An interesting multi-generational family saga!. This book shows how each generation makes decisions regarding life and relationships based on their experiences of their respective current cultural and political landscapes. Thanks #NetGalley #WilliamMarrow

A sweeping family saga. From the start, I was drawn in. I really liked Bet and Nick's story. I found their family life fascinating and the story flowed well. But somewhere around the middle, it started to really slow down. I found myself wondering what was next instead of focusing on what I was reading. I did like how it covered sweeping parts of history and the family dynamics. It's an interesting, slow burn but was a very quick read. I liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The book begins by listing all the ways we use oil in our daily lives. It then transitions into a multi-generational family saga centered around the Taylor family. Nick is a corporate lawyer working for a big oil company. He marries Bet who gives up a promising career to tend the family hearth. They have two children, Katherine and Harry. Early on in the story, they buy a second home called Last House. It is situated in a secluded Vermont valley with few homes and close to nature. It becomes a sort of refuge for the family throughout the years.
It’s an intriguing story. You get some history about how the CIA helped the Shah of Iran and about all the protests happening in the U.S. during the 60s against war, racism, etc. Fascinating to see how each generation views the world in a different way and to see the similarities of that era to the present. A story about secrets, familial bonds and how we deal with grief. This would be an ideal book club read. I can imagine a lot of interesting discussions taking place. 4 stars

"Just because you believe something doesn't make it true. But what's the alternative? To believe nothing at all?"

Last House is a a sprawling family drama that follows the Taylor family, specifically father Nick Taylor, wife Bet Taylor, and kids Katherine and Harry Taylor, from the 1950s through the present. Nick Taylor worked his way up from humble beginnings and, thanks to a job in oil, is able to grant his kids the life he never had, including an idyllic vacation home known affectionately as "Last House." But life is not a vacation, and as Katherine and Harry grow up they each reckon with their place in the world and the ethics behind the source of the money that got them there. Enter the 1960s and the rise of militant political groups, explosive rhetoric, and actual explosives, where the decisions Katherine and Harry make have the potential to change all the Taylors forever.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I really enjoyed Nick Taylor's perspective - reading about American oil and its influence globally on countries like Iran was intriguing and kept me hooked. I would have read an entire book just about that. I struggled once the book switched to Katherine's perspective, and this is probably why it took me so long to finish. Where I saw Harry as a kid just trying to find his way in the world, I found Katherine whiney and privileged, and while the author was likely making a point about the kids who were involved in such movements at the time, I really wanted to reach through the book and bounce her back to reality.

This is a book I would recommend for book clubs, but maybe not as an individual enjoyment read.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC, which was received in exchange for an honest review.

This is a boomers book for sure. It was well written and discussed a lot of the stuff we all went through. Brought back a lot of memories for sure. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Loved this poignant story of generations looking for love and understanding as they confront heartbreaking social, political world events. Well written and powerfully evocative.

I often think of historical fiction taking place at least 100 years ago. Not so for this family saga. Baby Boomers, this is about us.
If you are not sure of the backdrop of Last House, all you have to do is skim the first three pages -- a lengthy list of products that exist due to oil. The novel traces Nick (a lawyer involved in oil deals in the Middle East) and Bet's life and their children's lives as the decades tick by. Daughter Katherine is outspoken and opinionated; son Harry, nature-loving and sweet. All the characters reminded me of people I knew (my mom) reflected in the times -- from jello and instant potatoes, to the Vietnam War and finally solar panels, generators and vegetable gardens. The frequent setting is rural Vermont and the Last House and those in the "End of the World Club".
I read Last House twice to pause and bookmark passages and savor the author's reflections and writing. Have already recommended this to friends and family. Thank you, Jessica Shattuck, for a memorable read.

I thought this book would be about a spy. I wasn't sure if the spy would be Bet Taylor the mom or Nick Taylor the dad, as it could have been either; but then her cryptology career ended, and his activities in the Mideast turned out to be purely commercial. Last House ended up being about activism, involving Bet and Nick's daughter Katharine and son Harry. There were so many interesting characters and locations in this sprawling story, about travesty and injustice and history and oppression and entitlement and so so much more that I feel like I just finished reading three of Jessica Shattuck's books rather than one.

Chapters are based on alternating family member points of view, but Katherine is more of a narrator than the rest of her family. Tellingly, she describes herself as the plain one. The grief and guilt that each family member carries is moving. I felt a shift in the pacing at the end, where time went into turbo drive and the family grew exponentially; it was a lot to try to follow but I appreciate that the ending went beyond tragedy to fruition and happiness.

3.5 stars
Family saga spanning the 1950s to the present. Successful young family: the man is a lawyer in the oil industry and the woman is a mother and housewife. The children grow up to rebel against the world their parents' generation has built. Last House, their summer cottage in Vermont, is a family refuge.

I was never able to connect with any of the characters and found that the story dragged quite a bit.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

Definitely worth reading if you were born between 1930 and 2008. Thoughtful, well researched and containing so much truth even though presented in a frictional manner. The various characters helped to demonstrate that there were (and still are) so many sides to each of the big picture issues in this new novel. Plan to spend some time with this one and about how you would have reacted if you were any of these characters.

