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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This book is truly exquisite. It is both poetic and simple, with beautifully crafted prose. Spanning across decades, it delves into the intricacies of a family drama, creating an incredibly intimate experience for the reader. It portrays a multifaceted love story, encompassing romantic, platonic, and familial love from various perspectives throughout a person's life. The book eloquently explores the idea that love is not a one-time occurrence, but a series of choices made in the moments that shape our lives, delving into the complexities of our relationships.
As I delved into the story, I felt as though I had become a part of the family. Each character's voice was so distinct that it felt like I was listening to an audiobook with multiple narrators, a testament to Jessica Shattuck’s powerful writing.
The book also weaves in strong eco/environmental themes through the internal thoughts of each character. What stood out to me was the refreshing, beautiful, and insightful way in which each character, like real people, had their own unique perspective on the same issues or topics, shaped by their individual life experiences and the influence of their generation on the era, and vice versa.
The writing is so captivating that I found myself highlighting numerous sentences throughout the book. It truly is a work of beauty.
As I delved into the story, I felt as though I had become a part of the family. Each character's voice was so distinct that it felt like I was listening to an audiobook with multiple narrators, a testament to Jessica Shattuck’s powerful writing.
The book also weaves in strong eco/environmental themes through the internal thoughts of each character. What stood out to me was the refreshing, beautiful, and insightful way in which each character, like real people, had their own unique perspective on the same issues or topics, shaped by their individual life experiences and the influence of their generation on the era, and vice versa.
The writing is so captivating that I found myself highlighting numerous sentences throughout the book. It truly is a work of beauty.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A young woman is trying to recover some of the painful memories of her childhood and her family dynamics. Her father was an operative of the CIA during the years before, during and after the Cold War and was posted around the world, bringing his wife and their two children with him. Nick Taylor is a lawyer for an oil company masquerading with a dangerous job in areas from the Middle East to Cuba to South America. As a home base, Nick bought a remote, rustic cabin for the family to get away from things on holidays summers and vacations. He christens the cabin “the Last House”—as the last one on the road and the last one the family will have together. Both children are raised and develop their commitment to causes and issues with global influences. A tragedy brings a change in all their lives.
This book looks at how family members grow together and grow apart and how outside influences affect those relationships. It is a messy family story that brings out the best or the worst in each and looks at unique influences from Post WWII, and the imperialism of the major powers throughout the Sixties into the Seventies. The surprise ending was ok and the plot elements were resolved. The book was a slow burn of a family’s story. I enjoyed this book and recommend to readers who enjoy coming of age, historical, literary fiction, and global political issues.
The Last House is a multi-generational story of post-war middle class privilege and activism. Parents Bet and Nicholas exit the duty and uncertainty of WWII service to a life of suburban affluence. That life is built on oil company profits, and by extension, American political interference in Iran. Their children grow up among '60s radicals, including the Weather Underground, which brings them into violent conflict with their parents' choices. In the end, everyone is (mostly) forced to evaluate how their own actions have done harm or steered events off course.
The sections focused on Bet and Nick are the strongest; they highlight some of the more compelling complexities of their generation. Katherine's section, told in the first person, seems somehow less nuanced; she has very little compassion for her younger radical self and a fair amount of dismissiveness for the period generally. The epilogue ties everything up in a neat bow; possibly a little too neatly, but it gives some satisfying closure. A more thematically consistent ending, though, might have left readers a little more on edge, given the state of the world these days.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!
The sections focused on Bet and Nick are the strongest; they highlight some of the more compelling complexities of their generation. Katherine's section, told in the first person, seems somehow less nuanced; she has very little compassion for her younger radical self and a fair amount of dismissiveness for the period generally. The epilogue ties everything up in a neat bow; possibly a little too neatly, but it gives some satisfying closure. A more thematically consistent ending, though, might have left readers a little more on edge, given the state of the world these days.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!
