The Last House is a multi-generational saga that starts in the 50s and spans 80 years through the ancestors of patriarch Nick Taylor, a WWII veteran turned oil company lawyer. Nick and his wife Bet are hard working parents and part of the greatest generation, providing everything to their children they need, including a lake house in Vermont, their idyllic family retreat. The first half of the book describes Nick and Bess' backgrounds, careers, and family lives with their children Katherine and Harry. The character development here is great and very detailed. You get a personal look into their day to day lives, corporate politics, and the political temper of the US at that time, heading up to Vietnam. If you are of a certain age these could be your parents and the type of environment you grew up in.Flash forward to 1968 and we see Katherine rebelling against everything her father stood for. How this affects her family plays a large role in the book. This is a love story that covers family bonds, loyalty, and almost every historical event that happens up until the 2000s. The characters are richly developed and after a while you feel like part of their family.

Wow, this is a beautiful book filled with so much emotion and family history through the ages. I really enjoyed seeing the family through the years and what the house meant to them and provided for them.

A great book for book clubs, as there is a lot to discuss.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

So far, Last House is on my favorite reads of 2024 list. I love the time period in which it's set--post WWII seems ripe for stories like this. The writing is smart and descriptive without wasting words or time. My favorite kind of book.

It was a great easy read. It happened to take place during the years that I was growing up. Hard to believe it’s rated as historical fiction. The characters in the plot were captivating ,and I could relate to the times. Very turbulent, with many family conflicts.. I grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s. Thank you so much for my advanced copy. I will recommend this book to your friends and family and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Last House is a saga that starts in 1953, following a family through many cultural issues of the time. It focuses on a family, and their struggles and challenges in the world of that era. The reader is familiarized with the family, first, the parents,Nick Taylor, who works in the oil industry, and Bet, who was a code breaker. Then their children, and their grandchildren. The Last House is a house in Vermont that Nick buys as an escape in the country for the family. The story tells of the generations during this time period and how their views of the world affected their lives. The Greatest Generation, The Boomers, and Generation Xers all have different ideas of how the world should be and is's significantly different than their parent's generation. Although this book is well written, I had some difficulty staying focused and connecting with the characters. For that reason, this book did not resonate with me like I thought it would. I would like to thank Netgalley and William Morrow Publishing for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars. My favorite book of the year so far. It is well-researched, character-driven, and I even learned things about an era in American history in which I am personally well-educated.

Last House by Jessica Shattuck is a multigenerational family drama that follows the Taylor family through the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The first part of the story explores the impacts the (fictional) family members had on US domestic and international history. Family patriarch Nick Taylor navigates post-WWII foreign relations with Iran through his position as an ex-Marine turned American oil industry lawyer. His scholarly and ambitious wife Bet grapples with the monotony of raising their two young children, Katherine and Harry, and the domestic duties often cast on women after the war.

The second part of the book focuses on now-grown Katherine in a coming-of-age telling of young-womanhood in New York during the civil unrest of 1960s America. We travel through the decades with these characters until the very near future and learn how the actions of previous generations of loved ones can shape each one that follows.

I would have preferred more POV switching during the second part of the story, versus a focus on Katherine. I was truly invested in her parents’ perspectives and felt disappointed when I wasn’t privy to their feelings during this time. The drastic switch to a character that we only barely knew as a small child was jarring, and almost felt as if I started a different book.

Katherine’s character development was interesting, however. At times, I felt so frustrated with her (which added to my desire to see how her parents felt, I think!), but by the end I had more patience with her. I definitely wanted more of everyone’s stories, so the desire for a varied POV is selfish and might not have served the story well.

This book could have been twice as long and I would have loved it and not even noticed how long it was. I think another book from Carter’s perspective would be a fun adventure as well. I was impressed with the wrap up and the glimpse of future generations of this dynamic family.

I recommend this book, especially for book clubs that like to delve deep into intelligent fiction. This was my first time reading anything from Shattuck and I have already added The Hazards of Good Breeding and The Women in the Castle to my TBR.

