book.
March 18, 2024
This story begins in 1953, and proceeds to cover the years that follow in the 1960’s, 1970’s and the changes as the years go by as each generation’s hopes and desires evolve, and as the country, and the world, as well, experience changes. Some good, some not, depending on the generation and location, and event.
Early on, this centers around a family, a family who have recently come into money, and how that changes their lives. They buy an old home while on their vacation, and this becomes their refuge from the world and the realities of things happening outside this place.
This covers a lot in terms of eras, from the 1940’s to the 2020’s, and includes pretty much every noteworthy change in the world, from politics to wars and how these changes have reshaped this country, as well as others.
There were moments in this story that I enjoyed, but overall, while it was interesting to revisit those times, my favourite part of this story was at the beginning, and the more that I read it, the less it pulled me in. Not that it was difficult to understand or that I disliked the story, overall, but I felt that it needed more balance.
Pub Date: 14 May 2024
Many thanks for the ARC provided by William Morrow
May 26, 2024
When I read the description of this book I immediately recognized myself as the target audience.
A family drama set across decades yet it feels incredibly intimate. It’s a love story, both romantic, platonic, and familial that the reader experiences from various angles of a persons life. You don’t fall in love once, but you choose love over and over in the moments that make up your life; this book beautifully explores that and all of the complexities our relationships entail.
Over the course of this book you not only meet a family but feel as though you’ve joined them. Each characters voice was so distinct that reading it in my mind felt like listening to an audiobook with various narrators thanks to the strength of Jessica Shattuck’s writing.
The eco/environmental fiction presence is strong in the internal thought embedded within each character’s point of view. What I found refreshing, beautiful, and helpful to the books pacing was that each character, just like people, had their own way of viewing the same issue or topic. Stemming from their unique individual life experiences, but more than anything, the change a generation can have on an era, or the other way around.
This book was anything but monotonous. With various plantings throughout the book all being paid off by the end I felt my time was never wasted.
I found myself highlighting so many passages, it’s unbelievable. I will miss this group and all they taught me.
This book is American, this book is international, this book is familial. This book will ring true for those that are parents, children, siblings, and anyone who cares about this world and feels life deeply.
In other words, everyone should read this book.
Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
A family drama set across decades yet it feels incredibly intimate. It’s a love story, both romantic, platonic, and familial that the reader experiences from various angles of a persons life. You don’t fall in love once, but you choose love over and over in the moments that make up your life; this book beautifully explores that and all of the complexities our relationships entail.
Over the course of this book you not only meet a family but feel as though you’ve joined them. Each characters voice was so distinct that reading it in my mind felt like listening to an audiobook with various narrators thanks to the strength of Jessica Shattuck’s writing.
The eco/environmental fiction presence is strong in the internal thought embedded within each character’s point of view. What I found refreshing, beautiful, and helpful to the books pacing was that each character, just like people, had their own way of viewing the same issue or topic. Stemming from their unique individual life experiences, but more than anything, the change a generation can have on an era, or the other way around.
This book was anything but monotonous. With various plantings throughout the book all being paid off by the end I felt my time was never wasted.
I found myself highlighting so many passages, it’s unbelievable. I will miss this group and all they taught me.
This book is American, this book is international, this book is familial. This book will ring true for those that are parents, children, siblings, and anyone who cares about this world and feels life deeply.
In other words, everyone should read this book.
Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
April 13, 2024
Dnf 12%
I don’t think this was for me. I struggled to determine the point of the book. 😳🙈
It fell flat for me.
And it was hard to want to pick it up when I wasn’t particularly attached to any of the characters.
I don’t think this was for me. I struggled to determine the point of the book. 😳🙈
It fell flat for me.
And it was hard to want to pick it up when I wasn’t particularly attached to any of the characters.
April 3, 2024
Nick Taylor is the son of a stern, overbearing minister and his much younger wife. Elizabeth (“Bet”) is the daughter of an Irish Catholic family living in a WASP county that doesn't fully accept them. She is the first person in the family to go to college. The two meet during the war. Nick ships out to fight in the Pacific. Bet, a student at Vassar, is invited to work for the U.S. Army Signal Intelligence Service decoding secret Soviet cables. In time, they marry, have children, and then grandchildren, and the country — the world — will change with each passing decade.
Nick and Bet’s lives together are, in broad strokes, the story (from an admittedly White perspective) of America in the last half of the twentieth century to our own time. “Last House” chronicles how a generation shaped by battle in World War Two and the Cold War and gifted with unprecedented wealth, opportunity, and national power, created a flawed and morally blinkered New World Order. How this Greatest Generation gave birth to the Boomers who saw themselves as morally obligated to challenge that world order and correct the mistakes of their parents. And how the Boomers in turn gave birth to another generation that is both like and unlike the two that came before.
In the stories of this family we see enacted how each generation understood the world — how they reacted to their parents, what mattered to them, what they feared, what frames of reference they relied on in forming moral opinions, what shaped their identities, how they viewed the country tey lived in.
The book's title has two connotations. The first is literal: "Last" was the name of the family that owned a valley in Vermont and built a house back before the American Revolution. Much of the novel's action takes place there. The second is more ominous. Hovering over each generation, in one form another, is a dark shadow: nuclear annihilation, societal breakdown, global climate change. Last House is a sanctuary, the place one goes to at the End of the World. In fact, this is pretty much how the place was characterized when Nick and Bet bought it.
Nick and Bet -- the forebears of the Taylor line -- are part of “the Greatest Generation.” At the end of WW2 they will marry and settle in to roles expected of them; they will take occupancy in the American Dream. Profoundly shaken by what he had seen in combat — “An obliteration of all that was vulnerable or thoughtful or curious, all that yearned for understanding and believed in love and meaning… stripped of all that distinguished you from the most basic amoebic life-forms.” — Nick becomes a lawyer for a Big Oil company, specializing in international law. His motivation is laudable: International law, he believes, is “the only bulwark between peace and conflict, civilization and chaos.” Bet, like most women of the time, leaves the workplace, puts aside her dreams of graduate school, and becomes a 1950s suburban housewife. She unquestioningly accepts her life but finds herself quietly wondering whether “years of motherhood, carrying out the tedious tasks of domestic life, had stamped out her ability to really think?”
