The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
(Format for this read: Audiobook)
I just finished this book…and I gotta say it totally pulled me in…I was excited to go on my runs or get in my car to run errands so I could listen to it!
Here is the summary:
“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.”
I really tend to be drawn to books about families…especially when each member is developed and described with such detail you feel you actually KNOW them.
I mean, y’all have heard me before say I get so immersed in good fiction that I talk about the characters like I legit hang with them in real life 🤣
This was a fantastic book that followed the story of this family…but mainly the 4 siblings..from childhood until old age.
There were problems, crisis, hurts, struggles and all kinds of drama…just like in real life families…
But there was also love, connection, growth and healing too…sometimes in unexpected ways.
The intricacies of sibling relationships are complicated. Even if you have issues or are not as close as you’d like to be, there is still a connection that runs deep within you.
This story paints a beautiful picture of all of that…it is a tremendous novel.
Wonderful writing too.
(This would be a fabulous pick for a book club if you are in one!)