Last House by Jessica Shattuck

In my opinion, this book tried to be too many things. It covers too much ground, adding too many characters. Each grouping of people seem to be almost distinct stories.

The author spent a lot of time on the character Katherine, making her someone who knew every revolutionary in the 1960s U.S. Just highly unlikely she’d be in the center of all that unfolded in that time period.

Katherine and her brother Harry are children on one page and young adults on the next. Really? The same for characters at the end of the story.

This is just not a story with characters that grabbed me, so I’ll settle on three stars for those who may enjoy it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and WIlliam Morrow publishing for the free s-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After surviving WWII, Nick Taylor realized he wanted to go home and marry the girl he left behind and build a family with Elizabeth "Bet" O'Malley. They settle into life in postwar America with Nick, a lawyer, working for a major oil company in Manhattan and Bet, a housewife, taking care of the home.

Fast-forward to 1953, Bet meets Nick at the train station to find another man with him, Carter Weston, who will have a major part in all their lives. Carter works for the CIA and recruits Nick to help him in Iran, where American oil companies want the Shah to return to power.

In the late 60's, Katherine, post college, finds herself disillusioned with her job and the current world affairs. She soon falls in with a radical group which publishes a newspaper airing all the grievances from all over the world. Her younger brother,Harry, drops out of college and wants to fight in Vietnam, but fails the physical. He starts hanging out with Kathryn and her friends instead. But Kate doesn't realize how much Harry is being radicalized.

The climax of the story comes in 1971, while Nick and Bet are in Iran at the Shah's infamous party in the desert, and things at home take a disastrous turn.

Spanning approximately 80 years, this is a story of post-WWII America and how the Greatest Generation made a better world for their children, but their children's dreams of a better world are not the same as their parents' dreams.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck delivered an epic tale that spans eighty-years as Shattuck follows Nick Taylor, his wife Bet and their children, Katherine and Harry in this rich, poignant tale of love, loss and ideals set against American history.

Shattuck shares a slice of American history with us that spans almost eighty-years through the eyes of the Taylor family. It begins at the end of World War II; the beginning of the age of oil.

It’s 1953 and Nick is home from the war and working as a lawyer. He’s building a life for his wife Bet and their two children, Katherine and Harry. The story is told mostly from Bet’s point of view, but some from Nicks. Fear of communism is on the rise and Nick works on overseas oil negotiations. We meet Taylor’s business associate, Carter invites them to Last House, in Vermont. An idyllic cabin on the lake that allows the Taylors to escape the mundane.

We follow Bet and Nick, but also their children as they grow up in an era that questions, and protests, Vietnam, big oil and more. The second half of the book begins in 1968, and is told from Catherine’s POV. Catherine is finding herself in college and joins a radical newspaper.

The author beautifully weaves the political climate and historical events around their story, creating a poignant family saga that is impacted by the changing times. Emotional and well crafted, I found myself wrapped up in their lives and struggles.

Last House is perfect for book club, fans of historical fiction and family sagas that span generations. I found myself caught up in the Taylors story and their Vermont summer house.

Jessica Shattuck's new novel The Last House is a decent, if disjointed read.

What I liked:
- Shifts in point of view. I like when writers are not afraid to try things that could potentially pull their readers out of the novel. The book focuses mainly on three people: Nick, Bet and their daughter Katherine. Katherine's chapters are told in the first person while Nick and Bet are in the third. This style fits the characters as Nick and Bet are a mystery to their children as well as to each other in a way.
- The father is a unique literary character. The novel mainly deals with big oil. Nick, the father, works for an oil company and is partially responsible for the Shah staying in power in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. At the same time, he grew up a Mennonite. It's a very interesting choice from the writer and creates a fairly interesting character.
- It's a historical novel that covers a portion of history that most historical novels choose not to deal with. Vietnam is occurring for a portion of the book and is acknowledged, but for the most part, the duration of the book is America's involvement in Iran post-World War II. Even if a majority of the book takes place in the US, you still get a sense of how the family is affected.

What I didn't like:
- The novel had a perfect ending point, but went on for two more chapters. It's okay for an author to end a book and leave parts up to the imagination. However, we used the last chapter for a "twist" that I don't think I cared that much about because of the next part.
- It seems like this would be a spoiler but it's not. The major climax of the novel involved the death of a character that had not just been foreshadowed, but explicitly mentioned for hundreds of pages prior. We had those annoying "if only I had known he would die after" or "if only I had seen it coming" sentences for far, far too long. To me, those almost fall into cliche.
- There's a somewhat long epilogue to the book that introduces a brand new cast of characters that feels disjointed and doesn't completely fit. The chapter does that thing where it refers to events that occurred between the end of the proper book and the epilogue as if everyone reading knows what has occurred.
- There is a decision by a character in the climax that does not make a lot of sense compared to the character in the rest of the book. Granted, the other characters also cannot make sense of it. Part of this, I believe, is that we don't have a lot of depth to this character. I believe the climax here is supposed to be emotional, but honestly, I didn't care because that character had been fairly one dimensional for the entire book.
- I feel like this book wants to be American Pastoral, but becomes more of a shadow of it.