In one of the central events of the book, Nick goes to Iran for business. There he is approached by a former Yale classmate, Carter Weston (who, it soon becomes clear, works for the newly formed CIA). In their own ways, both men are engaged in the defining conflict of their time, the Cold War — what Carter, as the voice of the prevailing view in the post-war years, describes as “the battle between Communism and democracy, freedom and oppression, liberty and conformity. The battle over the future of civilization, no less.” It is Carter who brings Nick and his family to the Last house, who introduces them at cocktail parties to Important People in the military and industry, joins them at a party in Persepolis, hosted by the Shah, with air conditioned tents, stuffed peacocks, and catering by Maxim’s of Paris (a party that actually happened).
Nick is a moral man, to be sure, but he is navigating his way through this new world with instincts and values learned in war. While they are in Iran, he and Bet get a brief glimpse at the brutality of the Shah’s regime. For Nick, the violence was surely regrettable, but the Shah was an ally, and the violence had to be tolerated in the interests of Big Oil and the United States. For Bet, however, the experience is a rude awakening. Her suburban life has been spent editing a community newsletter, reading articles about marriage she finds in women’s magazines, caring for her children and supporting her husband. This is a part of her husband's world she hasn't seen before. In her eyes, the repression and violence are indefensible, evidence of American hypocrisy.
Over time the story expands to Nick and Bet’s children. This is the generation that will come to be known as Boomers. They will grow up in a more prosperous world than their parents did, a more permissive and even indulgent world. This generation will come of age in the 60s and 70s and see it as their purpose to question the decisions their parents made and seek new ways of understanding and shaping the world. Shattuck lets the reader ponder whether this generation's vision is any clearer than their parents' was.
Katherine and her brother, Harry, have ambivalent attitudes about Last House. They witness and participate in demonstrations against the war in Vietnam. They find themselves developing values and attitudes — about race, gender, “success,” government, and corporate America — completely different from the ones their parents held. Katherine sees her mother as “a member of the motherhood-as-a-hall-of-mirrors generation, a reflecting chain of beings, each culminating in the next.” She thinks, “My parents had no knowledge of concepts like projection and transference. Were they even familiar with the idea of anxiety? The idea of stress? My mother had that oh-fiddlesticks attitude, and despite its seeming lightness, oh-fiddlesticks was a profound stance, less a habit of mind than a way of life.” Katherine's generation knows better, sees the hypocrisy and repression for what they are. It is for them to shatter the hall of mirrors.
Katherine and Harry’s lives are shown to us through two lenses: one that depicts events as they are happening, and another that looks at them from later in life, as Katherine looks back from a time well after the Vietnam war. After the Iranian Revolution. After the economic successes and policies of the post-WW2 decades have dissipated and transformed once vibrant towns into “The heart of meth-land, of derelict textile mills and working housing, sagging porches and weeds as tall as children… [a past] heavy with decayed trappings of an American dream, textile fortunes made and lost, middle-class towns established and extinguished in only a few generations.”
Then the next generation comes. They have inherited a diminished America. A huge blackout in the American northeast — such as happened in 1965 and 2003 —sends Nick and Bet’s granddaughter, Mara, out to Last House. “The end of the world is on everyone’s mind these days,” we are told, “from the rising seas and melting glaciers to the oppressive smoke of forest fires, the constant floods and mudslides, and the commonplaceness of school shootings. The whiff of extinction has grown to a stench… and the workings of the everyday world no longer conform to common sense.” This is the America we live in today.
The book is not nearly so dark as this summary might make it sound. Shattuck's characters a fully fleshed out, with complicated thoughts, motivations, and goals. Their lives are shown to us with empathy and understanding. We care about them because the author clearly cares about them, because while they may be flawed, they are all good people, people we recognize, identify with; there really are no villains here (at least not among the main characters). Each generation does the best it can as it moves from war to White suburbs in Cold War America, to a different war and profound changes in American culture in the 60s and 70s, and on through the decades. Readers of a certain age — which is to say, Boomers and their children — will definitely recognize scenes from their own lives in the pages of “The Last House.” Whatever disapprobation Shattuck intends, it lies not in the characters but in the value systems shaping the world they were born into.
A telling moment: Late in the book, a character will make an offhand joke about “The-End-of-the-World Club.” Katherine will laugh at this, saying, “That was some kind of inside joke about Last Valley when my parents bought this house.” To which the other person relies, “That’s rich, given the whole valley was made up of the old white guys who created our end-of-the-world problems in the first place.”
Indeed. But where does knowing this lead us? Shattuck leaves that for the reader to sort out.
My thanks to William Morrow Publishers and Edelweiss+ for providing a digital advance review copy in return for an honest review.
Nick and Bet’s lives together are, in broad strokes, the story (from an admittedly White perspective) of America in the last half of the twentieth century to our own time. “Last House” chronicles how a generation shaped by battle in World War Two and the Cold War and gifted with unprecedented wealth, opportunity, and national power, created a flawed and morally blinkered New World Order. How this Greatest Generation gave birth to the Boomers who saw themselves as morally obligated to challenge that world order and correct the mistakes of their parents. And how the Boomers in turn gave birth to another generation that is both like and unlike the two that came before.
In the stories of this family we see enacted how each generation understood the world — how they reacted to their parents, what mattered to them, what they feared, what frames of reference they relied on in forming moral opinions, what shaped their identities, how they viewed the country tey lived in.
The book's title has two connotations. The first is literal: "Last" was the name of the family that owned a valley in Vermont and built a house back before the American Revolution. Much of the novel's action takes place there. The second is more ominous. Hovering over each generation, in one form another, is a dark shadow: nuclear annihilation, societal breakdown, global climate change. Last House is a sanctuary, the place one goes to at the End of the World. In fact, this is pretty much how the place was characterized when Nick and Bet bought it.
Nick and Bet -- the forebears of the Taylor line -- are part of “the Greatest Generation.” At the end of WW2 they will marry and settle in to roles expected of them; they will take occupancy in the American Dream. Profoundly shaken by what he had seen in combat — “An obliteration of all that was vulnerable or thoughtful or curious, all that yearned for understanding and believed in love and meaning… stripped of all that distinguished you from the most basic amoebic life-forms.” — Nick becomes a lawyer for a Big Oil company, specializing in international law. His motivation is laudable: International law, he believes, is “the only bulwark between peace and conflict, civilization and chaos.” Bet, like most women of the time, leaves the workplace, puts aside her dreams of graduate school, and becomes a 1950s suburban housewife. She unquestioningly accepts her life but finds herself quietly wondering whether “years of motherhood, carrying out the tedious tasks of domestic life, had stamped out her ability to really think?”
