I just finished this book and wanted to get out a review while my memory was still fresh. I consumed The Last Gentleman in small doses because there was just so much. It's still settling but I think I'll have to re-read it anyhow. Where to begin? The engineer is an ideal narrater because he is such an excellent observer. That's what he does after all, views from afar, with a telescope even in the beginning of the story. He's not sure why he is where he is (did I mention that he's amnesiac) and in getting his bearings is by necesssity very keen in observing people and places. Yet despite the absurdity of his condition his actions remain plausable and despite being a dreamer he is at times the most grounded character in the novel.
What does the engineer observe? A confused, whimsical belle named Kitty who is his love, and the displaced family around her. Her con artist (in a benevolent way) of a father, her mystic, lewd brother Sutter and her mystic, martyr sister Val, her sickly brother Jamie, and finally her caretaker for a sister-in-law. In a odyssey of absurdity the engineer travels from New York City to Carolina and finally to New Mexico, facing irate Pennsylvanians and rioting students, even the police in his native town. He does so with his keen eye and lack of dishonesty, eventually untangling his love Kitty from the "loving" clutches of her sister-in-law and caring for his friend and Kitty's brother Jamie on his deathbed, leaving a wake of bewildered men and women. A great read that takes time to ingest, and who knows how long to digest.