Verdict:
The subject matter of this book isn't light enough for a beach read. At the same time, I don't think it takes itself too seriously. For the most part, the book moves well and is a decent read. I don't know if it would be at the top of the list of books I would recommend, but I would definitely check out more from Jessica Shattuck.

This is a multi-genre fiction and a fitting story for the current times- part family fiction and part historical fiction. It follows an American family, Nicholas, his wife Bet, their daughter Katherine and son Harry over several turbulent decades in American history from the 1950's onwards as also the history of the Middle East oil. It has several interconnected narratives.
Nick, a World War 2 veteran is a lawyer working for American Oil interests in Iran. In this part of the storyline, we get an honest and disturbing perspective of American interference in Middle East Politics, especially in the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Iran. A move which has global repercussions even till date. The Cold War is on and there is high phobia about Communism. There is also activism brewing among the American youth as evidenced by the anti-war protests against the war in Vietnam. The Climate change movement is veering towards violence. And there is a lot of discrimination including segregation and lack of equal rights to the Black Community. Katherine and Harry get involved in these undercurrents. It was a vivid picture of America of the 1960s.
I liked the Iran story, not so much the characters and family dynamics. The protests at Columbia University could be totally out of a newsreel of today. It is amazing how history tends to repeat on loop. Overall, an interesting crash course on major events of that period.
Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow and Jessica Shattuck for the ARC.

Last House was an interesting read with a focus on a subject I've never really read about before; Big Oil. I am aware that plastic is an oil-based product, so I know how important and prevalent oil is in our lives just from plastic alone, but I was still stunned by the list of oil-based products in the front of the book. It was astounding.

I liked the way the book was written spanning generations, giving us different viewpoints from different family members. I enjoyed reading the story of their family, how they all grew, changed, looked back on their lives and the decisions they made, etc. I would've loved a little bit more of Bet's life, but I also understood that the story took a realistic turn. Bet went from being a young codebreaker to being a wife and mother, giving up her potential career. That was not uncommon during the era this book took place, so it makes sense that the story wouldn't delve too much into the codebreaking years of her life.

I did really appreciate Nick and Bet's marriage and story. While flawed (like every marriage is), they seemed respectful of each other, even in their disagreements. They endured a lot of challenges that might have torn other marriages apart, and I loved that.

Katherine's story was very relevant to her generation as well, in regards to her being anti-war, anti-establishment, etc. I learned about the Weather Underground, which I knew nothing about, and liked that real people and events were referenced (which I determined by looking them up while reading the book). I learned something new from reading her story, even if I thought it was a little slow and drawn out.

I would have definitely liked more of Harry's story. We saw bits and pieces of his story from his family's point of view, but I would've really liked to see things from his perspective and gained a better understanding of who he was. I think this was a very intentional decision on the author's part NOT to give him his own portion of the book, but I think I would've liked it. I guess by leaving it out, however, it added a bit of mystery to the overall story.

While this book isn't one that I'll rave about to anyone who will listen, it was a solid read and I'm glad I took the time to read it. I appreciate historical fiction that focuses on an era other than WWII, as so much historical fiction does (and don't get me wrong, I also like WWII historical fiction, but it is really nice to read and learn about other time periods as well). This book was well-written, tackled subjects I hadn't read about before, and I thought it wrapped up beautifully.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the e-arc in exchange for my review.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck was a lovely book. I found it to be well written with a deep dive into various parts of the 20th century and characters that were not always likable but were always intriguing and worth pursuing. This book was so readable, even though it was not fluffy. I was forced to keep thinking as I read this story which is not always true with historical fiction. It is definitely on the "literary" side of historical fiction and poses lots of good questions for readers to consider. It is philosophical but also relatable.

I always appreciate family saga type books, but at times there are so many characters it is hard to keep track of who is who. This is not the case for this book! This "family saga" focuses on just one family - Nick and Bet, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Everyone is not always likable but each character has their charms which motivated me to keep reading. There are three sections of this book, and while I enjoyed the first and last bits the most, the middle section (from Katherine's point of view) was important to the story as a whole. For what it is worth, this section was not as readable as the rest... not quite sure why - perhaps it is Katherine at that age that I didn't like?