In one of the central events of the book, Nick goes to Iran for business. There he is approached by a former Yale classmate, Carter Weston (who, it soon becomes clear, works for the newly formed CIA). In their own ways, both men are engaged in the defining conflict of their time, the Cold War — what Carter, as the voice of the prevailing view in the post-war years, describes as “the battle between Communism and democracy, freedom and oppression, liberty and conformity. The battle over the future of civilization, no less.” It is Carter who brings Nick and his family to the Last house, who introduces them at cocktail parties to Important People in the military and industry, joins them at a party in Persepolis, hosted by the Shah, with air conditioned tents, stuffed peacocks, and catering by Maxim’s of Paris (a party that actually happened).
Nick is a moral man, to be sure, but he is navigating his way through this new world with instincts and values learned in war. While they are in Iran, he and Bet get a brief glimpse at the brutality of the Shah’s regime. For Nick, the violence was surely regrettable, but the Shah was an ally, and the violence had to be tolerated in the interests of Big Oil and the United States. For Bet, however, the experience is a rude awakening. Her suburban life has been spent editing a community newsletter, reading articles about marriage she finds in women’s magazines, caring for her children and supporting her husband. This is a part of her husband's world she hasn't seen before. In her eyes, the repression and violence are indefensible, evidence of American hypocrisy.
Over time the story expands to Nick and Bet’s children. This is the generation that will come to be known as Boomers. They will grow up in a more prosperous world than their parents did, a more permissive and even indulgent world. This generation will come of age in the 60s and 70s and see it as their purpose to question the decisions their parents made and seek new ways of understanding and shaping the world. Shattuck lets the reader ponder whether this generation's vision is any clearer than their parents' was.
Katherine and her brother, Harry, have ambivalent attitudes about Last House. They witness and participate in demonstrations against the war in Vietnam. They find themselves developing values and attitudes — about race, gender, “success,” government, and corporate America — completely different from the ones their parents held. Katherine sees her mother as “a member of the motherhood-as-a-hall-of-mirrors generation, a reflecting chain of beings, each culminating in the next.” She thinks, “My parents had no knowledge of concepts like projection and transference. Were they even familiar with the idea of anxiety? The idea of stress? My mother had that oh-fiddlesticks attitude, and despite its seeming lightness, oh-fiddlesticks was a profound stance, less a habit of mind than a way of life.” Katherine's generation knows better, sees the hypocrisy and repression for what they are. It is for them to shatter the hall of mirrors.
Katherine and Harry’s lives are shown to us through two lenses: one that depicts events as they are happening, and another that looks at them from later in life, as Katherine looks back from a time well after the Vietnam war. After the Iranian Revolution. After the economic successes and policies of the post-WW2 decades have dissipated and transformed once vibrant towns into “The heart of meth-land, of derelict textile mills and working housing, sagging porches and weeds as tall as children… [a past] heavy with decayed trappings of an American dream, textile fortunes made and lost, middle-class towns established and extinguished in only a few generations.”
Then the next generation comes. They have inherited a diminished America. A huge blackout in the American northeast — such as happened in 1965 and 2003 —sends Nick and Bet’s granddaughter, Mara, out to Last House. “The end of the world is on everyone’s mind these days,” we are told, “from the rising seas and melting glaciers to the oppressive smoke of forest fires, the constant floods and mudslides, and the commonplaceness of school shootings. The whiff of extinction has grown to a stench… and the workings of the everyday world no longer conform to common sense.” This is the America we live in today.
The book is not nearly so dark as this summary might make it sound. Shattuck's characters a fully fleshed out, with complicated thoughts, motivations, and goals. Their lives are shown to us with empathy and understanding. We care about them because the author clearly cares about them, because while they may be flawed, they are all good people, people we recognize, identify with; there really are no villains here (at least not among the main characters). Each generation does the best it can as it moves from war to White suburbs in Cold War America, to a different war and profound changes in American culture in the 60s and 70s, and on through the decades. Readers of a certain age — which is to say, Boomers and their children — will definitely recognize scenes from their own lives in the pages of “The Last House.” Whatever disapprobation Shattuck intends, it lies not in the characters but in the value systems shaping the world they were born into.
A telling moment: Late in the book, a character will make an offhand joke about “The-End-of-the-World Club.” Katherine will laugh at this, saying, “That was some kind of inside joke about Last Valley when my parents bought this house.” To which the other person relies, “That’s rich, given the whole valley was made up of the old white guys who created our end-of-the-world problems in the first place.”
Indeed. But where does knowing this lead us? Shattuck leaves that for the reader to sort out.
My thanks to William Morrow Publishers and Edelweiss+ for providing a digital advance review copy in return for an honest review.
May 25, 2024
This family drama begins in 1953 where Nick Taylor, a veteran of WWII, is a lawyer at American Oil. His wife Bet, a Vassar graduate, has put aside her career aspirations and is a full-time mother to Katherine and Harry. Nick keeps his visits to the Middle East private from his family. His friendship with Yale school-mate Carter Weston brings the family to Vermont where Nick purchases the secluded "Last House" which serves as an escape amidst the country's fear of the Russians and bombs. The story shifts to 1968 full of protests and radical movements. Katherine becomes a part of this world which isolates her from her parents. Harry becomes interested in ecological activism, which is counter to his father's career in oil.
I was impressed with Jessica Shattuck's novel, The Women in the Castle, an intriguing post-WWII story set in Germany. Her latest book, Last House is very different yet also engaging. The subject of the U.S. involvement in Iran for the sake of oil, was an interesting one. The book captures the spirit of the various movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It's a well-researched story that takes one family through the decades and how each character is impacted by the political climate of the period and their own beliefs and ultimately the decisions they make. This book moved more slowly than most of the books I read. My favorite "character" was the Vermont house as it served as a place of unity for the Taylor family over time.
Rated 3.75 stars.
I was impressed with Jessica Shattuck's novel, The Women in the Castle, an intriguing post-WWII story set in Germany. Her latest book, Last House is very different yet also engaging. The subject of the U.S. involvement in Iran for the sake of oil, was an interesting one. The book captures the spirit of the various movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It's a well-researched story that takes one family through the decades and how each character is impacted by the political climate of the period and their own beliefs and ultimately the decisions they make. This book moved more slowly than most of the books I read. My favorite "character" was the Vermont house as it served as a place of unity for the Taylor family over time.
Rated 3.75 stars.