Last House is a multi-generational family story that lasts over several decades of history, world events, family love and family tragedy. The story is slow to develop but the characters are so deeply defined that engaged me throughout. Is a good novel for someone interested in the oil culture and how that shaped lives in America.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC.

DNF - there is something about the tone of this book that put me off right from the start, and the slow pace coupled with characters I had difficulty connecting with made me abandon this one - after reading a number of reviews, it seems that it doesn’t get much better, so I feel ok with not finishing this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I kind of felt the same way about this book that I felt about Within Arms Reach by Ann Napolitano. This book was in no way horrible but I thought that the story dragged on and that the book would be much more enjoyable in audio format.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

3.5 stars rounded up

The Last House is a historical fiction novel about a family spanning from the 50’s through to the present, but primarily focusing events during the 1950-70s. This novel’s strengths lie in its characterizations and portrayals of each time period. I really enjoyed following the Taylor family, particularly Bet and Nick’s timeline.

I did lose interest as the novel progressed and found part 1 to be the best and most engaging. Parts 2 and 3 felt like they dragged on. This novel also used heavy-handed foreshadowing about the fate of one of the characters, something I absolutely hate in a novel.

Overall, I had a good time with this novel and would read more from this author. Would recommend to fans of generation-spanning historical fictions.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Although I enjoyed the historical insight and generational points of view, this book felt long to me and I found myself skimming a bit through the last third of it. I found some of the characters unlikeable, and never really attached to any of them. I do love a good cabin in the woods with family history, so I enjoyed seeing how Last House provided a refuge for the family through different generations.

Jessica Shattuck's novel brings historical events into everyday life and their effects on individuals and families. Spanning the events of the 50's & 60's, Last House is a great read.

This historical fiction is set in the mid 20th century and ends in the near future 21st century. We follow Nick and Bet Taylor and their offspring as they experience the Cold War era, the upheaval of the 1960s, trauma of change, love & loss. This would be a great choice for book clubs!

Last House is more of a family saga that takes place in the past than a true historical fiction, at least as I define them. The story follows Nick Taylor, a lawyer for American Oil, and his wife, Bet and then their children. It begins in 1953 as Nick is just getting started, then hops up to 1968. Bet is the typical suburban wife of the time, giving up her own dreams for being a wife pand mother. When they have the ability to buy a second home in the Vermont countryside in an enclave of Nick’s work buddies, they grab it. As their friend Carter says, if WWIII arrives, what better place to be. The second part of the book is told from their daughter, Catherine’s POV in 1968. Post college, she’s writing for a radical newspaper in NYC.
I went back and forth with this book. Not necessarily because it was uneven, but because it didn’t quite meet my expectations. Initially, I expected it to be more about Iran and I wanted more background for the years leading up to 1953. It would have been helpful if Shattuck had found a way to include some of the history to better explain the political situation of 1953 and why Nick and Carter were over there. But then the story comes back to America and it’s obvious it’s more of a family saga. When it flips to Catherine’s story, Shattuck did do a better job of sliding in the historical info I was seeking.
The characters are all richly drawn and felt very real to me. The book gives an interesting take on how the Greatest Generation raised the Boomers, especially the ones coming of age in the late 1960s.
The book does a good job of asking a lot of questions and would make a wonderful book club selection. It’s very philosophical in dealing with a sort of “the sins of the father” thought process. I found myself highlighting multiple passages because of the way they made me see things in a different light.
My thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. Moving from the 1940’s to 2026, this is a novel that encompasses history, multiple social movements, political turmoil, love stories,dysfunctional families and more. Theses Greatest Generation parents were never prepared to deal with less than “seen but not heard” children. Their children (older Boomers) made themselves heard. They also seemed somewhat clueless in meeting the needs of children who fell outside of archaic and subjective “norms”. I am generalizing somewhat, but don’t want to include spoilers.

