Quick and Dirty
-historical litfic
-family saga
-geopolitics and revolution
-quiet, ambling, and powerful

“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.”

What Worked
I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this novel. Family sagas are my jam, but I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the politics in this story. Thankfully, the author masterfully wove geopolitics into the story so that it was essential to the story, making the subject both relevant and exciting. I learned a lot from this novel, something I appreciate in any historical novel. But the story’s best part must be the people and the place, Last House. This family’s story is one for the ages, told over decades, many of which were turbulent at best. The story’s intergenerational aspects were fascinating, illuminating why we (humans) do what we do and how we become who we are. It’s a story of love, rage, humanity, and connection that I won’t soon forget.

What Didn’t Work
One thing I think people may struggle with is the pacing. This book is SLOW! But it’s in those slow moments where the true beauty of the story lives. The inner thoughts and observations of the characters fill your heart and mind, allowing you to connect with the story despite the momentary absence of the plot (though there is one). I also think folks may not like the shift narration the author used. In the early chapters, Bet and Nick’s story is narrated in a third-person perspective. Still, Katherine’s story is later told from a first-person perspective, which further ingratiates the reader.

Read This If
If you loved Hello Beautiful, you will probably love this one!

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.

Nick a WWII veteran and Bet a Vassar grad set up their lives in the suburbs of Connecticut with Nick working for American oil interests in Iran and Bet staying at home with their two children. At the invitation of a friend, they end up buying a vacation home, “the last house” in rural Vermont, where the couple hope to have a chance to escape from the real world (or as I see it their first world problems).

What follows is a multigenerational tale of the Taylor family told from the perspective of Nick, Bet, and their daughter Katherine. We follow the family has it expands with each generation and through many significant time periods in history all the way to the present. The constant in the Taylor’s lives is the Last House where they can gather as a family and ruminate on happenings in the world. The family addresses communism, racism, pacifism, sexism—truly they tackle a lot of “isms” and their true colors both good and bad shine brightly in their discussions/debates. The Taylor’s are an interesting family and Shattuck has written them as very real and flawed characters.

The first two generations were interesting, but I did feel like once they finished with Katherine and her brother Harry’s generation, the subsequent family members were glossed over. I also wish Harry’s perspective was thrown into the mix. This was clearly an ambitious novel to cover so many generations, and perhaps it should have stopped after two because there is much to learn from the parent/child relationship especially how feelings change as the child becomes the adult. Overall if you are in the mood for a family drama with a socio-political backdrop, this story will do the trick!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and of course the author Jessica Shattuck for the advanced copy of the book. Last House is out now. All opinions are my own.

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.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck is a family saga that begins in 1953. The characters slowly take shape. Instead of getting to see the characters develop as the story progresses, we are told about their developments. The story focuses on Nick, Bet, and Katherine. I was not able to connect with any of the characters. Just when I was getting to know Nick and Bet, the story switched to Katherine, and, in the third section, it switches back to Nick and Bet. The story moves at a terribly slow pace (the third section felt like I was trudging uphill on a sweltering day wearing a thick winter coat and carrying a backpack filled with heavy rocks). I felt that the story lost focus after the family was introduced and they purchased Last House. The story covers the environmental, political, social, and human rights issues that occurred over the decades. I learned more than I wanted to know about Iran and the oil conflict in 1953. In the last third, there were too many characters and topics. I liked that the ending (when I finally got to it) focused on the family, but the conclusion was rushed (which I thought was funny considering the rest of the story moved at a snail’s pace). The story did not seem to have a point or a plot. I was happy to reach the conclusion of Last House.

“Life may be filled with struggle, but what you struggle for is what matters.”
This book had an interesting premise as well as a setting not typically seen. For those reasons, it gets three stars from me.
However, there wasn’t a main character I felt connected to, the end result being a feeling of ‘what else’. Like most books I consider three star reads, I’m glad I read it, but it won’t be a reread, nor will I likely recommend it to anyone other than someone drawn to that time period/ setting.