June 13, 2024
This novel traces the path of a family from the 1950’s through the 1970’s (with a glimpse into the future). The father, Nick, grew up under the thumb of his Mennonite minister father and is (in 1953) a young lawyer for a large American oil company. The mother, Bet, grew up in a higher social world, went to Vassar and was a codebreaker during WWII. Their children are Katherine and Harry. Katherine, is a rebellious child who becomes associated with a radical group during the 1960’s, while Harry is a gentle, nature loving person, who becomes very focused on the environment.
The author brings in many historical events. WWII is shown in retrospect through the extremely brief romance between Nick and Bet before his proposal and Bet’s codebreaking. The involvement of oil companies in the politics of the Middle East is a large topic. Nick travels frequently to Iran, where his company is involved in (among other things) returning the Shah to power. Big oil continues to be a theme as the story moves to Katherine and Harry during the 1960’s. The vehemence of the radicals’ position as well as the ugly nitty gritty of radical life are well portrayed. Deeper themes are found in the novel as well. The eternal cycle of one generation (Nick’s and Bet’s) working hard in the system and wanting more for their children, and then the next generation (Katherine’s and Harry’s) rejecting the system and disparaging the things their parents worked hard to achieve. The role of a wife and mother in the 1950’s and afterwards is nicely portrayed in the character of Bet. There is also an awareness of the end of the world – or something devastating short of that. This theme is carried out by Last House – a second home in the mountains and a constant presence to which each of the characters escapes during various periods of their respective lives.
This novel covers a lot of time periods and events while also following the lives of four people. I found it quite interesting and entertaining, although I understand the criticisms to the effect that it was just too much to cover in 300 pages. Very importantly, Jessica Shattuck’s writing is lovely, and I will look forward to her next novel.
The author brings in many historical events. WWII is shown in retrospect through the extremely brief romance between Nick and Bet before his proposal and Bet’s codebreaking. The involvement of oil companies in the politics of the Middle East is a large topic. Nick travels frequently to Iran, where his company is involved in (among other things) returning the Shah to power. Big oil continues to be a theme as the story moves to Katherine and Harry during the 1960’s. The vehemence of the radicals’ position as well as the ugly nitty gritty of radical life are well portrayed. Deeper themes are found in the novel as well. The eternal cycle of one generation (Nick’s and Bet’s) working hard in the system and wanting more for their children, and then the next generation (Katherine’s and Harry’s) rejecting the system and disparaging the things their parents worked hard to achieve. The role of a wife and mother in the 1950’s and afterwards is nicely portrayed in the character of Bet. There is also an awareness of the end of the world – or something devastating short of that. This theme is carried out by Last House – a second home in the mountains and a constant presence to which each of the characters escapes during various periods of their respective lives.
This novel covers a lot of time periods and events while also following the lives of four people. I found it quite interesting and entertaining, although I understand the criticisms to the effect that it was just too much to cover in 300 pages. Very importantly, Jessica Shattuck’s writing is lovely, and I will look forward to her next novel.
May 24, 2024
The Last House was an interesting family drama/saga.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?
I really found myself engaged in the beginning of the story. Especially when Nick went to Iran in the early 50s for controversial government work tied into his business, and I wish more of the story had revolved around this and was developed more.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
After the very beginning, the story began to slow a bunch as we followed the years of their children growing up during the 60s and their lives beyond. Then, at the very end, the story took off at a rapid pace.
With the slow pace and characters that weren’t really likable and just “there”, I had a really hard time enjoying this book.
Thank you, WilliamMorrow for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?
I really found myself engaged in the beginning of the story. Especially when Nick went to Iran in the early 50s for controversial government work tied into his business, and I wish more of the story had revolved around this and was developed more.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
After the very beginning, the story began to slow a bunch as we followed the years of their children growing up during the 60s and their lives beyond. Then, at the very end, the story took off at a rapid pace.
With the slow pace and characters that weren’t really likable and just “there”, I had a really hard time enjoying this book.
Thank you, WilliamMorrow for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
June 18, 2024
Last House by Jessica Shattuck has big literary fiction energy and it was a family saga as well making it a perfect comparison to the novel The Dutch House. I definitely got the same vibe from both of these novels, but LH was very focused on oil especially. There is a partial list of products made from oil at the beginning of the book (thankfully read in the audiobook), and some of the items completely surprised me. Granted there are lots of types of oil, but pantyhose...?! 🤯 I feel like I learned a lot through the reading of this book, and I could tell Shattuck feels a certain type of way about some things.
The audiobook was lovely, and I don't have a single bad thing to say about Maggi-Meg Reed or Mark Bramhall. They are both exceedingly talented if the audio for Last House is anything to go by, and I loved listening to them. This is a slow burner so having the audio was a must for me, and it worked out very well having a copy of the novel on hand as well. It was a little political for my taste and sounded at times like the author was trying to push her views onto the reader through the book. For this reason, I did give a rating of 4 stars instead of 5, but the family dynamics and topics touched upon were insightful and Shattuck gave me a lot to think about.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The audiobook was lovely, and I don't have a single bad thing to say about Maggi-Meg Reed or Mark Bramhall. They are both exceedingly talented if the audio for Last House is anything to go by, and I loved listening to them. This is a slow burner so having the audio was a must for me, and it worked out very well having a copy of the novel on hand as well. It was a little political for my taste and sounded at times like the author was trying to push her views onto the reader through the book. For this reason, I did give a rating of 4 stars instead of 5, but the family dynamics and topics touched upon were insightful and Shattuck gave me a lot to think about.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
June 11, 2024
As historical fiction (post WWII) blended with family sage is my favorite genre, I was totally engaged with Jessica Shattuck’s LAST HOUSE. This wide ranging novel presents a multitude of discussion themes for book clubs including marriage, siblings & beyond! Read it!
May 7, 2024
Last House by Jessica Shattuck is a brilliant family saga about the Taylor family - Nick, Bet, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. The family members all grow and change immensely over the years, and the reader is there to witness all of it. The novel kicks off in the 1950s, right in the thick of the current events and happenings of that time period. The author does a phenomenal job of allowing the reader to experience the decades right alongside the Taylors. If you need an American history refresher, pick this book up! I can’t believe how much I learned about the oil industry. Ha! I feel like some readers will enjoy this one more than others, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “love it or hate it” type of book. I will admit that it took me a bit to get fully invested, but around the 25% mark, things really started to pick up. When the actual “Last House” was finally introduced in the story, I was completely hooked.