Last House is an ambitious family novel that is about generations, their choices, and social changes. Watching Nick and Bet grow from young adults in the ebbing days of WWII into grandparents of the Gen X generation is familiar , and reading about their lives with the knowledge of history makes their decisions all the more interesting. As the book progresses, we spend less time with Nick and Bet and more with Katherine and Harry, their children, as they struggle to find themselves in the Vietnam era and the summer of love. And through it all, Last House is there.
A well-written book that tries hard to be An Important Book. Jessica Shattuck brings generational issues to the forefront and lets the readers determine whether the characters made the decision we would have. The end ties up a lot of loose ends but also leaves a few--because that's how life is. A solid book that left me thinking a lot about my grandparents' and parents' generations, their choices, and how it affects us today.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
A well-written book that tries hard to be An Important Book. Jessica Shattuck brings generational issues to the forefront and lets the readers determine whether the characters made the decision we would have. The end ties up a lot of loose ends but also leaves a few--because that's how life is. A solid book that left me thinking a lot about my grandparents' and parents' generations, their choices, and how it affects us today.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Last House reminds me of what happens with every generation – we question the actions of the previous generation, and that is a good thing.
In this book, Nick Taylor is a WWII veteran and a lawyer, whose company focuses primarily on the oil industry. He is married to Bet, who was a former codebreaker during the war but is now your typical housewife. They have two children, Katherine and Harry. As the story unfolds, Katherine seems to struggle with the comfortable world her parents created for her and her brother in the face of the Vietnam War, racism, conflicts about the U.S. reliance on foreign oil, etc. Katherine is more of the outspoken child. On the other hand, Harry quiet and reflective but seems to empathize with all the “wrongs” of the world.
I liked the story and found the characters interesting, but there was something missing. I felt like I was reading about individual characters, some were more developed than others and found the story to be disjointed. Towards the end of the story, there seemed to be more clarity and connection. Despite the challenges with the book, I still enjoyed it and appreciated the focus on generational differences, right and wrong and family.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
#LastHouse #JessicaShattuck
In this book, Nick Taylor is a WWII veteran and a lawyer, whose company focuses primarily on the oil industry. He is married to Bet, who was a former codebreaker during the war but is now your typical housewife. They have two children, Katherine and Harry. As the story unfolds, Katherine seems to struggle with the comfortable world her parents created for her and her brother in the face of the Vietnam War, racism, conflicts about the U.S. reliance on foreign oil, etc. Katherine is more of the outspoken child. On the other hand, Harry quiet and reflective but seems to empathize with all the “wrongs” of the world.
I liked the story and found the characters interesting, but there was something missing. I felt like I was reading about individual characters, some were more developed than others and found the story to be disjointed. Towards the end of the story, there seemed to be more clarity and connection. Despite the challenges with the book, I still enjoyed it and appreciated the focus on generational differences, right and wrong and family.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
#LastHouse #JessicaShattuck
Really loving all these multigenerational family saga books. Wish some time could’ve been spent from Harry’s perspective. Overall, I loved it
This was a very dry read for me. I had to stop it and read something else them try to read this book again. It seemed to drag on and on. It took me forever to read this book.
The characters were drawn and the scenes were well developed. Just not my type of book I guess.
The characters were drawn and the scenes were well developed. Just not my type of book I guess.
This book is hard to describe. It was dull and boring at first. Characters were meh... and then something changed, and it was so much more complex than I realized!
I also didn't want it to end.
Excellent story with a time frame I could identify with... although most of it happened before I gave a crap about events in the book. lol
I also didn't want it to end.
Excellent story with a time frame I could identify with... although most of it happened before I gave a crap about events in the book. lol
Rounding up to 4.5. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a house and a family, spanning from World War II up through 2026. Told through the lifetimes of the mother and father, and then their daughter. I listened to the book and thought the male speaker was excellent, and the female speaker (Katherine, the daughter) a bit monotone at times. All in all, the kind of book you can curl up with on a hot summer day and enjoy cover to cover.