2.5- Often times as I’m reading as advanced copy I find myself wondering what I found compelling about the book when I first saw it on NetGalley. I loved that this was a multigenerational family drama that was also historical fiction outside of the flooded WW2 setting. Unfortunately, though, this wasn’t nearly as scintillating or as interesting as I had hoped.
Lost House follows the Taylor Family from 1953 when Nick is newly working for an oil company and doing quite a bit of traveling to the Middle East and Bet is doing her best being a stay at home Mom to 5 year old Katherine and 1 year old Harry after having been a code breaker during WW2. As the years pass Katherine and Harry grow up and their ideas and values differ from those of their parents. Both are hippies, but Katherine joins a peaceful protesting movement to fight for civil rights and women’s rights. Harry cares more about the environment and hates that is father’s company is killing wildlife. Through the years and generational differences, they always have Last House- a cabin deep in the Vermont Mountains that was built to sustain the ending of the world. The world changes, the family changes, but Last House stays the same and gives off a comforting knowledge that even should the world run amok, the Taylors will always have a place to be safe.
There was so much going on in this book. I wasn’t expecting the heaviness of the civili rights movement, war protests, and environmental issues to be at the forefront of this book and I felt like the author’s main goal was to show us how bad things used to be and how we still have a long way to go.
I had been looking forward to the parts about Nick’s job, but sadly the scenes that took place in the Middle East were so boring and mostly narrative.
I did greatly appreciate the amount of research Ms. Shattuck put into this. She did a fantastic job weaving the fictional Taylor family with the very real events of the early 1950s through the late 1960s.
I prefer my novels to entertain and I feel this one was written with such a preachy undertone that it was as far as entertaining a book can get. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this. Lost House hit the shelves on May 14th.

A sweeping family saga rooted in exploring the ideals of generations and the way the shifts and changes happen while exploring at its heart what family is and can be.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I appreciated Shattuck's commitment to weaving truth of history as a backdrop to one family's life stretching from WWII to 2026. I could tell it was well researched without being preachy or self-important. The characters, all of the characters, are well developed in their own way.
I did find some phrases repetitively used, and a few times the narration seems to slip between two different styles, but not so much it put me off from finishing the work. I understand some if not all of this may not be in the final book.

This book is for anyone that loves a family drama, historical fiction, or simply good literature.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

This story weaves together quite a bit about the 60s…and then some…all in one family. The father works as a lawyer for American Oil. Bet, his wife, is a former codebreaker. Katherine the daughter becomes involved in the radical thinking of the 60s and her brother, Henry, he is the calm one, until he isn’t.

While reading this novel, I truly did not know what to think. Is this tale espionage, is it family drama, is it about radicalism? It is all of the above.

The story spans several decades and encompasses many radical ideas and political views. It is a bit long and wordy in places. But I enjoyed how this family changed with the times and how their lives were affected by choices.

Need a good family drama with some interesting details…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I love multi generational sagas, and Last House did not disappoint. I liked the characters, and the story flowed well throughout the book. This is another great book by Jessica Shattuck.

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 is different.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck is an ambitious effort to record the history of a family during a significant time in American history. Some will like the book and enjoy it and the characters. I could not follow the trail through the book and often was lost and found myself going back to remind myself who was who in the book. I enjoy books on history and those that involve families and how their lives intertwined with that history. For those who like to read slowly and can keep up with the characters and what was happening this may be a great book. I found myself struggling to finish it. Thanks to #netGalley#LastHouse for the opportunity to read and review this book. .

I really enjoyed this book and found the characters and settings believable and interesting. The central premise of the Last House is the connective tissue between the story lines and characters worked well. I probably enjoyed the scenes that took place in Iran the most, since they were unusual and the ones I've read about the least previously.

Granted I didn’t make it all the way to the end, but the story felt disjointed. I struggled to see even the thread that was holding it all together. I also only know a tiny bit about the geo-political and historical context so I was a bit lost.

I enjoyed The Women in the Castle and I also appreciate Shattuck’s writing but I think it was too ambititious to try to pull all the elements together cohesively and compellingly. If the book were longer, I think it could have worked better; there could have been more time devoted to explaining the context, connecting the generations in a seamless way, etc.