Much of the book centers around Vietnam and the politics of that era, as well as the role oil played in American life. Super interesting to me, especially since Dow Chemical was called out in this book (my grandfather worked for Dow for most of his career- 1950s-80s/90s). This book gave me lots to think about in terms of how America relates to the world. I would love to travel to the area where Last House is located and see that part of the northeast. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am glad I took the chance on it!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Last House is a sweeping story of an American family linked by oil over the course of four generations. The Taylors’ wealth came from the oil industry, but so did their greatest tragedy. These are the years of communism, the Cold War, and counterculture, all of it told through the lens of a single family.

My feelings are a bit mixed on this book. There are many moments of brilliance but also moments where I almost gave up on it. Jessica Shattuck’s prose is evocative and insightful; numerous times a phrase or observation made me pause to reflect. Unusually, the narrative is most compelling when it’s told in third person: in the early years of the 1950s, when Nick and Bet’s family is young and Nick’s career as an oil industry lawyer is growing, and then again in Part III as the family moves on toward the future, irrevocably shaped by tragedy. The middle section is from daughter Katherine’s POV, and it’s here that I really struggled and nearly DNFed. Although told in first person, there’s very little dialogue and it ends up feeling more like a dry memoir recounting anti-establishment culture during the Vietnam era, and eventually I skimmed through to the end of this part of the story. I’m glad I stuck with it because Part III was lovely, cathartic, and hopeful. Overall, a worthwhile, well researched work of literary historical fiction that would be a great choice for book clubs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I used to read pretty much any family saga that I could find. Now, it's really hard to find a good family saga that can pull the reader back in time to live the eras as well as the families. Many of the events and gatherings would not happen today, the climate and the politics prevent neighbors from becoming friends and family. Last House has been so skillfully written that it is hard not to "see" this era as the story unfolds.
The story starts in the early 1950s, when people got their news from the televion and the newspaper. You based your beliefs on events of the near past with no clue as to what the national leaders planned for the populace. As the calendar turns, reactions to the news become more immediate and set the tone for politics to become less responsive, not more.

This book reminds me of so many of the family sagas I have read through the years and enjoyed. It adds to the knowledge of the past while still be a very good story.

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. This family drama takes place against the backdrop of our nation’s history, from World War II through the protests of the 60s and to the present day (and beyond), and digs deeply into questions of what we owe each other while examining the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.

This story, told from multiple perspectives, follows the members of the Taylor family. Nick, WWII veteran tuned oil company lawyer, his wife Bet, who trades in one potential future as an intellectual to become a suburban wife and mother, 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.

Last House is a complicated and nuanced portrayal of one family’s deeply complicated relationship with oil -the resource that built their fortune and fueled their greatest tragedy. While the Greatest Generation labored to make the world a better place for their children, the next generation rebels against the world their parents have created for them.

I enjoyed this book and loved Shattuck’s writing, though I felt the book dragged in parts. I appreciate the hopeful note it ends on and think it’s well worth the read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrow for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

A family saga set mostly in the 1960's and 1970's. A husband, a WWII veteran, is involved in the oil industry in the Middle East. The wife once had her own ambitions. As their children grow up in the 1960's they are confused about their paths in life. The different pieces of this book were interesting but overall things felt disjointed and not fully explored.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck
4/5 stars

At first description, this book seemed absolutely perfect for me. Then, just before I started reading, I worried that perhaps the concept was too much, that a book covering so much time, so many historical events and eras, so many generations, might not be able to deliver.

That worry was unnecessary. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by the author.

The Taylor family had me hooked from the start. Even just the first few pages when Nick is first describing his career, and relatedly, his wife and what she has given up for him and their family, told me this story was going to be fleshed out well.

Each of these characters has so much depth. The complexity of their lives and relationships and the way they’re relating to the world around them is just so well done. The deep, sort of philosophical questions this book presents in such an accessible way, and the way it feels like it really connects to American life today, is impressive.

In a book full of compelling characters, I felt most pulled to Bet’s character. I would read an entire book of Bet Taylor. The introspective and very humanistic way she views the world and her own actions within it had me wanting so much more of her story.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

This book was interesting and a quick read. The writing was engaging and beautiful at times. The author creates a perspective of the Taylor family that is as pitiless and uncaring as life can be. This is an oblique book, told through the lens of looking back years from now at something foolish and antiquated. It’s not like any other books I’ve read in a while. The book sums up the human condition as wanting more until we’re numb, defining oneself by the ability to acquire those things. The modern condition which is yearning for something our ancestors ran away from but also being unable to live at all in the moment to be satisfied with what one has now. The ending is particularly relevant to the trials we will soon face in the 21 century. Truly wish the book had been longer.

