""An ambitious historical epic that doubles as an intimate family saga. Jessica Shattuck captures and connects it all—the imperial ambitions of the postwar generation, the rebellion of their offspring in the Sixties, and the fallout we're still sifting through today. . . . This is a wide-ranging novel to savor." — TOM PERROTTA
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.
It's 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn't have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.
It's 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK's shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she's caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they've made for the causes they believed in.
Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation's history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.
""An ambitious historical epic that doubles as an intimate family saga. Jessica Shattuck captures and connects it all—the imperial ambitions of the postwar generation, the rebellion of their offspring in the Sixties, and the fallout we're still sifting through today. . . . This is a wide-ranging novel to savor." — TOM PERROTTA
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.
It's 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn't have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.
It's 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK's shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she's caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they've made for the causes they believed in.
Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation's history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.
Critiques-
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March 4, 2024
The bustling if scattered latest from Shattuck (The Women in the Castle) draws on the history of America’s interventions in Iran. WWII veteran Nick Taylor, now a lawyer for American Oil, is convinced that the U.S.’s support for the shah during the 1953 coup is the right course of action. His wife, Bet, never questions Nick’s forays to the Middle East, and the couple enjoys regular retreats at Last House, a cabin in rural Vermont offered to them by Nick’s shady colleague Carter Weston, who might be working for the CIA. Nick and Bet’s daughter, Katherine, finds work as a teacher after graduating from Bennington in 1967, but quits the following April after Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated and joins the staff of a radical leftist newspaper. Meanwhile, her dreamy and unfocused brother, Harry, never settles down. With the “people’s movement” heating up in early 1970s America, Katherine shuns her parents. So does the story, which is a shame, because Nick is Shattuck’s most nuanced character. Others are poked and prodded to fit into the climax, which involves Katherine’s boss plus Harry and a bomb. Fortunately, Shattuck exhibits a solid grasp on the period’s geopolitical intrigue. Despite a few sticking points along the way, readers will keep turning the pages to the end. -
It's rewarding to listen to a novel that depicts the effects of tumultuous times upon several generations of a family. Maggi-Meg Reed and Mark Bramhall portray various members of the Taylor family and their associates. Reed and Bramhall provide clear differentiation between characters, including young attorney Nick Taylor, who works for American Oil; Bet, his devoted wife and former government code breaker who never achieved her dream of a PhD; their nonconformist daughter, a journalist, who is caught up in the political climate of the sixties; and young Harry, the idealistic, gentle son who is focused on crusading for sustainability. As varied as their lives are, their vacation home in Vermont, known as Last House, becomes a place of refuge that unites them. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
