Last House: A Novel

by Jessica Shattuck

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Like The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, this is a satisfying multi-generational family saga that pushes us to think about history (personal and public) in new ways.

“A richly detailed, slow-burning family saga distinguished by incisive psychological insight and masterful research. . . Shattuck is such a good writer, giving us swaths of cultural and historical background as gracefully and intelligently as she parses the emotional depths of her characters. Every note in the novel rings clear and true.”  — Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review 

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062979896
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	3,983
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jessica Shattuck is the New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle; The Hazards of Good Breeding, a New York Times Notable Book and finalist for the PEN/Winship Award; and Perfect Life. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Glamour, Mother Jones, and Wired, among other publications.

Hometown:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

April 2, 1972

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

B.A. Harvard College, 1994; M.F.A. in Writing, Columbia University, 2001

Editorial Reviews

03/04/2024

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. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A richly detailed, slow-burning family saga distinguished by incisive psychological insight and masterful research. . . Shattuck is such a good writer, giving us swaths of cultural and historical background as gracefully and intelligently as she parses the emotional depths of her characters. Every note in the novel rings clear and true.” — Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review 

“This novel both moves and is incredibly moving.” — Harper's Bazaar, "The Best Beach Reads of the Year"

“As these touching characters grapple with their personal and collective responsibilities, Shattuck’s beautiful writing stitches meaning into their lives, wondering about the sacrifices of civilization, the privilege of retreating from it all, and the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth that human societies create. . . a masterpiece, crafted of small lives that together form the entire world.” — Historical Novel Society

"Last House is 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, the fallout that we’re still sifting through today. Shattuck writes incisively about marriage, siblings, social activism, and the self-deceptions that allow us to preserve our belief in our own innocence despite all the evidence to the contrary. This is a wide-ranging novel to savor.” — Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of Tracy Flick Can't Win

"Ambitious in its historical sweep yet intimate in its portrayal of a family's trials, Jessica Shattuck's moving new novel brings to life the '50s and '60s in America in such a way that we feel powerfully their contemporary relevance. Last House is utterly compelling."
— Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl

"Riveting, powerful, and beautifully written, Last House combines the epic scope of an intergenerational geopolitical saga with the suspense of a moving family drama. Jessica Shattuck’s sharp insights about the seductive delights and dangers of progress, idealism, and loyalty will stay with me for a long time." — Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls

"A family is a pledge that the world isn’t ending, at least not yet. Jessica Shattuck shows us, in a saga as epic and sweeping as it is domestic and intimate, how one generation’s best intentions cast shadows in the lives of the next." — Jonathan Dee, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Privileges and Sugar Street

"It's rare to find such a gripping novel about an ordinary family pulled in opposite directions by their generational differences and the opportunities and pressures of current events. This is a highly intelligent portrait of a country divided about its values, and an old New England house that has the capacity to shelter and heal all comers. I loved and related to Last House and will keep it on my favorites shelf." — Alice Elliott Dark, bestselling author of Fellowship Point and In the Gloaming

"Last House soars, sweeping us through the 1960s to the near future, and following the river of oil that influences American policy. But the novel’s great beating heart is the particularities of the lives of two captivating women—one bound by social mores, the other trying to dismantle them. The sublime ending touched me to my core." — Amity Gaige, author of Sea Wife

“Shattuck's evocative novel really shines in its presentation of authentic voices for all the generations and their viewpoints born of different life experiences and ideals. Everything here is convincing. . . Shattuck channels complex history through the saga of a single family.” — Booklist

“Moving...Shattuck’s achievement—beyond unfolding a plot that surprises and devastates—is in her subtle exploration of what a moral righteousness looks like in the aftermath of the war, when communities and lives must be rebuilt, together.”  — New York Times Book Review on The Women in the Castle

“A masterful epic.”  — People Magazine on The Women in the Castle

“The Women in the Castle stands tall among the literature that reveals new truths about one of history’s most tragic eras.”  — USA Today

“If you love historical fiction, this is your must-read book: It’s captivating, fascinating, and incredibly faithful to the events as they happened, and Jessica Shattuck reveals an entirely new side of what it’s like to be a woman in wartime.”  — Newsweek on The Women in the Castle

“A vivid and gripping tale of endurance in the wake of World War II. Set primarily in Germany, Shattuck’s arresting novel focuses on three very different women who are forced to rely on one another as they attempt to survive the past and reclaim hope. The writing is magnificent, as is Shattuck’s ability to render unimaginable circumstances with tremendous clarity and compassion. A joy to read, this is a beautiful and important book.”  — Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest, on The Women in the Castle

From the Publisher

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

AUGUST 2024 - AudioFile