In Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, a desperate family seeks a new beginning in the near-isolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature.#1 New York Times Instant Bestseller (February 2018)A People “Book of the Week”Buzzfeed’s “Most Anticipated Women’s Fiction Reads of 2018”Seattle Times’s “Books … Women’s Fiction Reads of 2018”
Seattle Times’s “Books to Look Forward to in 2018”
Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.
In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own.
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Wonderfully written. I felt like I was in Alaska going through the same hardships as the characters.
Kristen Hannah is a must read author.
Excellent story, one of her best
Best book I have read in years! It gives you a real picture of Alaska and the people who survive there. Woven in is the story of a PTSD Nam father and a wife who loves him still. They have a daughter Leni. He brings his family to Alaska to get away from it all and the community help them survive. But the deadly dark winters make him violent. It’s. Story within a story and so beautifully written
This was a well-written, well-researched book. The theme was original and I loved it.
I knew what to expect when reading another Kristin Hannah book – tears and emotional investment. She not disappoint. I listened on audio and the narrator was very good. I would classify this as a YA/NA coming of age story that is entrenched in grief and dysfunction. I found myself deeply invested in the story of Leny and her dysfunctional parents. I felt empathy for the abusive father suffering from PTSD at first, but the farther I got into it, the more was riled up I got for Leny and her mother to take action against the abuse. There reaches a point where an antagonist just is not redeemable. When “the turning moment” finally came, I felt it coming, so it was expected, but still fulfilling. The secondary characters were wonderful–I love a book with fully fleshed out casts of characters. Her writing put me right there in the wilds of Alaska. Reading the acknowledgements, her research is apparent. Her voice and style whisk you away. I highly recommend, but it’s definitely not a spirit-lifter book. I felt a bit emotionally spent by the end, but also she provided just enough of hope and happiness at the book’s closure (thankfully).
Another. winner from Kristen Hannah. The usual collection of interesting characters coupled with a solid story. How can you go wrong?
Kristin Hannah has done it again!!! She is a master at bringing a story to life, breaking your heart, and slowly piecing it back together. This story is no exception.
These characters are raw, vulnerable, easy to connect with, and will steal your heart. As someone that grew up in Alaska, I appreciated that this book highlights some of the struggles that Alaskans face such as increased domestic abuse and alcoholism, while also highlighting their resilience and love of community.
If you’re looking for a coming of age story with some adventure and heart, this is the story for you!!!
: I really enjoyed this story on audiobook, the narrator really helped bring Leni and her family to life. The narration was clear and easy to listen to and follow along with.
Gives you an in depth insight into living in the wilderness of Alaska, the demons of PTSD, and domestic violence. How love endures and finds a way.
This was the best book. It have everything!
Maybe it’s because of my love of the great state of Alaska, but this book absolutely moved me. I laughed, I cringed, I gasped, I cried, and I loved. It was such a great book and one that over a year after reading it, I’m still thinking about it often.
A vivid portrait of survival as wild as the Alaska landscape in which this story is set. A mother and daughter fight to create a meager life in the wildness of nature amidst the domestic abuse of a man haunted by his POW experience in Vietnam. Through their resilience we see the many forms of love – motherly love, neighborly love, romantic love – and the roles they play in survival.
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…with a friend. It will make the dark spots a little brighter. You’ll want to hunker down with all your favorite cozy comforts as you journey back to America in the early 70’s where promise of a better future is wherever you can make it on exhaust fumes and ingenuity.
• Beautifully written women’s fiction
• Good book club selection
• Story of survival in rugged Alaska
• Domestic abuse and PTSD
Gripping and tense. Excellent writing including beautiful descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness. A family saga told from the point of view of a young adult (ages 13 thru 26) as she tries to sort out her parents’ relationship (toxic) and survival in a small cabin in Alaska. The story is intense and the characters are varied and well-developed. A young love story adds to the poignancy of the story. Lots of action and emotional angst. Beautiful descriptions of the wilderness. Excellent.
One of my favorite books of 2020.
loved learning about Alaska in drama setting
Wow, just wow. I loved this story. The best book I’ve read this century. Kristin Hannah reached in and defined an extraordinary view of Alaska’s wilderness in the 1970s and a sense of it being a wild frontier. I’ve seen only the tourist version of Alaska nearly a decade ago, and still the sense of a hard life, pitted against weather and months of darkness shone through. Ms Hannah’s vivid, haunting prose brought to life the hardships encountered, the stunning beauty, while at the same time telling an utterly engrossing story of domestic abuse, the power of love, the essence and essentiality of a tightknit community supporting each other, and the elemental story of Alaska itself.
Leni Allbright’s story, in so many ways that of a regular girl, battling the odds while coming of age was both ordinary and amazing. Her sheer determination in the face of insurmountable odds made this a riveting read, some of the nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat chapters rendering me almost breathless. I stayed up to finish this book until the early hours of the morning, and went to bed wishing for more. Highly recommended.
Read it in a book club. I was skeptical but so glad I read it! I’d recommend it to anyone
Well written, interesting great story
This book was excellent and I’ve recommended it to many friends. Just when I think her last book was the best she’s written, she writes one better!
This mesmerising, gritty and emotional tale of a young family’s journey to live off the grid in Alaska, is my first novel by Kristin Hannah. Stunning descriptions of Alaskan landscapes and seasons form the backdrop of this sometimes beautiful, sometimes tragic tale of first love, domestic abuse and PTSD.
The author wrote this novel in third person, but often referred to the parents as “Mama” and “Dad” in Leni’s thoughts, which threw me from the story at times, as it felt like we were shifting suddenly to first person. I’ve never seen an author do this before and it took me a while to get used to it.
But it’s a minor detail overall. The Great Alone is beautifully and powerfully written, a saga woven through the ages of Alaska, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.