Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Last American Man

The Last American Man
icantswim avatar reviewed on + 71 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I really liked this book and the message it's trying to send to the world. I ordered this book through PBS after having read and enjoyed Eat,Pray,Love. I like the author's style and I get her humor. Many times I laughed right out loud. Eustace Conway, the title character, is a very interesting person.

***SCENE SPOILER ALERT***

There's a moment in the book where the author is reminiscing with an old college friend of Eustace. The friend is describing the first time he invited Eustace to his apartment. He and his young wife, both 19, just moved in and instantly started buying what they could to create a home to mimic their parents' homes, with furniture, knick knacks, etc. Eustace comes in and comments on how they have a lot of stuff, material possessions. He goes on to wonder what they could have done if they'd spent that money to travel the world or to buy books; imagine what they'd know about the world. The friend was just blown away by this. What an exotic concept; so foreign to him and his young wife, who he admits in the interview, had never thought with any depth about their lives.

I, personally, just loved this scene. My partner and I live this way, very minimally with alternative life plans contrary to the conventions of our society. This book resonated with me. It also showed in other scenes that everyone, no matter how free their life seems, battles with some inner struggles.