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Loading... The Last Romantics: A Read with Jenna Pick (original 2019; edition 2020)by Tara Conklin (Author)
Work InformationThe Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (2019)
Books Read in 2019 (2,665) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This book started in 2079 which was interesting. when Fiona (mostly the narrator of the book) was 102 years old. It started in the 1980s. It was an interesting book about the Skinner family, Noni (the mother), Renee, Caroline, and Fiona and Joe. It went through their lives, mostly interesting. I enjoyed the almost end of the book and not because it was almost over but because how their lives panned out. Distinctions
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! "A richly observed novel, both ambitious and welcoming." ā?? Meg Wolitzer An Instant New York Times Bestseller Named a Best Book of the Month by Goodreads ā?¢ Lithub ā?¢ Refinery29 ā?¢ InStyle ā?¢ HelloGiggles ā?¢ Real Simple ā?¢ Parade ā?¢ PureWow ā?¢ Bustle 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 loseā??and sometimes rescueā??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 siblingsā??fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fionaā??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 also a beautiful meditation on the power of storiesā??how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumTara Conklin's book The Last Romantics was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The seeds of what will become of them are planted during The Pause. Renee takes her responsibilities to take care of the others seriously, and becomes dedicated to achieving at a level that will keep anyone from guessing what's going on at home, setting her down a path towards becoming a doctor. Caroline falls in with a neighbor family, forming a bond with one of their boys that will deepen into romance and marriage. Joe's talent and good looks ensure that his outward needs are met, even if he struggles to process his trauma. And Fiona learns to observe, a skill that comes in handy as she becomes a writer and poet. Noni does recover, and the family seems more or less intact, but the damage that's been done can't be undone.
I was biased towards this one from the start: this kind of following-a-group-of-characters-over-time thing is something I absolutely love in a book. I tend to find that the books that stay with me the most are ones where character is first and foremost, and this book is all about character. The siblings and their relationships feel complicated and real. Though they all had moments of being their worst selves, their behaviors felt rooted in how their experiences, particularly during their childhoods, interacted with their innate personalities. I also appreciated that the book never felt the need to have there be a dramatic confrontation between the children and their mother...it generally leaned away from melodrama rather than leaning into it, and I think there are plenty of families that do just try their best to forget the bad moments and move on.
As much as I loved this book for the most part, there were some plot elements that kept me from considering it truly great. First was that The Pause could go on for multiple years without anyone really noticing. As much as Renee was able to serve in loco parentis to her younger siblings, there are things like doctor's visits and parent-teacher conferences and signing up for extracurriculars that seem like they could have been patched over for a while but not for as long as Conklin asked us to believe. And then there was the framing device, which featured a very elderly Fiona (in a world where global climate change has changed things for the worse) interacting with a young woman who might have a connection to the Skinners. This did strike me as a little too convenient and neat. On the whole, though, this is a lovely book about the bonds between siblings and would be perfect for a reader who loves well-realized characters. I very much enjoyed it and highly recommend it! ( )