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The Great Alone

Kristin Hannah (Goodreads Author)

4.32 · Rating details · 255,231 ratings · 27,913 reviews

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last t ...more

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Kindle Edition, 435 pages

Published February 6th 2018 by St. Martin's Press (first published January 30th 2018)

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· 255,231 ratings · 27,913 reviews

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Nov 07, 2017 Deanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, highly-recommended, 2018, my-favorites

My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...

Wow!! This was a FANTASTIC novel. There is no way anyone could have pried this book from my hands while I was reading it.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors and I am always excited when a new book is going to be released. When I found out that her new book, “The Great Alone” was set in Alaska in 1974 (the year I was born); I was itching to get reading.

As the book opens, we meet the Allbright family. Ernt, Cora, and their daughter, Leni. Thirteen year old, Leni ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Melissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, heartbreaking, womens-fiction

*3.5 stars*

When it comes to emotionally compelling fiction, without a doubt, Kristin Hannah is in a league of her own. Over the years, she’s taken me to the brink of hopelessness, dangled me over the edge of complete devastation and trampled my heart in the process. Where I think her magic lies is in knowing just the right moment to toss out a lifeline—restoring faith, inciting love and in some cases, leaving me in complete and utter awe.

Naturally, having experienced a number of her not ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 Emily May rated it really liked it

Shelves: botm, 2018, historical-fiction

All this time, Dad had taught Leni how dangerous the outside world was. The truth was that the biggest danger of all was in her own home.

This book completely stole my heart. Maybe it's just more fresh in my mind, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed The Great Alone even more than Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. In fact, it was verging on a five-star read for me until the final few chapters-- which I felt were too rushed and more sentimental than I personally like. But I still highly recommend it.

I loved the atmosp ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 abby rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Kristin Hannah wrote 70% of a novel and then 30% of a soap opera.

I know this isn't likely to be a popular opinion. Hannah is an incredibly popular writer whose books sell into the millions. This might be a case of "it's not you, it's me." The same problems I found in her sentinel work The Nightingale came back to haunt The Great Alone: weak female characters, use of death and tragedy as plot devises, and an overwrought, melodramatic narrative. People who liked Hannah's earlier work, will probably lov Kristin Hannah wrote 70% of a novel and then 30% of a soap opera.

I know this isn't likely to be a popular opinion. Hannah is an incredibly popular writer whose books sell into the millions. This might be a case of "it's not you, it's me." The same problems I found in her sentinel work The Nightingale came back to haunt The Great Alone: weak female characters, use of death and tragedy as plot devises, and an overwrought, melodramatic narrative. People who liked Hannah's earlier work, will probably love this book. But if you've not been a fan in the past, don't expect much to change with this Alaskan tale.

The book starts when Leni Allbright is thirteen, awkward, and unable to fit in anywhere. It doesn't help that her parents are constantly moving her around the country. Her father, Ernt, is chasing that next big opportunity that will make him happy for good. Her mother, Cora, is hoping the next town will transform Ernt into the man he was before Vietnam. The Allbright family wind up in Alaska, in a cabin without pluming and electricity and far from any real civilization. When they arrive at the start of summer, Ernt is able to relax in the natural setting, and Cora and Leni think he might really return to how he was before the war. But as the days grow colder and the sun disappears from the sky, Ernt's demons come back with a vengeance.

Cora reminded me a lot of Vianne from The Nightingale, only with an abusive husband this time. Like her predecessor, she acts like a sad doormat the majority of the book until the moment she snaps out of character (view spoiler). Ernt is the usual abusive husband archetype-- drinking and beating and obsessing. One character I loved was Large Marge, who doesn't take any prisoners and doesn't suffer any fools. But I almost felt like making Marge an African-American in Alaska and obese gave her the "excuse" not to be yet another shrinking violet.

I actually quite liked the first 70% of the book. I was rooting for Leni, I enjoyed her friendship with Matthew, the understanding boy next homestead over, and I was waiting for Ernt's dangerous end-of-the-world prepping to come to a head. This book really brings Alaska and off-grid living to life. But then it all fell apart.

