Last House, Jessica Shattuck, author; Maggi-Meg Reed, Mark Bramwell, narrators
It is difficult to review this novel. While it is a heartfelt approach to the saving of the environment, the planet and the many kinds of relationships and temptations we human beings are heir to, as it follows a family and its successive generations, it does not actually solve any of the problems it introduces in any meaningful way, nor does it offer any solutions for us, today. There is still corporate greed, climate change and activism that often goes off the rails and ignored.
One of the main characters, Nick Taylor, is a lawyer working for an oil company. He becomes involved with someone who is working for the CIA. That man enlists him in an effort to bring about regime change in Iran. The intent is to enhance the oil industry, gain influence within it, and enrich those involved. Corporate and government greed are in play. Obviously, oil has become the mainstay in the Middle East, and we are well aware of the changes that have occurred in Iran and its influence in the world of oil.
Then enter the environmentalists and the novel goes off in a different direction, focusing on Taylor’s family and how they and each successive generation works to help to save the planet and the people from the disastrous effects of the oil industry. The story accomplishes little, however, since the activism plays out as it has historically, often having unintended consequences and unwanted violence, while solving little. We are still in the throes of radical climate change and radical approaches to it by activists and the progressive arm of the government. Both the natural world and human beings have become casualties of the process, without producing the intended positive change. The extreme views and approaches are difficult to manage and instead, often produce negative publicity that makes the original purpose unattainable. The fossil fuel industry, managing pregnancies and babies born out of wedlock, race relations, corporate greed, and the Middle East oil controversy, are still major points of contention in society. We are still witnessing what has been called “mostly peaceful” protests that are anything but peaceful, but they generate attention.
This novel is timely, though, since the climate and the environment are still front and center as political concerns. The storms have become more catastrophic in some places and natural events have become more violent. Tornadoes, fires and floods have increased in intensity. From the middle of the 20th century to the first quarter of the 21st, we watch the characters grow in different directions. While the business world ignores the damage the oil industry and corporate greed can cause, the Taylor family does not. In successive generations, they are all involved in some way in protecting the planet.
We have all known someone who has taken a stand to protect the environment, the landscape and the people, and we have all witnessed the unintended consequences of their efforts. How will the various family members fare as time goes by? How will the world? ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

Ambitious in scope, spanning the post-WWII years to the present dayLast 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. ( )

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. The best thing about Last House is that it helped my insomnia. ( )