The Last Romantics: A Novel
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
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“A richly observed novel, both ambitious and welcoming.” -- Meg Wolitzer
A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose—and sometimes rescue—the ones we love.
When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time.
It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings—fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona—emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love.
A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, The Last Romantics is a beautiful meditation on the power of stories—how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.
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Community Reviews
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The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
352 pages
What’s it about?
Fiona Skinner is a well known 102-year-old poet when she decides to accept an invitation to speak about her work. It has been twenty-five years since she spoke in public and she has never talked about the inspiration for her most famous poem. Tonight she will tell the story.... and thus this novel about family and the ties of siblings begins.
What did it make me think about?
This novel is about family- specifically about siblings and the bonds that we share.
Should I read it?
This book was easy to read and the author writes so beautifully. However, about two thirds of the way through the book there is a climax in the action. I felt like after this climactic event the book just wandered on to the end. I did love so much of the writing, "Our mother taught us how to protect ourselves from hurt but not how to determine what might be worth the risk." I enjoyed the book, but was disappointed that it was not more.
Quote-
"Better was largely irrelevant when it came to mothering because the entire enterprise relies on the presumption that one day, sooner than you thought, your child would become an entirely self -reliant, independent person who made her own decisions. That child wouldn't necessarily remember the Halloween costumes you made from hand six years running. Or maybe she did, but she resented you for it because she'd wanted store-bought costumes just like all her friends. It didn't matter how great a mother your tried to be; eventually every child walked off into the world alone."
If you like this try-
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeymii
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
352 pages
What’s it about?
Fiona Skinner is a well known 102-year-old poet when she decides to accept an invitation to speak about her work. It has been twenty-five years since she spoke in public and she has never talked about the inspiration for her most famous poem. Tonight she will tell the story.... and thus this novel about family and the ties of siblings begins.
What did it make me think about?
This novel is about family- specifically about siblings and the bonds that we share.
Should I read it?
This book was easy to read and the author writes so beautifully. However, about two thirds of the way through the book there is a climax in the action. I felt like after this climactic event the book just wandered on to the end. I did love so much of the writing, "Our mother taught us how to protect ourselves from hurt but not how to determine what might be worth the risk." I enjoyed the book, but was disappointed that it was not more.
Quote-
"Better was largely irrelevant when it came to mothering because the entire enterprise relies on the presumption that one day, sooner than you thought, your child would become an entirely self -reliant, independent person who made her own decisions. That child wouldn't necessarily remember the Halloween costumes you made from hand six years running. Or maybe she did, but she resented you for it because she'd wanted store-bought costumes just like all her friends. It didn't matter how great a mother your tried to be; eventually every child walked off into the world alone."
If you like this try-
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeymii
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
I won an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, William Morrow.
I'm having a hard time reviewing this sweeping novel that follows the lives of four siblings. It's been compared to The Nest and The Immortalists, both of which I loved. But for me, The Last Romantics was heavier and somewhat depressing. There's nothing technically wrong with this book. It's written beautifully and the characters are developed well, but when I finished it--after devouring it in just a few sittings--I felt unsatisfied and hopeless. Maybe this book and I just had bad timing, but I did love the first half of the book, the siblings' childhood, getting to know them. So much of their experiences brought back my own memories of growing up in the 1980s. And while it may not have been for me, I'm happy so many others are enjoying it.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #31)
I'm having a hard time reviewing this sweeping novel that follows the lives of four siblings. It's been compared to The Nest and The Immortalists, both of which I loved. But for me, The Last Romantics was heavier and somewhat depressing. There's nothing technically wrong with this book. It's written beautifully and the characters are developed well, but when I finished it--after devouring it in just a few sittings--I felt unsatisfied and hopeless. Maybe this book and I just had bad timing, but I did love the first half of the book, the siblings' childhood, getting to know them. So much of their experiences brought back my own memories of growing up in the 1980s. And while it may not have been for me, I'm happy so many others are enjoying it.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #31)
Simply beautiful.
"Each of us gazed at the same horizon that would never appear closer or farther away, that merely underlined the enormity of our solitude."
There are so many moments in this book that made me reconsider my thoughts around love. The author captured the intensity of familial love that spoke to its complexity through time. This book was only difficult to finish because I found myself disappearing into my own thoughts after some new perspective of love was introduced. And that's nothing to say of the language! The narrator is meant to be a poet and it comes through in the voice in the best way.
"Each of us gazed at the same horizon that would never appear closer or farther away, that merely underlined the enormity of our solitude."
There are so many moments in this book that made me reconsider my thoughts around love. The author captured the intensity of familial love that spoke to its complexity through time. This book was only difficult to finish because I found myself disappearing into my own thoughts after some new perspective of love was introduced. And that's nothing to say of the language! The narrator is meant to be a poet and it comes through in the voice in the best way.