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The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Length: 435 pages
Amazon
{A Bit of Backstory}
Single Sentence Summary
When the emotionally fragile Allbright family makes the impulsive move to settle in Alaska, they’re ill prepared for the harsh realities of such a life, and even less so for life with each other.
From the Publisher
“Cora Allbright and her husband Ernt, a recently-returned Vietnam veteran scarred by the war, uproot their thirteen-year-old daughter Leni to start a new life in Alaska. Utterly unprepared for the weather and the isolation, but welcomed by the close-knit community, they fight to build a home in this harsh, beautiful wilderness.”
The Draw
- Hello? The Nightingale, one of my favorites!
- Very little information from the publisher (at the time I requested this book).
- A family in crisis. 1974. Alaska.
{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
The 70’s Done Right – Kristin Hannah’s setting of her story in the 1970’s could not have been done better. From the everyday to the horrific, The Great Alone was steeped in the culture of the decade. Musical references, including “Midnight at the Oasis, Come On Get Happy, and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” kept the reader firmly in the 70’s. Concerns around the Patty Hearst kidnapping, plane hijackings, and the series of murders going on in the Seattle area (later found to be Ted Bundy) gave the story weight. And then there was the Vietnam War and the politics surrounding it. That war, so divisive for our country, Ernt Allbright experienced as a POW. Returning home, he was a changed man, afflicted with what we now know to be PTSD, a diagnosis that didn’t exist in the 70’s.
Alaska In All Its Glory – Alaska, herself, was definitely one of the main characters in The Great Alone, and perhaps the one I enjoyed getting to know the most. Hannah clearly has a love for the forty-ninth state and has spent quite a lot of time there. Her words brought the state’s wild beauty to life at the same time they highlighted the unforgiving nature of a land of such extremes. In the very remote community where the Allbright family landed life was dependent on being prepared at all times, but never more so than for each coming winter. The gorgeous and brief Alaskan summers were nothing but work: growing food, preserving food, hunting food, dehydrating food, storing food. All in preparation for the long, dark, long, dark winters to come. In this startling backdrop, Hannah populated The Great Alone with a cast of supporting characters as varied, rugged, and resilient as the state itself.
A Tough Theme – When Ernt Allbright returned from Vietnam, he was a changed man. He was depressed. He couldn’t keep a job. He trusted almost no one.
“Her father looked up, just enough to make eye contact. He looked ruined, tired, but present; in his eyes, she saw more love and more sadness than should exist in one human being. Something was tearing him up inside even now. It was the other man, the bad man, who lived inside of him and tried to break out in the darkness.”
And, Ernt was violent. I’m not giving much away to say that his violence spilled over to his family, and especially his wife who continued to love Ernt. While this was difficult to read, it also felt historically accurate on significant levels. First, with no PTSD counseling or support, men returning from war often have been abusive to their families. Further, such abuse has often been excused. Second, The Great Alone takes place before there was much know about battered-woman’s syndrome, and prior to such a thing as the battered woman’s defense. While I’d have liked Cora to feel she had other options, I also see that it wouldn’t have felt that way to her. I thought Hannah’s handling of this tough subject was real.
A Daughter’s Awakening – Ultimately The Great Alone was Leni’s story, as she learned to navigate the truth and beauty of Alaska while simultaneously navigating the wilds of her own parent’s marriage. I liked that Leni had to open her eyes to the true nature of both her parents’ deep flaws. I just wish she had done so a little more quickly.
What Didn’t
The Resolution – Related to my last section of what worked, I’d have liked to see Leni facing reality a little more quickly and for her to have been more decisive in her choices. For me, this is where The Great Alone began to break down. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think that in the last 20% of the book Hannah had far too many unlikely scenarios and too many plot elements that just didn’t add up. I found myself confounded by actions from Leni and others that seemed out of character and felt forced.
A Neat and Tidy Ending – The kiss of death for me, especially in a heavy story such as this.
{The Final Assessment}
The Great Alone is a difficult book for me to assess. Had I done so at the 80% mark, I’d most likely have given it a very high rating, but the last part of the book cast a dark shadow over the rest. I grew more and more disappointed the closer I drew to the end of The Great Alone. Sadly, the disappointment must carry equal weight with all that was right in this one. Grade: B-
If you liked this book you might also enjoy:
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – If you’ve not yet read Hannah’s last book, I’d recommend reading this wonderful WWII story instead.
- Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller – The story of a daughter and her deeply disturbed survivalist father. (my review)
- I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows – This story also focus on a family fighting for survival in a tough environment, the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the 30’s. (my review)
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.
Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.
Funny how an ending can derail everything…happened to me with City on Fire.
Amazing review Susie! I posted mine today and we seem to be on the same page on so many aspects. I ended up bumping up my rating over the last week as I gave the book more thought. I wonder if we could’ve overlooked more if it had been the first 20-30% that we didn’t love? It’s so hard when plot issues happen at the end. You’re so right about the 70s details, I didn’t even think to mention that but she did a fantastic job with creating the atmosphere of that time period
I think you’re right. If the first part of the book had the problems, but ended really strong, I think I’d have rated it a little higher.
I didn’t even think of Alaska as a character but I agree, I loved the descriptions. I also struggled with the last little bit. Some choices seemed off, but the book stuck with me after I finished.
I actually like it more now that when I first finished, so I guess it’s stuck with me, too.
Great review! I felt the same in that the last several chapters changed the way I had been feeling throughout most of the book. I’ll be posting my review soon.
Looking forward to seeing your thoughts, Ann Marie.
I love that you mention the 70s aspect of the book; even though I remember very little of the 70s, I do know that the impact of the war, on both those returning and those who were waiting on soldiers, was a huge part of the decade and I do think she did a great job of incorporating all of those details into the story. Having said that, you already know that we agree on the end of the book! Great review; I’m relieved that you rated it a B- because I really struggled with this one.
I think my expectations (based on loving The Nightingale so much) may have been excessively high, setting almost anything up for disappointment.
So Renee and you think the same about the ending!! Haha I’ll keep it in mind when I read it :S
I always struggle with perfect endings!
Sounds like an honest & good assessment. I feel the subject matter seems rather rough (the father’s abuse) & it seems you would need characters that could be decisive & strong. So I can see where it would be frustrating. I was similarly bothered by the character in this thriller Need to Know recently.
I agree with Need to Know. While I liked the first half of the book, the further I got the harder it was to take. And the end setting it up for a sequel really derailed me.
You do such a great job breaking this book down. I was more harsh in my assessment, especially by the end- which we agree on. I did love the 70s references and the depiction of Alaska.
I loved this book. It was bitter and survivalist. To me, the characters came off the page fully formed.
Oddly enough, I thought the 70s references were something she Googled. I don’t think this crowd would have been listening to Maria Muldaur, John Denver or the The Bee Gees. Certainly there was darker, heavier rock’n’roll that would have been a more likely draw.
**Spoiler**
So many reviews refer to PTSD and that (obviously, to them anyway) that is what Ernt suffered from. And surely he did to a degree. But I believe he might have been/become an abusive husband regardless. He meets/impregnants/marries a girl who is 16 when he is 25. And at 30 he leaves them to enlist in the Army? Certainly he wasn’t drafted. So he needs to be adored, hero-worshiped and catered to (by a much, much younger girl) and that continues on after he returns, albeit much more damaged than he was when he left. I think he would have been a jealous, abusive husband even if he had not gone to Vietnam.
Cora is completely believable (regardless what contemporary feminists say) as a character and acts according to type. She is hemmed in with no where to go. This is where the 70’s plays into the story (although the bit about not being able to get a credit card with her husband’s or father’s signature is bunk). She is trapped, she know’s it and she tries to make the best of it she can. And to protect the one thing that is valuable to her: her daughter. (And yet, she’s still young and flirts inappropriately at times.) But she too finds herself able to survive. Both Alaska and Ernt.
And the community they became a part of was fascinating and, to me, on point. Especially when Thelma cut Ernt off after Mad Earl’s death.
I liked this a lot more than The Nightingale.
I actually though about the points you made on Ernt, too. I do think he was already a bit “off” and his POW experiences only made that worse. I’m also with you on Cora (and I’ve privately debated this with other bloggers). I think she acted exactly as many women in the 70’s did. Even in a larger city, the options were limited. This was before the days of “The Burning Bed.” She was at a loss.
You didn’t think the ending was just too pat? How could Matt need a wheel chair one day and the next be lifting people into canoes? The ending too a lot away from the book for me.