A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“A richly observed novel, both ambitious and welcoming.” — Meg Wolitzer
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
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A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration … Parade • PureWow • 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 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 also 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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There’s so much love and loss in this book that I read it with a box of tissues, laughing with astonishment through the tears. The kind of book you lose yourself in.
All of the luxuriously spun characters in The Last Romantics, entwined via that impossible web we call family, unfold over their many years with the perfect balance of familiarity and wonder that makes turning their pages such a pleasure.
The family had to move to a smaller house and a not-so-nice neighborhood and to fend for themselves because they only saw their mother when she decided to venture out from her bedroom.
Renee was the oldest, Caroline was next in line, Joe was the only boy, and Fiona was the baby when it all happened. They called this time their mother was absent The Pause. The Pause went on for a few years.
The children did well for a while, but then things started to get tough. Renee couldn’t take the responsibility, and the other children couldn’t do without her. They started going their separate ways and weren’t as close knit as they had been until one day another adult stepped in, got them some help, and got their mother Antonia out of bed.
Things looked up after that, and the family unit worked better together as everyone grew up.
We learn of what happened to each family member whether good or bad. They all loved each other and were there for each other.
I was disappointed in this book even though it has Ms. Conklin’s beautiful, detailed writing.
THE LAST ROMANTICS was not an appealing read or of interest, and I struggled to read it in its entirety especially since I LOVED her first book.
I know I am in the minority for opinions. 2/5
This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NETGALLEY and in print in exchange for an honest review.
While 102 year old poet, Fiona, is speaking about her bodies of work to an audience, a young woman asks a poignant question about “The Love Poem.”
“Who was your inspiration? Who was Luna?” she asks.
And so begins an epic tale about “the failures of love” in all of its many forms: parent/child, sibling, and yes, as the title suggests, romantic.
The story begins in 1981 in a small town when a family is forever shaped after the sudden loss of husband/father/provider, Ellis, when Antonia (Noni to her children), becomes a widow at age 31. Forced to leave their home due to lack of funds, Noni falls into a deep depression leaving 11 year old Renee to care for her younger siblings, 8 year old Caroline, 7 year old Joe, and 4 year old Fiona. How will these troubling times affect Noni and each of her children? How will it impact the rest of their lives and the choices they make?
Drawn in from the very first chapter, I had a difficult time putting this family drama down. The writing was beautiful, and the story about the bonds of love, especially the unbreakable connection between siblings, tugged at my heartstrings. Compelling until the very end, I just had to know, who was Luna? And, why/how did she inspire Fiona’s greatest works?
Location: Connecticut (Bexley), NYC, and Florida (Miami)
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
An exceptional, well written and gut wrenching book about live and loss in the family dynamic in a dysfunctional family. The characters are well developed and believable. Looking forward to picking up the authors other books