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Family drama, dynamics, and dysfunction
- Multiple timelines and POVs
- Historical fiction
- Social and environmental issues
- Politically-charged storylines
- Stunning northeastern setting
- Themes of parenthood and marriage
The Taylor family is most definitely a memorable one. I just know that these characters will live rent free in my mind for years to come. My review would not be complete without mentioning the gorgeous cover. If I could draw a mental image of where I would like to retire with my husband, grow old, raise cats, drink wine, and read a lot of books at, it would definitely look similar to this. You all know that I’m a sucker for a nature scene on a cover!!!
Last House releases on May 14th! Super solid read!
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Family drama, dynamics, and dysfunction
- Multiple timelines and POVs
- Historical fiction
- Social and environmental issues
- Politically-charged storylines
- Stunning northeastern setting
- Themes of parenthood and marriage
The Taylor family is most definitely a memorable one. I just know that these characters will live rent free in my mind for years to come. My review would not be complete without mentioning the gorgeous cover. If I could draw a mental image of where I would like to retire with my husband, grow old, raise cats, drink wine, and read a lot of books at, it would definitely look similar to this. You all know that I’m a sucker for a nature scene on a cover!!!
Last House releases on May 14th! Super solid read!
March 5, 2024
This is a five. The words are powerful. It feels like the book transcends time so that we can once again experience the past and sort out opinions on where we’re headed in our country.
The reader learns all about one family. Nick Taylor, a veteran of the war, and graduate of Yale, is married to Bet, graduate of Vassar. It starts in 1953 with their two young children, Katherine and Harry. They are comfortable with their lives in a small town of Connecticut and they bought a vacation place called: Last House in Vermont. It’s surrounded by beautiful trees, trails, creeks for fishing and it’s an ideal getaway from the big city. They were thinking that it would be a great place to escape -- just in case -- the world falls apart.
While Nick’s career involved meeting with powerful Middle East leaders to discuss oil and government support, his adult daughter Kat has taken another direction in protesting the Vietnam war and big oil. Overtime, their lives changed but Last House was there as a stabilizing structure and retreat for the family.
There’s a lot to take in with this book. Jessica Shattuck’s last book, “The Women in the Castle” made such an lasting impression with the development of her characters. This book does the same with a plot closer to home. It makes you feel immersed with the family’s achievements and shortcomings.
From the start, it’s engaging and makes you remember all sorts of music and news from the 60s. Yes, I remember drive-ins, hippies and Nixon as president. It feels like you could be in the kitchen discussing mundane or world news with them. It’s very well written and the story stays with you especially at the end. It gives you a lot to ponder and is a great book for a discussion.
My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 14, 2024.
The reader learns all about one family. Nick Taylor, a veteran of the war, and graduate of Yale, is married to Bet, graduate of Vassar. It starts in 1953 with their two young children, Katherine and Harry. They are comfortable with their lives in a small town of Connecticut and they bought a vacation place called: Last House in Vermont. It’s surrounded by beautiful trees, trails, creeks for fishing and it’s an ideal getaway from the big city. They were thinking that it would be a great place to escape -- just in case -- the world falls apart.
While Nick’s career involved meeting with powerful Middle East leaders to discuss oil and government support, his adult daughter Kat has taken another direction in protesting the Vietnam war and big oil. Overtime, their lives changed but Last House was there as a stabilizing structure and retreat for the family.
There’s a lot to take in with this book. Jessica Shattuck’s last book, “The Women in the Castle” made such an lasting impression with the development of her characters. This book does the same with a plot closer to home. It makes you feel immersed with the family’s achievements and shortcomings.
From the start, it’s engaging and makes you remember all sorts of music and news from the 60s. Yes, I remember drive-ins, hippies and Nixon as president. It feels like you could be in the kitchen discussing mundane or world news with them. It’s very well written and the story stays with you especially at the end. It gives you a lot to ponder and is a great book for a discussion.
My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 14, 2024.
May 21, 2024
A multigenerational saga centered around one family and their vacation home in the Vermont woods.
It begins in the 1950's where the country is feeling hopeful of new beginnings and progress. Nick is busy brokering oil deals with the Shah of Iran when he and his wife Bet build a home, along with other oil families, to escape the city. The next generation sees a more challenging world where racial tension, feminism and protests over privilege and the Vietnam War take center stage. The last generation brings us back to the beginning with the end of "The Age of Oil" and all that that will bring. Quiet in its approach in highlighting a variety of issues, including prejudice and climate change but determined to call them out as a warning. An interesting and largely overlooked period and a deeply felt family story that will appeal to fans of ON GOLDEN POND, books by Fiona Davis and WE ARE THE BRENNANS. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
It begins in the 1950's where the country is feeling hopeful of new beginnings and progress. Nick is busy brokering oil deals with the Shah of Iran when he and his wife Bet build a home, along with other oil families, to escape the city. The next generation sees a more challenging world where racial tension, feminism and protests over privilege and the Vietnam War take center stage. The last generation brings us back to the beginning with the end of "The Age of Oil" and all that that will bring. Quiet in its approach in highlighting a variety of issues, including prejudice and climate change but determined to call them out as a warning. An interesting and largely overlooked period and a deeply felt family story that will appeal to fans of ON GOLDEN POND, books by Fiona Davis and WE ARE THE BRENNANS. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
May 29, 2024
The Last House follows a family through the decades, beginning in 1953. Nick Taylor, a WWII veteran and lawyer, is working for American Oil. He decides to buy a vacation home in Vermont that is surrounded by woods and sits in secluded location.
Over the years the Taylor children grow up and stray from the core beliefs of their parents. Katherine, their daughter, gets caught up in all kinds of social issues that young people of the 60’s were protesting.
Their son Harry tries to enlist in the Vietnam War, but is denied and slips into depression. Katherine brings Harry into her group to give him some purpose in life, which turns out to be the downfall for the Taylor family.
The book follows Katherine through the years until she is an elderly woman with children and grandchildren of her own.
I liked following the family as they moved through the years, but grew weary of Katherine’s constant anger over the issues of the time that are quite often still prevalent in todays world.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review and recommend to readers.
Over the years the Taylor children grow up and stray from the core beliefs of their parents. Katherine, their daughter, gets caught up in all kinds of social issues that young people of the 60’s were protesting.
Their son Harry tries to enlist in the Vietnam War, but is denied and slips into depression. Katherine brings Harry into her group to give him some purpose in life, which turns out to be the downfall for the Taylor family.
The book follows Katherine through the years until she is an elderly woman with children and grandchildren of her own.
I liked following the family as they moved through the years, but grew weary of Katherine’s constant anger over the issues of the time that are quite often still prevalent in todays world.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review and recommend to readers.