I feel like Hannah wanted to make her readers sad, so they would feel things, and isn't it a good book if it makes you cry? So lets kill off some characters. Heck, let's kill off all the characters! Teenage pregnancy? Sure, that's juicy stuff and very romantic. Wait, I killed off too many characters? There's a fix for that. Perfect bittersweet ending! The last hundred pages made me hate how much I enjoyed the first three hundred pages. I don't think I'll be picking up another Kristin Hannah book any time soon.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. ...more

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Feb 14, 2018 KAS rated it it was ok

One thing is for sure, Kristin Hannah, hands down, is a talented author who can weave a tale. I have read many of her previous novels and always found them to be beautiful and thought provoking. This one, however, rubbed me the wrong way.

Forewarning: This storyline deals with a lot of heavy issues, the most serious and horrific, physical abuse. I am trying my best to keep spoilers out of this review.

Just so you know where my thoughts are coming from, I am the wife of a tw One thing is for sure, Kristin Hannah, hands down, is a talented author who can weave a tale. I have read many of her previous novels and always found them to be beautiful and thought provoking. This one, however, rubbed me the wrong way.

Forewarning: This storyline deals with a lot of heavy issues, the most serious and horrific, physical abuse. I am trying my best to keep spoilers out of this review.

Just so you know where my thoughts are coming from, I am the wife of a twenty-seven year military veteran, and I initially connected with this story and my heart ached for the family whose lives were changed forever due to the traumas of war, but then I became perplexed and then disturbed with where the storyline was heading, especially regarding the actions of the father, named Ernt. In a manner of speaking, I wasn’t buying what was being sold. The “explanation” of his actions, one in particular, which he committed over and over again, wasn’t resonating with me at all.

The BEFORE “Nam screwed him up” excuse Ernt’s wife invariably gave, wasn’t cutting it. Numerous times the wife would say to their daughter ”I wish you remembered him from before.”

Yes, we are told Ernt was a Vietnam POW; he doesn’t do well in the darkness; he suffers severely from nightmares and flashbacks. Yes, he drinks way too much. But to basically make the case his ‘PTSD’ turned him into the monster he became, did not sit well with me. It never made any sense to me why Ernt’s actual thoughts were never revealed, only that his wife and daughter could see something was brewing in his eyes. He acted out in horrible ways and then apologized profusely, time and time again.

As a side note - nowhere, in this author’s acknowledgments at the end of the book, did she thank a psychologist/psychiatrist who deals with patients with PTSD for his or her expertise. I take that to mean she didn’t seek out their input, but I could be wrong.

Sorry if this sounds more like a rant than a review :(

There are thousands of 4-5 star ratings for this book, and I definitely understand why. The writing is flawless, the descriptions breathtaking, and as one would expect from Kristin Hannah and as I already stated, she can weave a story like few others. I am certainly in the minority only giving 2 stars.

MAYBE if I wasn’t the wife of a military vet, who unfortunately saw more than his fair share of war, and maybe if I didn’t relate to many of the issues Ernt was dealing with ...... maybe I would have given this a much higher rating.
...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Angela M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

“Were you ever out in the Great Alone,
when the moon was awful clear,
And the icy mountains hemmed you in
with a silence you most could hear;
With only the howl of a timber wolf, and
you camped there in the cold,
A half-dead thing in a stark, dead world,
clean mad for the muck called gold;
While high overhead, green, yellow and
red, the North Lights swept in bars? —

Then you've a hunch what the music
meant. . . hunger and night and the stars. “
( From The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert “Were you ever out in the Great Alone,
when the moon was awful clear,
And the icy mountains hemmed you in
with a silence you most could hear;
With only the howl of a timber wolf, and
you camped there in the cold,
A half-dead thing in a stark, dead world,
clean mad for the muck called gold;
While high overhead, green, yellow and
red, the North Lights swept in bars? —

Then you've a hunch what the music
meant. . . hunger and night and the stars. “
( From The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert W. Service)

It's to the wilderness of Alaska, this "Great Alone", a most fitting description, that Leni Allbright and her parents go, seeking yet another place that her mother hoped would be the place that made her dad happy. Kristin Hannah with vivid descriptions takes the reader here and while I've never been to Alaska, I certainly felt as though I was. Ernt Allbright, a POW who returned home from Vietnam a very different man could never keep a job and moved his family from place to place, clearly suffers from PTSD. It isn't until they move to Alaska that 13 year old Leni , realizes just how bad things are and the imminent danger in their lives. I couldn't help but love Leni. She's wise for her age recognizing what might set off her father's rage. As she grows and her character develops, into a strong , amazing woman in spite of all the tragedy and heartache, I loved her even more. My favorite passage is from Leni's college application several years later: "Books are the mile markers of my life. Some people have family photos or home movies to record their past. I've got books. Characters. For as long as I can remember, books have been my safe place. I read about places I can barely imagine and lose myself to journeys to foreign lands to save girls who didn't know they were really princesses. Only recently have I learned why I needed those faraway worlds."