A Well written thought provoking story! There is a lot of sadness but also a story that makes you stop and think! An excellent novel for a book club discussion group!

Last House by Jessica Shattuck is a generational family story that spans several decades. The story starts in the early 1950’s after the war and the father works for big oil overseas. His wife stays home with their two children after being a code breaker during the war. She’s now a housewife managing everything at home. The couple eventually buy a second home in Vermont, a country escape and ideal place to be back in nature and away from their concerns and worries. The children grow up in the 1960’s and are involved with trying to bring about change with racism, issues with the Vietnam war, and political unrest in their generation. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and love how the book progresses through each generation and their challenges. Thank you to William Morrow and to NetGalley for an advanced e-book. Last House is available now.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the GREAT book ... definitely a 5-plus star!

What did I like ... just about everything!

I liked the way the author captured the era of the 60s and 70s ... brought back many memories. During that time and up through the mid-90s, I worked for several oil companies of which a couple had dealings with Mid-Eastern companies. There were many times I had to stand my ground with friends and family when discussions turned to global issues concerning O.I.L. The author correctly conveyed how some people reacted about it.

I also liked her character development ... and the way she handled the relationship between mother and daughter was very typical of the time. And yet, when decades go by, the daughter has become a mirror of her mother.

Ahh, "the house" ... great symbolism for life ... one can read much between the lines.

I definitely recommend this book particularly to young adults to get a feel for the 60s/70s ... not all college protests began in the last few years as the current media seems to imply!

It's the 1950's and Nick has returned home from war. Bet's left her career as a Codebreaker to become a housewife while Nick takes on work as a lawyer with American Oil. As part of his work, he travels to Iran to negotiate oil deals, and also to participate in the coup of Iran's elected Prime Minister.

Nick's work eventually allows the family to purchase a vacation home, alongside Nick's other work buddies' families. This is the Last House.

In the coming years, Nick and Bet raise their children, and the story becomes their childrens' story. Daughter Katherine is staunchly liberal and finds herself a home with a group that ultimately goes from expressing their discontent through journalism to inciting violence. Son Harry is gentle and the consummate friend of the planet and has more challenges finding his people.

This novel deals with the various ways that Nick's livelihood impacts his children and their worldviews. I feel that I gained a good deal of knowledge about the era, but it felt more history driven than character driven for me, so 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Spanning across generations this family saga follows the Taylors through some big societal changes. Beginning in 1953 with Nick and Bet as they settle down in the suburbs after WWII. Nick's job as a lawyer for an oil company (and experience from the Marines) takes him to the Middle East for negotiations and deals. While Bet tries to set up house and takes care of their kids. In the late 1960s we see those kids, Katherine and Harry, coming into their own ideals during the Vietnam war, Civil Rights Movement, and opposition to Big Oil (even though their lives of comfort and privilege were made possible by that same oil). Through conflict, tragedy, and healing this family learns about themselves as individuals and a family unit.
I don't think I am really the right audience for this book. It was a bit too cerebral for me. I felt like the climax was pretty anticlimactic as it had been eluded to a lot, and wasn't a surprise. I just didn't really get it, maybe due to the topic of fighting Big Oil, and I wasn't able to connect to the characters. I wish we had gotten some narration from Harry's perspective, because I felt like we only got who others thought he was, although that may have been the point.
I enjoyed her book The Women in the Castle, which I think had a somewhat similar feel (everyone is so pensive), but I connected more with the characters.
This was already published earlier this month, so if you enjoy pensive family generational sagas, go ahead and give this one a try.
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with a copy to review!
#NetGalley #LastHouse

I was really interested in this: historical fiction about the 1960's. The positives: I learned things. I liked the main characters for the most part. The negatives: This read more like a memoir than a novel and while I like memoirs, I like them when I am expecting them and when they are a bit less dense than this. There was so much information that at times I zoned out and sped read. I don't need that much plot but I wish there would have been a bit more plot and there were moments when I thought oh here it comes but then it didn't. I think this could have been a bit more engaging with some editing because at times it veered off on what I thought to be tangents (though I know that some readers may beg to differ). Usually, it takes me maybe a couple of days to read a book this length but this one took me over a week.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.