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Jackie Sunday's Reviews > Last House
Last House
by
by
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.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
March 4, 2024
– Shelved
March 4, 2024
–
Finished Reading
