Review: The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (2/5/19 from William Morrow)
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher

Goodreads Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl explores the lives of four siblings in this ambitious and absorbing novel in the vein of Commonwealth and The Interestings.


“The greatest works of poetry, what makes each of us a poet, are the stories we tell about ourselves. We create them out of family and blood and friends and love and hate and what we’ve read and watched and witnessed. Longing and regret, illness, broken bones, broken hearts, achievements, money won and lost, palm readings and visions. We tell these stories until we believe them.”
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 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. A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, it 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.

My Review:
I'm going to start with my only problem of this book...the title. The Last Romantics is not the best title for this book. As a matter of fact, I almost didn't read the book because of the title (I am not a fan of romance and I certainly don't want to read about romantics--no offense to readers who enjoy the genre, just not my jam) which means I would have missed out on a great reading experience. To be fair the title ties to one of the character's creative projects and author Tara Conklin tries to integrate it at the end, but I just don't feel like it fits. 

The story opens in the year 2079 with poet Fiona Skinner discussing her work to an audience. The book then switches back and forth between the speaking engagement and the progression of her family's life between the years of 1981 and our present day. While Fiona is the narrator, Conklin's characters are all complex, layered, and well written. As I ponder the story and try to figure out how exactly to describe it I keep returning to the line in the provided summary "A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family" and as simple as that statement is, it is truly the best description. As simple as the concept is, this book is a total gem. 

I got some The Immortalists and We Were the Mulvaneys vibes but I found this to be waaaaaay better. I definitely will be recommending The Last Romantics to family members and just about everyone else.