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.

I was plesantly surprised by this one having not read any of Shattuck's previous work. I typically am not a huge historical fiction fan but this reads more like a family saga over multiple years and how history affects their family. This feels good for readers that like the idea of "the women" but are looking for something more literary.

A multi-generational saga of the Taylor Family that encompasses World War 2, the Cold War, the struggle for oil in the Middle East, Vietnam, and the ongoing/looming climate crisis. Told over the span of 80 years, Last House captures the nuances of family life and growing up in the United States over the past few generations. Due to the careers, locations, and interests of the main characters, it tackles issues of empire, war, rebellion, environmentalism, and most importantly, how all different beliefs can impact the relationships that we weave with our family.

This book is extremely well-done, and deliberatively tells the story of each member of the Taylor Family. I really hope this is a book that people read and discuss - I am already trying to convince my book club that it would be a great selection for later on this year. I thought it was captivating and it will stay with me long after its’ conclusion. My primary complaint is how quickly it ended - Nick, Bet, and Katharine were handled with such care and detail, and I felt the later Taylor generation was wrapped up far too neatly and without the same reverence. I think with a more fleshed out ending, this would have been a five star read for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are my own.

Part family saga, part contemplation of the role of oil (and other natural resources) in American life, government, politics, foreign policy, Last House is a thoughtful and nonjudgemental portrayal of the post-WW2 era through the eyes of one family over generations. Great pick for book clubs.

This family saga did not disappoint. I had read and loved this author's previous book, The Women in the Castle, so I was excited to see another book by her. And this one covers a topic I don't see often in the books I read.

This book follows a family beginning in 1953 and ending in the year 2026. Nick Taylor, the father, works in the oil industry and plays a role in the 1953 Iranian coup in which the power was returned to the monarchy. His role and connection to the oil industry is a source of conflict throughout future generations, particularly for his children in the 1960s and 1970s.

It's not often I'm googling the 1971 most expensive party ever hosted by the Shah of Iran on a Sunday morning, but this book had me googling all things oil and exploring Iran on Google maps. And, I love when a book sends me off to do my own research.

While this book moves slowly, I found myself excited to get back to this family and their stories. I really appreciated Bet's character and her challenges with motherhood. There were a few chapters that I think could have been shorter and I would have liked a few characters to have been developed a bit more. For example, Katherine's chapter seemed very long while later characters were only briefly covered. Also, the ending felt a little rushed to me after a slow moving pace that most of the book had.

That being said, I still really liked this one. It gave me so much to think about and do further research.

Ambitious in scope, spanning the post-WWII years to the present day, Last 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.

This book had such a great premise for a family saga but it was just poorly written. I wasn’t attached to any of the characters and while it was politically charged, the opinions didn’t seem like actual opinions felt in the time period it was supposed to be written in.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read The Last House by Jessica Shatluck, this was my first time reading this author. When I read a book I decide if it was an accurate title for the particular book I am reading, in this case no would be the answer. This book was a slow start but the middle was good and the ending was ok, some parts of this book dragged.

Jessica Shattuck’s Last House is a captivating multigenerational saga set in the context of U.S. history, including World War II, McCarthyism, the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the deposing of the Shah of Iran and the countercoup that reinstated him, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black Panthers and Weather Underground, Vietnam War and environmental protests, the digital age, the environmental crisis, and more.

Comprised of a prologue and three parts, the book tells the story of the Taylor family, of oil company lawyer Nick, wife Bet who gave up a career and academic plans to marry, their daughter Katherine, their son Harry, whose mysterious death keeps readers turning pages to learn what happened, and of the younger generations. An interesting assortment of associates, neighbors, protestors, and love interests, along with the differing personalities and beliefs and attitudes of the family members themselves, keep the story moving and hold a reader’s interest.

At the heart of the story is Last House, on a mountain in Vermont. Purchased by Nick and Bet as a vacation home, a retreat, an escape from their hectic life in Connecticut, it is talked of as a place where they might survive the end of the world. It is also a place for the family to come together.

While Shattuck’s new novel has its hopeful moments, it is largely a novel of ideas, of people in search of meaning, of talk about self-interest, power, freedom. progress, and a future or apocalypse. Even the book’s ending is ambiguous—something to be determined and something to be decided over time. While the ending may frustrate some readers, it somehow seemed appropriate. It is a book for our times.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance reader egalley. Last House should get readers thinking and lead to lively book group discussions

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3.5 stars rounded up

This was a little bit of a mixed bag for me. I was looking forward to a historical fiction novel that covered an area that I’m not very familiar with, but that wasn’t exactly what I got. The prologue got me excited to learn about the history of oil in Iran/the Middle East and America’s involvement in their government as well as the repercussions of those actions. I was also interested in Bet and learning about a woman who traded a PhD for a family and what that was like for her in the 1950s. In the end, both topics felt glossed over and we never really dove deeper than surface level. The parts that we did have, I enjoyed and just wanted more of them.

There were other things I liked as well, such as Katherine’s effort in finding herself and her own ideas and where she fits in amongst so many different ideologies. I especially liked reading about her dynamic with her father and how she struggled with their political differences and her need to make it clear that they were not the same, while still loving her family and wanting to be a part of their lives. This was very relatable for me, as I’m sure it is for so many people. This is another topic I would have liked to have examined more deeply.

The writing itself was good–I found myself getting lost in the story at times and was invested in the mystery of what happened to Harry. The pace was good and I don’t think there was anything added in the story that didn’t need to be there, so there were no moments that I was truly bored or impatient to just get to the reveal.

I feel like I had a good understanding of each of the characters, but I never felt enough connection for me to feel emotional about anything that happened in any of their lives. I should have felt emotional about what happened to Harry, but I just didn’t, and I wish I did.

Lastly, while Last House was obviously a part of the story, it didn’t feel quite as prominent to me as the title and synopsis led me to expect.

Overall, it was well written and interesting enough to keep me reading, but I just wanted to get a more in depth and critical look at the themes and topics introduced throughout the story.

This is an interesting story, but I didn’t love it. I am typically a fan of family dramas, however, this one did not resonate with me and I struggled to get through it. I felt that it was a bit disjointed, jumping from the early 1950s to the late 1960s/early 70s, and then again to the 2020s, and some sections and some characters were more interesting than others. I also felt that the first half dragged, although the pace picked up in the second half and I was more engaged. Overall, the themes of the book are significant and I think that they will connect with many readers, but this just was not the right book for me. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was expecting a different book from the blurb on the back however I did enjoy the writing and the story line. It took a bit to get into but once I did I couldn't put it down.

I had a hard time with this book. I liked the author's style, and felt I would really like it. It was ok, but I just never really connected with the characters. Some people might feel differently. Book tastes can be so personal. There was nothing wrong with this story, I just felt a bit let down with it. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

DNF @ 23%. Just not my type of historical fiction. It appeared to be very political and rather than explaining the politics and history happening at that time through the story and plot and through the characters, the author basically just info dumped a history lesson in the middle of the chapters. It was slow and seemed as if there was no plot or story happening in the first place. Just not my vibe

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

3.75. I really was engaged in the beginning with the story of Nick and Bet, their backgrounds and their life experiences, particularly on Nicks trip to Iran in the early 1950s. However, the story, to me, started getting a little slow and less enticing when their children, Katherine and Harry grew up in the tumultuous 1960s, though the plot seemed very predictable. Then the story sped into the present which I found also less appealing. Many of the characters were not likeable or just not realistic. This is not my preferred literary genre which might have impacted my opinion. This novel might appeal to those looking for an easy beach read. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.