This is a multigenerational novel that spans from the 1950s to nearly 80 years later. It starts with the patriarch of the family, Nick Taylor, and how he works in American Oil and what that brings to the table (money) for the family to have a place that they can get away from stresses of life. It's called Last House, and it's a secluded house in Vermont. We get to know his family, which includes his wife, Bet, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Then we move to the late 1960s and Katherine's story of dealing with the consequences of her father working in the oil industry and how she feels about that and the current events happening, like the Vietnam War. We continue through 2026. It's interesting to see how each family member deals with their legacy.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This is a roughly historical novel. There are a gazillion historical novels set in WW2 so I appreciate this is not on trend. The history part is covering our relationship with Iran in the service of Big Oil. The other side was the hippy movement against all things government. For the family in the book, this is was breeds alienation of daughter from parents. The first half seemed uneven as it starts with the mother had her ambitions but these become extinguished when she accepts the construct of the 1950s era. 85% of book focuses on daughter and flows more seamlessly. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

A sweeping story of the Taylor family starting in 1953 with Nick’s oil career and stretching nearly eighty years.

I love family sagas like this where you get to know each generation very well. My interest was a bit disjointed. I found Nick’s parts with him overseas a bit boring and had a hard time sticking with it. A parts in the US though, were interesting to me, especially the history of the 1960’s and how it affected the family.

“Life is full of minor characters we slough off. In memory, they step forward - bigger sometimes than the people we thought were essential to us.”

Last House comes out 5/14.

The Taylor family's saga spans multiple generations. Nick, the father, is a lawyer and a WW2 veteran with Mennonite roots. Bet, the mother, served as a WW2 codebreaker before embracing family life and motherhood. Their daughter, Katherine, is an activist from the Vietnam era, and their son, Harry, is a naturalist. The narrative, while lacking a central plot, offers a beautifully penned character study that provides deep insights into each family member's life, compelling me to continue reading. My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

The author's writing style is great, but the plot of this book didn't engage me. After reading the author's previous book this was a little disappointing. It's a family drama that includes the perspectives of different family members over the course of decades. It's a story that shows the changes that people go through over time and how decisions influence later outcomes. I enjoy family dramas and historical fiction, but this one just didn't pull me in.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

Shortly after crawling up the beach at Saipan and surviving the Japanese gunfire, Nick Taylor realized he wanted to go home and marry the girl he left behind and build a family which would protect him from the future battles, or at least offer an oasis between battles. When he returns, he marries Elizabeth "Bet" O'Malley and they settle into life in postwar America. Nick, a lawyer before he was a soldier, works for a major oil company in Manhattan, while Bet tends to the family home as well as 5-year old Katherine and baby Harry in Mapleton, a suburb only a train ride away.

Nick travels a lot for the firm and when we first meet him in 1953, he has been away from home for a month, the longest absence yet. Bet meets him at the train station to find there is another man with him, Carter Weston, who will have a major part in all their lives. For Carter works for the CIA and he recruits Nick to help him in Iran, where American oil companies want the Shah to return to power. As the years pass and the children grow up, the Taylors become part of a group who buys the houses in a secluded town in upstate Vermont, dubbing themselves "the End of the World gang". The Taylor's house is Last House, named for the former owner, whose name was Last, but was also the last person to abandon the town.

In 1968, America is in turmoil, with protests against the Vietnam war, but also against almost everything. Big Pharma, Women's Rights, but especially Big Oil, which is seen to be oppressive and, after a spectacular oil spill in California, ruining the world. Katherine has graduated from college and finds herself at loose ends, in a job she doesn't particularly like, so soon falls in with a radical group which publishes a newspaper airing all the grievances from all over the world. Her younger brother Harry drops out of college and wants to fight in Vietnam, but fails the physical, so hangs around Kate and her friends instead. But Kate doesn't realize how much Harry is being radicalized. The climax of the story comes in 1971, while Nick and Bet are in Iran at the Shah's infamous party in the desert, and things at home take a disastrous turn.

Spanning approximately 80 years in the life of the Taylor family, this is a story of post-war America, how the Greatest Generation made a better world for their children, but their children's dreams of a better world are not their parents' dreams.

When you see a book listed as Historical fiction, one thinks WWll or even longer. What we often forget is that America has a rich history. A lot of conflict and resolutions have happened in the last one hundred years.
The family starts in the idyllic suburbs. They are new and shiny and there seems to be a surplus of everything. Country homes are the thing if you can afford them. A little does Nick know, the Last House will not only be the family's retreat but the only thing that holds the family together when the next generations find their footing in a world different than the ones those before had.
Though we follow the family for eighty some years and the novel barely makes it to this century, the division between generations is still the same today.