April 28, 2024
Last House by Jessica Shattuck was a difficult read for me. I loved The Women in the Castle but this story did not resonate with me. I had trouble staying focused on it and felt like it was disjointed. I really just think that this wasn’t for me. Will I read another by this author? Absolutely.
Thanks William Marrow via NetGalley.
Thanks William Marrow via NetGalley.
June 24, 2024
This is such an interesting story about a family. It is a multigenerational saga, telling a powerful story about the Taylor family. It has all the topics I love in a story: love, relationships, marriage, sibling relationships and the choices we all make throughout our lives and how those individual life choices we make impact those we love, especially our family. I enjoyed this book, which is set mainly during the 1950's and 1960's, and how these years during the Vietnam war, with social activism and the pursuit of wealth and economic gain ultimately impacted this family by the choices they each made in their lives. I also loved that the Last house became a central character in the story. It is told and written so beautifully. It was dramatic and tragic, but also touching and insightful.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy. .
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy. .
March 20, 2024
Last House is an epic family drama full of meaning and message. I'm sure it's going to be talked about a lot.
It follows the Taylor family, and I'm sure that name is chosen for a reason. In fact, the (one of the ) protagonist's name is Elizabeth Taylor, but that didn't hit me until someone called her that later in the book - otherwise, she's known as Bet. It's definitely meant to stir your brain. Everything has a reason here, from the character's names, and the Last House of course, to where the characters live and what they've chosen to do with their lives. There are layers and layers, and they are carefully-weaved throughout the story.
The writing is excellent, and for the most part, the story is well paced. I was a little surprised at how fast the story sped up when it moved into the second part. I wasn't expecting that based on how the first part worked out.
But inasmuch as some dramatic, and tragic, things happen, it feels slow. Like based on some foreshadowing, you're expecting certain things that don't end up happening. Like there's built-up tension, but it fizzles out.
The thing is, this is an "important" book, but it's kind of self-important. It hits you over the head with all of its messaging. The ideal message kind of book gives it over with subtlety - you get absorbed in the novel and pick up on what the author wants to convey. I think love in the Time of Cholera is an excellent example. But here, it's all very planned and staged, which makes the plot and story less interesting and absorbing.
I also was confused about what the messages were throughout a lot of the book, just that there was definitely meant to be some. It's more clear toward the end, but it creates an unsettled feeling throughout. Maybe that's the intention? I prefer feeling satisfied and nodding my head along while I read.
I did like the end. It tied up a lot of the threads, or was clear about some threads not getting tied up, and that's ok. It's hopeful and satisfying. The last line was perfection.
4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy for review.
It follows the Taylor family, and I'm sure that name is chosen for a reason. In fact, the (one of the ) protagonist's name is Elizabeth Taylor, but that didn't hit me until someone called her that later in the book - otherwise, she's known as Bet. It's definitely meant to stir your brain. Everything has a reason here, from the character's names, and the Last House of course, to where the characters live and what they've chosen to do with their lives. There are layers and layers, and they are carefully-weaved throughout the story.
The writing is excellent, and for the most part, the story is well paced. I was a little surprised at how fast the story sped up when it moved into the second part. I wasn't expecting that based on how the first part worked out.
But inasmuch as some dramatic, and tragic, things happen, it feels slow. Like based on some foreshadowing, you're expecting certain things that don't end up happening. Like there's built-up tension, but it fizzles out.
The thing is, this is an "important" book, but it's kind of self-important. It hits you over the head with all of its messaging. The ideal message kind of book gives it over with subtlety - you get absorbed in the novel and pick up on what the author wants to convey. I think love in the Time of Cholera is an excellent example. But here, it's all very planned and staged, which makes the plot and story less interesting and absorbing.
I also was confused about what the messages were throughout a lot of the book, just that there was definitely meant to be some. It's more clear toward the end, but it creates an unsettled feeling throughout. Maybe that's the intention? I prefer feeling satisfied and nodding my head along while I read.
I did like the end. It tied up a lot of the threads, or was clear about some threads not getting tied up, and that's ok. It's hopeful and satisfying. The last line was perfection.
4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy for review.
March 15, 2024
This is an intellectual book and not plot driven. Maybe the point went above my head, but I just couldn't connect with this one. I'm surprised I even finished it. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 18, 2024
This ambitious and beautifully written novel takes on a large chunk of history. Jessica Shattuck begins Last House in the 1940's with Bet, an English Major who becomes a code breaker. It is Bet's story and that of her husband, Nick, and their children and, subsequently, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Although Bet's is the main thread of the story's beginning, there is a long section of Bet's daughter Katherine's life and her connection to her brother Harry. Nick, an attorney for a major oil company, becomes involved with the CIA in Iran's politics and returning the Shah to the throne. Carter, a CIA operative, becomes close friends with Nick and Bet and is responsible for their purchase of Last House in Vermont (Last being the name of its original owner). The property becomes a kind of survivalist community.
Katherine's life unfolds as she becomes a columnist for a left-wing newspaper and there meets a group of peaceful protestors and later Weather Underground members. We follow her through King's assassination and protests against the Viet Nam war and big oil companies.
Racism, even after the; passage of the Voting Rights Act, is part of Katheriine's life as she falls in love with a Black man.
The travel through 20th Century history culminates in a return to Last House to celebrate Katherine's 79th birthday with a reunion party while there is a massive blackout across the country.
This novel has some lovely characters and descriptions like the Shah's lavish party.
But ultimately, the novel may leave readers behind as it rushes to its conclusion. It could have earned 5 Stars had it been more character driven and less of a history lesson.
Thank to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC copy to read pre-publication.
Although Bet's is the main thread of the story's beginning, there is a long section of Bet's daughter Katherine's life and her connection to her brother Harry. Nick, an attorney for a major oil company, becomes involved with the CIA in Iran's politics and returning the Shah to the throne. Carter, a CIA operative, becomes close friends with Nick and Bet and is responsible for their purchase of Last House in Vermont (Last being the name of its original owner). The property becomes a kind of survivalist community.
Katherine's life unfolds as she becomes a columnist for a left-wing newspaper and there meets a group of peaceful protestors and later Weather Underground members. We follow her through King's assassination and protests against the Viet Nam war and big oil companies.
Racism, even after the; passage of the Voting Rights Act, is part of Katheriine's life as she falls in love with a Black man.
The travel through 20th Century history culminates in a return to Last House to celebrate Katherine's 79th birthday with a reunion party while there is a massive blackout across the country.
This novel has some lovely characters and descriptions like the Shah's lavish party.
