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.
more
I learned to love the beauty of Alaska despite it’s challenging winters. The protective love the girl has for her mother and disturbed father is painful to watch as she struggles with right and wrong.
Excellent, page turning, couldn’t put it down story
As with all of my very favorite author, Kristen Hannah..this book does not let us down….very good story!!
The year is 1974 and Ernt Allbright comes home from the Vietnam war a very different man after having been a POW. He’s volatile, impulsive and can’t hold a job. He often takes it out on his young wife, Cora. His 13-year old daughter Leni has learned the warning signs when her father’s mood is about to change and prepares accordingly. They are living in Seattle and pretty destitute when he receives a letter from the family of one of his friends from the war, notifying him that their deceased son left him land in Alaska. Ernt sees this as an opportunity to start anew and provide for his family and they move. Thus begins a turning point in their lives but it’s not the success story they’d hoped for.
Alaska is as much a character in the story as it is the setting. Hannah manages to simultaneously portray the beauty, majesty and cruelty of the state and it has a profound effect on Leni. As tough as their lives are in their new home, both the dangers inside and out, she develops a love for the nature, embracing every aspect of it. It shapes her and becomes part of her soul. As sympathetic as I was to Ernt’s obvious challenges due to severe PTSD, it wasn’t the only explanation for his abusive behavior. He was a cruel and mean man who carefully plotted aggressions against his family and others who didn’t share his points of view. Cora is more than the classic abused wife who won’t leave her husband. She married young and was pregnant at the time. This man was part of who she was and their dysfunctional relationship superseded every other one in her life, with the exception of her daughter.
The true heroine of the story is Leni. Despite her awful childhood, she emerges with a strong sense of self and an appreciation of her environs that became a part of her identity. Hannah was masterful in how she crafted this character. As the story is told through Leni’s eyes and voice, she made me feel what she felt and I’ve never felt a call to this state. She sifted through the brutal weather, unending darkness and harsh way of life to see the absolute beauty of the land and spirit of the people who chose that way of life. The strong sense of community was enviable and I walked away from this story with a much better understanding of why that land calls to so many people despite the difficulties of living there. This was an amazing story and who better than Julia Whelan to narrate it. She delivered an outstanding performance on every level. There’s one particular scene that brought me to tears that I can still hear. I wish I could describe more but it’s too spoilerish so you’re going to have to listen for yourself. I’m still haunted by the story, the characters and, most profoundly, the land we know as Alaska.
This is a really tough story. Some of it made me really angry as a mom and a woman. I’ve liked her other books more but it was still good.
WOW !!! This takes place in Alaska and the twist & turns had me reading into the night. A family, whos Dad had flashbacks due to the war, and his wife who took his flashbacks and made her life miserable, due to the love she had for him, had me asking “what would I do” if I walked in her shoes. She protects her only child, a daughter, whom she loves dearly. The characters were well described and I can’t imagine walking in their shoes. I fell in love with Alaska as it was so descriptive of the seasons (2-summer & winter) and the people. Loved the ending!
Kristin Hannah excels at developing her characters and exploring mother-daughter relationships with vivid backdrops. In this case, a teenage girl tells the story of her co-dependent parents as her Vietnam vet father sinks further into his PTSD and abusive behaviors in the long winter nights of 1970’s Alaska. A page-turner.
Did not enjoy this book.
This book is crushing in its intense family relationships, uplifting in its characters ability to survive, and the abuse issues thoroughly dissected by all affected. A coming of age story and an end of life story with many secondary players in between— making this book meaty and rich. The references and descriptions of Alaska are icing on the literary cake for me. I would love to visit there and came away from this book feeling as if I had. I was afraid the ending would be stark, but was happily surprised to have all the tails woven in with an uplifting feel. The audiobook version was wonderful.
Not what I had expected, but interesting and somewhat sad.
Couldn’t put it down!
Meaningful but often painful read.
GREAT BOOK ABOUT ALASKA AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE AND HOW HARSH THE WINTERS ARE
Story of a family that is pulled away from a place that is familiar to them
to an unknown place in which they will be required to make drastic
adjustments. Family will experience hardships and boredom in their
day to day activities.
The Great Alone is not a book for the faint of heart. I found it quite scary in parts but also tragically beautiful and what a description of Alaska! Unsurpassed beauty there.
For me, this book was disappointing. Didn’t connect with the characters at all. It seemed like their was one disaster after another happening. The father was clearly mentally ill. The mother was just plain stupid to persist in the relationship with him after he would not get help. Reading this book during the current Pandemic seemed to add to the depressed atmosphere. I would not recommend it. I have read several positive reviews, but for me it was a No.
The Great Alone depicts an Alaskan adventure unlike any current day tourists would be likely to encounter. In this story set in the 1970s, the Allbright family, Ernt, Cora, and their daughter Leni, set out for the wilds of Alaska without any prior understanding of what life in such an environment would entail. As dangerous as it was gorgeous, Alaska in the 70s was a place where inhabitants relied heavily on one another out of necessity and where one couldn’t afford to make a mistake especially in the winter as it could result in tragedy.
The greater danger and tragedy in this story, however, is the fact that before embarking on this move, Leni’s father, Ernt, had returned from the Vietnam War as a released POW. Though today his condition would be termed PTSD and treated with medication and counseling, no such care was available at the time. Living in his own nightmare world, constantly searching for a way out, he drags his wife and daughter into a nightmare of his own creation. Thinking that Alaska will give him a fresh start, he moves his family there during the summer. At first, things are okay, but once winter sets in, Ernt’s emotional instability grows. His wife, Cora, seemingly a victim of “battered woman syndrome” takes his abuse while making excuses for him and blaming herself. All the while, Leni grows to love Alaska with its rugged beauty while finding her own toughness deep inside.
As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that Leni needs this toughness. Winters spent with her father’s violence and her mother’s acceptance of it create for Leni a world as difficult to navigate as the frozen tundra. Thankfully, she and her mom have powerful friends on their side. Large Marge and Tom Walker recognize the signs of abuse and try to help. Ernt’s hatred towards Tom Walker grows along with his paranoia, forcing Leni to pay a high price for her friendship and, eventually love for Tom’s son, Matthew.
The characters in The Great Alone are expertly crafted. The Alaskan landscape is rendered in all its stunning beauty and danger. The story is well told, but relentless in its depiction of suffering and hardship. Relief comes in the form of supporting characters who care deeply for Leni and Cora and who are brave enough to step in when needed. The character, Large Marge, was so especially wonderful, I wished she were a real person and that I could meet and be friends with her!
I found this book tough to read because of all the tragedy, but at the same time it was so engrossing that it was difficult to put down.
I loved it.
The Great Alone is such a wonderful book that I have given it as gifts to several people who have enjoyed it so much that they have purchased copies to gift to others. Such strong characters involved in a very intense action filled plot.
Could not put this down. Stayed up all night to finish. Amazing book!
The Great Alone is a story with many levels. It is the story of a family in crisis, a story of a veteran of war and the effects of his service on all their lives, of choices made and the consequences of those choices. In addition, it is a love story of a place and a way of life. While not always easy to read, it is difficult to put down.