We meet Nick Taylor who served in WWII and is now a lawyer. He proposed to his now wife Elizabeth (Bet) basically on the fly (sorry, bad pun) and she accepted. In the early days they barely seem to know each other, but she tries. Bet is a Vassar graduate and was recruited by the government to learn and decode enemy messages during the war. She had dreams of grad school and becoming a writer. I found this part of the book fascinating, but it is not the direction it went. Bet becomes a typical (stereotyped) fifties suburban housewife and the only time she comes close to realizing that dream is when she edits the neighborhood’s book of collected anecdotes and recipes.

Nick is persuaded by a college friend, Carter, to take a look at what is happening in Iran and how the US is trying to unseat the first democratically elected leader (who has communist leanings) and put the Shah back in power. The US government has decided this is the best possible outcome to keep the oil flowing and the money in friendly hands. Don’t shoot the messenger. This is how it went down. The history is fascinating. Nick signs on, but not without hesitation.

Carter invites Nick and Bet to spend a weekend in the wilderness of Vermont. They spend it at Last House. The obvious reason is that the last man to own it and the land was John Last. The metaphors are numerous. The last place you will ever want to live? The last place you will live when WWIII begins? A place to seek solace and revive your spirit when life has turned you upside down and you don’t think you can last? Nick and Bet buy the home from Carter, renovate it and it becomes all of those things.

Nick and Bet have two children Katherine (Kat) and Harry. Kind words are infrequent for Katherine because her parents fell back on old norms of raising children. Nick’s father was a terrifying man and Katherine’s parents had made a very good life for themselves in this country, only to be shunned because they were Catholics from Cork County. Katherine is opinionated, but she is smart. Harry is lost. Love alone cannot help this young man. Katherine strikes out on her own and her path takes us through the Vietnam War, Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder, student sit ins, the Black Panthers and the rioting at home. This is tragically fascinating and Kat is involved everywhere. At one point Harry joins her, desperate to find his own path, desperate to be lost and left alone.

The book is well researched and introduced me to so much of my own country’s history that I was unaware of or had forgotten. She takes a large time span and puts a moving story into it. Yes, she speeds it up towards the end, but by then our main characters have passed or have started families of their own and the next generations don’t have the same stories to tell yet. I hated the ending and that earned the book a four stars. It’s weak and almost insulting.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I liked the premise of the book but it was not fast enough paced to keep me invested in the story. The book itself covered a lot of history which was interesting but not enough that kept me engaged. I appreciate the chance to read it but just was not for me.

Last House is an ambitious family novel that is about generations, their choices, and social changes. Watching Nick and Bet grow from young adults in the ebbing days of WWII into grandparents of the Gen X generation is familiar , and reading about their lives with the knowledge of history makes their decisions all the more interesting. As the book progresses, we spend less time with Nick and Bet and more with Katherine and Harry, their children, as they struggle to find themselves in the Vietnam era and the summer of love. And through it all, Last House is there.

A well-written book that tries hard to be An Important Book. Jessica Shattuck brings generational issues to the forefront and lets the readers determine whether the characters made the decision we would have. The end ties up a lot of loose ends but also leaves a few--because that's how life is. A solid book that left me thinking a lot about my grandparents' and parents' generations, their choices, and how it affects us today.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The story gets slightly convoluted for me at certain parts, but I'm unsure if that's a fault of the book or my own headspace. I love historical fiction and fiction focusing on families, so for the most part I found this book pretty enjoyable. There were parts that dragged maybe a bit too much, but overall I would recommend it to any of my friends that like a leisurely historical / multigenerational read. I didn't connect to the characters in the way I think the author wanted me to, but again.. unsure if it's a personal issue or a fault of the book. Not a revolutionary title but I learned something.

An interesting historic novel which I found to be a fascinating read although occasionally I got a bit bored.
If you like family sagas with lots of interesting members and characters, you will enjoy ‘Last House’.

Last House is a historical fiction following Nick Taylor, his wife, and their children. For this type of book, the pacing was a bit slow but I really enjoyed the post-WWII viewpoints all the way into the 2020's. It was very interesting to see how values can be passed down generations or changed completely. I would have loved this book more if there was more character development and less historical information. Overall, it was very well done!