But ultimately, the novel may leave readers behind as it rushes to its conclusion. It could have earned 5 Stars had it been more character driven and less of a history lesson.
Thank to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC copy to read pre-publication.
May 17, 2024
4.5/5
When I read the description and added Last House to my tbr, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this! I don't even know how to adequately explain my thoughts about this book! Last House by Jessica Shattuck is part historical fiction, part multigenerational family saga, and partly a conversation on how we as humans treat each other and the planet we inhabit. It is just so good!
Aside from the brief WWII references in the beginning, I wasn't super familiar with the other historical events in the book, like the oil negotiations between the US and Iran and activism in the US during Vietnam. More than history however, Shattuck gives us so much more to ponder. She touches on women and their roles, activism, conflict between parents and their offspring, capitalism, survival, husbands and wives, and marriages. There's just so much to consider!
I feel like Last House is the kind of book that after we get the gist of the story from the first read through, we could read it again and glean even more from the stories of Nick and Bet and Katherine and Harry. And to be honest, while reading this, I found myself wishing I had my own Last House. Shattuck's storytelling is both engaging and insightful, and I can't wait to read what she writes next!
Read this if you like:
• books with William Krueger Kent vibes
• books that explore family dynamics
• 20th century historical fiction
When I read the description and added Last House to my tbr, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this! I don't even know how to adequately explain my thoughts about this book! Last House by Jessica Shattuck is part historical fiction, part multigenerational family saga, and partly a conversation on how we as humans treat each other and the planet we inhabit. It is just so good!
Aside from the brief WWII references in the beginning, I wasn't super familiar with the other historical events in the book, like the oil negotiations between the US and Iran and activism in the US during Vietnam. More than history however, Shattuck gives us so much more to ponder. She touches on women and their roles, activism, conflict between parents and their offspring, capitalism, survival, husbands and wives, and marriages. There's just so much to consider!
I feel like Last House is the kind of book that after we get the gist of the story from the first read through, we could read it again and glean even more from the stories of Nick and Bet and Katherine and Harry. And to be honest, while reading this, I found myself wishing I had my own Last House. Shattuck's storytelling is both engaging and insightful, and I can't wait to read what she writes next!
Read this if you like:
• books with William Krueger Kent vibes
• books that explore family dynamics
• 20th century historical fiction
May 12, 2024
Last House by Jessica Shattuck. Thanks to @williammorrow for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A sweeping story of the Taylor family starting in 1953 with Nick’s oil career and stretching nearly eighty years.
I love family sagas like this where you get to know each generation very well. My interest was a bit disjointed. I found Nick’s parts with him overseas a bit boring and had a hard time sticking with it. A parts in the US though, were interesting to me, especially the history of the 1960’s and how it affected the family.
“Life is full of minor characters we slough off. In memory, they step forward - bigger sometimes than the people we thought were essential to us.”
Last House comes out 5/14.
A sweeping story of the Taylor family starting in 1953 with Nick’s oil career and stretching nearly eighty years.
I love family sagas like this where you get to know each generation very well. My interest was a bit disjointed. I found Nick’s parts with him overseas a bit boring and had a hard time sticking with it. A parts in the US though, were interesting to me, especially the history of the 1960’s and how it affected the family.
“Life is full of minor characters we slough off. In memory, they step forward - bigger sometimes than the people we thought were essential to us.”
Last House comes out 5/14.
May 25, 2024
Thank you William Morrow for allowing me to read and review Last House on NetGalley.
Published: 05/14 /24
Stars: 2.5
From the beginning I was bored. There were times (a few sentences) where my attention was grabbed, but only for a minute or two. I didn't resonate with the writing, the characters or sadly the time periods. The '53 and '68 historical periods appealed to me.
Unfortunately, this just didn't work for me. I had to force myself to pick this up and focus on reading a chapter at a time.
I hope your experience is different.
Published: 05/14 /24
Stars: 2.5
From the beginning I was bored. There were times (a few sentences) where my attention was grabbed, but only for a minute or two. I didn't resonate with the writing, the characters or sadly the time periods. The '53 and '68 historical periods appealed to me.
Unfortunately, this just didn't work for me. I had to force myself to pick this up and focus on reading a chapter at a time.
I hope your experience is different.
June 29, 2024
The best book I’ve read in quite some time. A sweeping multi-generational saga about fear and change, politics and greed, coming to terms with decisions made and regretted, and finding purpose and hope.
April 27, 2024
I feel smarter for having read this book. As an American, I learned about important events in the history of our country and plights that are still relevant today with the current unrest in Iran.
I could relate to the mother, Bet, who when asked what she would stock in her end of the world escape house, responded that she would have books, “and chocolate. And a pen and paper so I could write things down and hide them in some bombproof container for future generations.”
But also, the father, Nick, who “did not understand this generation of children – or, rather, this modern version of childhood, so full of privilege and promise so devoid of hard work and responsibility.”
Their daughter, Katherine, and son, Harry, were coming of age in the late 60s/early 70s at a time of much turmoil. They debated the meaning of civilization with their radical tribe and were filled with incredulous disdain toward their parents, and especially their father’s job in the oil industry, which is more than just a job, but a geopolitical force.
Their father could negotiate “delicate agreements between Middle Eastern governments and the various international oil companies” and was invited as a special guest to the biggest party the world had ever seen in 1971 celebrating 2500 years of Iranian history.
I shed a tear when Nick was introduced to his granddaughter, because “despite all the ways his life had molded him to be hard, he remained open to the soft, delicate underbelly of experience that makes us human, to the small irrational fears as well as the bold principles and truths.”
This book is about radical thinking and earth shattering dilemmas, but at its core is a family saga about parenting and loss and the ghosts of the memories of the people that we loved that vanish over time.
I could relate to the mother, Bet, who when asked what she would stock in her end of the world escape house, responded that she would have books, “and chocolate. And a pen and paper so I could write things down and hide them in some bombproof container for future generations.”
But also, the father, Nick, who “did not understand this generation of children – or, rather, this modern version of childhood, so full of privilege and promise so devoid of hard work and responsibility.”
Their daughter, Katherine, and son, Harry, were coming of age in the late 60s/early 70s at a time of much turmoil. They debated the meaning of civilization with their radical tribe and were filled with incredulous disdain toward their parents, and especially their father’s job in the oil industry, which is more than just a job, but a geopolitical force.
Their father could negotiate “delicate agreements between Middle Eastern governments and the various international oil companies” and was invited as a special guest to the biggest party the world had ever seen in 1971 celebrating 2500 years of Iranian history.
