A Place And Family
You Won’t Forget
Description
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.
Details
- Title: The Great Alone
- Author: Kristin Hannah
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (February 6, 2018)
- Genre:Â Historical Fiction
- Read An Excerpt
- Hardcover: 448 pages
My Thoughts
When a Vietnam vet, who is still fighting the past, inherits a house in Alaska it feels like he has been given a second chance. So in 1974, he moves his wife and daughter to Alaska in hopes the move will revitalize his broken family.
It’s always hard for me to rate a book when I listen to it rather than read it. A good reader, and Julia Whelan is excellent, can add so much to a story. Would I have grown tired of reading it rather than listening to it? I don’t think so. But I can assure you that listening to it was extremely enjoyable.
It is a story of abuse, the baggage that can accompany a Vietnam vet, a family hoping to better themselves with a move to Alaska, and dealing with a dysfunctional family.
When POW Ernt Allbright comes home from the Vietnam war he is a changed man. Not for the better. He is unpredictable and easily becomes enraged. Both his attitude and drinking cause him to lose job after job and he is continually moving. In fact, his 13-year-old daughter Leni went to five schools in four years.
But when an opportunity to move his family north to Alaska comes along, he impulsively accepts the free house offered him. It seems like the answer to his problems.
They soon discover that there is a reason that the house is free. And living off the grid is something they aren’t at all prepared to do. However, they find a community of united and strong individuals who are extremely nurturing and helpful.
The generosity of the people and the fact that the Albright family is working together to prepare their little cabin for the harsh Alaskan weather seems to work for a bit. Ernt seems happier and Cora and her daughter adapt quickly to the lack of conveniences. They are all actually working together and enjoying it.
But as winter grows near and darkness descends on them, Ernt’s fragile mental condition reappears. Soon the confines of the cabin begin to feel almost as dangerous as the outdoors.
Will the move to Alaska be the end of this family?
What Concerned Me
It’s probably important that you appreciate history and details. Though I didn’t find it dry or non-entertaining, the story does offer a lot of what Alaska was like in 1974.
My Conclusion
The Great Alone is a book that felt so believable. As I mentioned, I listened to this story, which probably helped bring out the unique voices of the characters. But author Kristin Hannah and reader Julia Whelan made it so easy to visualize each character.
Homesteading in Alaska, dealing with the aftermath of Vietnam, family relationships, a budding romance, and more are covered in this memorable story. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this book.
About The Author
Kristin is a former-lawyer-turned writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Her novel, Firefly Lane, became a runaway bestseller in 2009, a touchstone novel that brought women together, and The Nightingale, in 2015 was voted a best book of the year by Amazon, Buzzfeed, iTunes, Library Journal, Paste, TheWall Street Journal and The Week. Additionally, the novel won the coveted Goodreads and People’s Choice Awards. The audiobook of The Nightingale won the Audiobook of the Year Award in the fiction category.
- Christine Hannah discusses The Great Alone
- Reading Group Guide