I was quickly immersed in the story of Nick and Bet, a couple living in 1950’s America. As the book progresses, however, it did move slowly, but handled many of the issues from the ‘50’s to the current day with insight. Nick is employed as an attorney for the oil industry, wrapped up in relations with Iran. As the Shah is reinstalled, the conflict between progress and greed develops. Bet is intelligent, a former code breaker, beginning to question her choices. Their children, Katherine and Harry, slowly become involved in the movements of the sixties, rebelling against the oil industry and the war. The book jumps quickly in time at the end, but leaves much to be desired as new characters don’t feel fully formed. It was a slow read for me and I would not recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Last House represents everything Nick and Bet hoped would offer refuge to their family. It did for their two children, children of the fifties who grew up here on vacations and holidays safe and secure from nuclear threats and anti oil sentiment. Nick is a veteran his wife was a code breaker. They just wanted a future secure and out of harms way. The Last House offered such a haven. Katherine, their daughter is just learning to navigate her place in the world. Both kids are torn between the safety of their parents world and the antiestablishment sentiment of campuses Katherine lives on. It’s a realistic look at parents confused by the animosity coming from children they sacrificed so much to secure a future without financial worry. It’s a heartfelt exercise in how hard becoming and adult can be.

Set up during the one of the most critical moments of the recent US history, this book is a family saga and a history lesson. The interference of the US in Iran's internal politics under the cover of oil trade, flower children showing their teeth against Vietnam War, assassination of MLK, and notion of environmentalism reaching new heights were the historical themes touched upon in the story. The family in the middle of all of these was riddled by consequences of each.

Nick Taylor was the all American veteran who decided to work as a lawyer for oil company. He had a good life, wife, and two kids (one of each). He couldn't stop himself from remembering his war days and use his skills to influence things in the Middle East. Years later, his son did something against the precious oil company that he worked for putting Nick and his family under spotlight. Meanwhile his daughter was riding the new waves of hope

If you like multigenerational stories hinting at major historical events, you will like this story. I liked how people came back to where they started with many more players in the game. It looks like even after all toil and trouble, everything was alright

I enjoyed the first third of this story, which took place in the 1950s and centered a postwar couple who both had or entered interesting, era-specific vocations (cryptography and oil, respectively). The book's middle section lost momentum for me; Katherine's voice didn't seem to match the 1960/70s in which she was coming of age. Although swept up in the counterculture and in opposition to her parents, her convictions felt flighty and ingenuine.

This intergenerational novel follows the Taylor family from various battlegrounds of the 1940s to the suburbs of the 1950s to the tumult of the 1960s and beyond.

This was an interesting read. I liked how it explored different generational perspectives. It was intriguing to see how expectations, norms and values changed over time. I liked the way the author used different types of POV to tell the stories of different characters.

Yes!! This is how you write nuanced characters.

This was a heartfelt (and sometimes heartbreaking) tale that spans several decades and periods of human tribulation, from World War II to the Vietnam War to the recent pandemic. On the surface, this novel is a historical fiction, but on a deeper level, it is a layered story about conflict, compassion, close-mindedness, and acceptance. I really enjoyed The Last House (I read it in two sittings!) and will probably pick up more stories from this author in the future.

Last House follows a couple, Nick and Bette, starting in the 1950s and forward to now, folding in each generation. Nick is involved in the oil industry and many of the events revolve around this, particularly as their kids come of age in the activist 60s. The book grabbed my interest quickly and become fully engrossing—I did now want to put it down.

I think the cover is quite pretty, but also think it does the book a disservice. It suggests a pastoral novel, which this is not. Rather, it’s an exploration of family and the conflict between generations under the specter of fossil fuels. I hope the cover doesn’t prevent this one from finding its best audience.

I haven’t read Shattuck before, but would certainly read more from her on the strength of this book.

Title: The Last House
Genre: Historical Fiction
This is the story of an American couple who meet during and survive WWII , marry and have a family. The female fades from a code breaker to housewife, and the father works in a fuzzy capacity for the CIA. The initial part of this story seemed interesting since the main characters are introduced with detail and appear complex, but the plot fast forwards way too quickly, leaving these potentially interesting characters behind, skimming through the years and focusing instead on the next generation. This is where the author lost me. The years went by too quickly with little detail to let me engage. The story is told from multiple points of view, but none were developed enough to capture my emotional involvement past the first couple chapters. By the time I gave up on the book, I still didn’t get why the author chose to write it in the first place. It just lacked oomph and focus and seemed to meander thoughtlessly. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica Shattuck's novel, The Last House tells the story of the Taylor family, a young family in 1953 when Nick is starting is career as a lawyer for an oil company, and working on the fringes of the CIA's involvement in Iran. The novel develops over the course of Nick's career, and that of his daughter, a casual radical in the late 1960s. For those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's, the tensions and fears of the times feel very familiar. Duck and cover drills were part of our understanding of the world. I enjoyed reading about the dynamic in the Taylor family, but wish we understood more about the son, Harry's story.

Although the times were difficult and often tragic, Shattuck's story still seems to hold hope for upcoming generations.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I remember enjoying Shattuck's The Women in the Castle and was eager to dive into Last House. While TWITC was set in Europe and focused on the immediate aftermath of WWII, Last House begins in the early stages of the Cold War, with American oil-man-lawyer patriarch Nick Taylor, a WWII veteran, negotiating deals in Iran. Last House looks forward from that perspective, telling the story from both Nick's and his wife Bet's perspectives, as well as a first person account from their daughter Katherine.

So we have a sprawling family saga, time jumping, going backwards and forwards, multiple POVs, political commentary (we go deep into the era of 60s protests (i.e. the Weather Underground), the Vietnam war, oil as the fuel for the war machine), and the generational conflict of the time. Idealism and activism clashing with the country club culture. There is tragedy, there are twists.

The characters were well drawn. I would have loved more of Bet, the 50s housewife and former codebreaker. The quiet pillar of the family. Her relationship with Kat felt real, and fraught. The time jumps showed us other familial relationships in the Taylor lineage, and that clashing and blending felt like a through line of the novel. That and, of course, oil. Family dynamics and legacy.

My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for the ARC.