I shed a tear when Nick was introduced to his granddaughter, because “despite all the ways his life had molded him to be hard, he remained open to the soft, delicate underbelly of experience that makes us human, to the small irrational fears as well as the bold principles and truths.”
This book is about radical thinking and earth shattering dilemmas, but at its core is a family saga about parenting and loss and the ghosts of the memories of the people that we loved that vanish over time.
May 14, 2024
Shattuck shares a slice of American history with us that spans almost eighty-years through the eyes of the Taylor family. It begins at the end of World War II; the beginning of the age of oil.
It’s 1953 and Nick is home from the war and working as a lawyer. He’s building a life for his wife Bet and their two children, Katherine and Harry. The story is told mostly from Bet’s point of view, but some from Nicks. Fear of communism is on the rise and Nick works on overseas oil negotiations. We meet Taylor’s business associate, Carter invites them to Last House, in Vermont. An idyllic cabin on the lake that allows the Taylors to escape the mundane.
We follow Bet and Nick, but also their children as they grow up in an era that questions, and protests, Vietnam, big oil and more. The second half of the book begins in 1968, and is told from Catherine’s POV. Catherine is finding herself in college and joins a radical newspaper.
The author beautifully weaves the political climate and historical events around their story, creating a poignant family saga that is impacted by the changing times. Emotional and well crafted, I found myself wrapped up in their lives and struggles.
Last House is perfect for book club, fans of historical fiction and family sagas that span generations. I found myself caught up in the Taylors story and their Vermont summer house. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
It’s 1953 and Nick is home from the war and working as a lawyer. He’s building a life for his wife Bet and their two children, Katherine and Harry. The story is told mostly from Bet’s point of view, but some from Nicks. Fear of communism is on the rise and Nick works on overseas oil negotiations. We meet Taylor’s business associate, Carter invites them to Last House, in Vermont. An idyllic cabin on the lake that allows the Taylors to escape the mundane.
We follow Bet and Nick, but also their children as they grow up in an era that questions, and protests, Vietnam, big oil and more. The second half of the book begins in 1968, and is told from Catherine’s POV. Catherine is finding herself in college and joins a radical newspaper.
The author beautifully weaves the political climate and historical events around their story, creating a poignant family saga that is impacted by the changing times. Emotional and well crafted, I found myself wrapped up in their lives and struggles.
Last House is perfect for book club, fans of historical fiction and family sagas that span generations. I found myself caught up in the Taylors story and their Vermont summer house. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
March 28, 2024
A smart, ambitious novel, Jessica Shattuck's "The Last House" is about oil. From the first page where she lists everything made of oil-based products. The novel begins in 1953, when WWII veteran Nick Taylor, now a corporate lawyer, hooks up with an old friend who leads him into the international world of Big Oil. Nick's wife Bet, a code breaker and artist, now a housewife, She's busy raising their two children while Nick, a thoughtful man, travels with an old friend all over the world to secure oil for the US in the post-war world. He is not open with Bet about what he does, but the income keeps them well, including the purchase of the Last house; Last being the surname of former owners. Their children come of age in the 60s and join the opposition without quite realizing their father's role in what they are protesting. "The Last House" touches on just about every important event from 1945 to the near future.
I can see this book sparking conversation and and possibly heated discussion. The characters are empathetic, but I found the earlier parts of the story more interesting than the latter. The ending filled me with trepidation--what if I don't have my own Last house when everything Nick and his buddy set in motion pays off in unexpected ways? This story does what fiction does best; provoke thought while laying the case before us , even if it may be too late.
I can see this book sparking conversation and and possibly heated discussion. The characters are empathetic, but I found the earlier parts of the story more interesting than the latter. The ending filled me with trepidation--what if I don't have my own Last house when everything Nick and his buddy set in motion pays off in unexpected ways? This story does what fiction does best; provoke thought while laying the case before us , even if it may be too late.
March 10, 2024
Last House is first set in 1953, where we meet Nick Taylor, a WWII veteran and his wife Bet and two young children. We follow the four all the way to 2026 and live through love and heartbreak, sickness and choices that all new adults need to make - how they decide to define themselves in the world.
Last House covers MLK, the WeatherUnderground, the Iranian Crisis and Ayatollah. I love the sprawling nature of this book and how it easily reminds us that choices made by American are so much based on the contemporary events and how they have been framed. Because Nick had a job in oil, the family is able to buy property and pull themselves up economically. Shattuck includes the character's thoughts on ownership, society and race. it's truly mesmerizing! A tour de force, a generational saga, I wish I could read more about the Taylors and the friends and family around them!
williammorrow #jessicashattuck #lasthouse
Last House covers MLK, the WeatherUnderground, the Iranian Crisis and Ayatollah. I love the sprawling nature of this book and how it easily reminds us that choices made by American are so much based on the contemporary events and how they have been framed. Because Nick had a job in oil, the family is able to buy property and pull themselves up economically. Shattuck includes the character's thoughts on ownership, society and race. it's truly mesmerizing! A tour de force, a generational saga, I wish I could read more about the Taylors and the friends and family around them!
williammorrow #jessicashattuck #lasthouse
March 28, 2024
I really liked The Women in the Castle, so was excited to read Last House. This is a very ambitious work of historic fiction spanning from WWII to the near future and focusing on several generations of one family. Nick Taylor, son of Mennonites from the mid-west, is a WWII veteran who has become a corporate attorney for the oil industry. Bet is a reluctant 50's housewife, raised in a newly affluent Irish-Catholic family in suburban NJ. They raise two children in Connecticut, who get swept up in the turbulence and change of the 60's. which ends in tragedy. And then there's their children and grandchildren. There's plenty to think about in the book including climate change, America's role in the world, racism, women's rights etc. Through it all, the family keeps a second home Last House in the Northeast kingdom as Vermont, a metaphor for where we've been and where we're going.
May 5, 2024
Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy ebook.
Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I spent the majority of the book wondering what the point was. There were interesting parts here and there, but the majority of the book was a bit slow paced for me. I thought it became the most interesting by the last part, but the ending seemed rushed to me and I wish there was more of the book dedicated to that instead of parts in the middle. 2⭐️.
Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I spent the majority of the book wondering what the point was. There were interesting parts here and there, but the majority of the book was a bit slow paced for me. I thought it became the most interesting by the last part, but the ending seemed rushed to me and I wish there was more of the book dedicated to that instead of parts in the middle. 2⭐️.
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