Leni has a loving bond with her mother and together they try to survive this place with the freezing, treacherous, winters and the most terrifying of dangers that they face within the cabin where they live - the mental instability, the volatility combined with alcohol, and violence of her father as he wreaks havoc in their lives and the people of the town. It is the friendships that Leni and Cora make with a fabulous cast of characters that help them survive it all. Large Marge was my favorite but I also loved Matthew who was the only friend Leni could remember having in her life. This is more than a coming of age story. It’s about the reality of post war PTSD, the awful reality of spousal abuse, about the sense of community, of belonging, about survival not just in the wilderness of Alaska but in life in with challenges that seem insurmountable. I don't often cry when reading a book, but this was one of the times. It's gripping, gritty, heartbreaking and hopeful and illustrates the versatile storytelling of Kristin Hannah.

It was impossible for me to forgive Ernt, even knowing that he was a POW, but he brought to mind the POW's bracelet I wore for a long time. I remember his name but out of privacy and respect for him, I won’t mention it here . I’ll only say that he was captured in 1971 and thankfully released in 1973. This book prompted me to search for him online. It appears that he stayed in the Army and then after retirement went on to the private sector. I hope he has had a peaceful, happy life.

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. ...more

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Nov 18, 2017 Paromjit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adventure, netgalley, family-drama, historical-fiction

This is my first read by Kristin Hannah and I adored it. Set in the 1970s, it is about Ernt Allbright, a man who returns home to Seattle after being a POW in the Vietnam War. He is now a changed man, suffering sleepless nights, flashbacks, nightmares and volatile in his behaviour. PTSD was an undiagnosed condition at the time but it ravaged Ernt's life and that of his wife, Cora, and his 13 year old daughter, Leni. The Allbright family used to have good times, but now Leni hears the fights and c This is my first read by Kristin Hannah and I adored it. Set in the 1970s, it is about Ernt Allbright, a man who returns home to Seattle after being a POW in the Vietnam War. He is now a changed man, suffering sleepless nights, flashbacks, nightmares and volatile in his behaviour. PTSD was an undiagnosed condition at the time but it ravaged Ernt's life and that of his wife, Cora, and his 13 year old daughter, Leni. The Allbright family used to have good times, but now Leni hears the fights and conflict between her parents. Ernt struggles to hold down a job and their moves makes Leni long for a sense of stability. When Ernt inherits a cabin and land in Alaska from a dead soldier, he pleads with Cora that this will be the making of him and them, they could live off the land and be free of the pressures that they have been living under. Driven by this hope, they sell up and buy a rickety old VW van and set off for their adventure in The Great Alone, having little idea as to what awaits them and just how ill prepared they are for it. Alaska takes no prisoners, it has a majestic, harsh, awe inspiring beauty but its wilderness and wildlife is a cruel and unforgiving testing ground for those who make their home there.

The Allbrights arrive in remote Kaneq, Alaska, shocked by the state of the tiny dilapidated cabin and taken aback by all that needs doing and facing a desperately steep learning curve. Without the small community rallying together to help the family they would not survive the bitter, brutal Alaskan winter and the hardships that are to follow. They stock up on supplies, working the land in preparation. However, Ernt's condition worsens, exacerbated by alcohol. He takes out his rage and temper on Cora and the tiny home becomes a place of darkness and domestic violence. Leni learns to read the signs and triggers that foretell when Ernt is going to lose it and you cannot help but feel for her and Cora. Mother and daughter have a close relationship giving them the emotional strength to endure the unbearable. Leni finds solace in books, something I completely understand and relate to. She forms her first friendship with Matthew and begins to grow roots in the community. The community prove to be an invaluable support to Cora and Leni such as the inimitable and capable Marge and Tom Walker. The angry Earl rails against the injustices of life, politics and institutions, grieving over the loss of his son. As the years go by, Leni is changed and shaped by the tragedies and hearbreak she faces,

Kristin Hannah has written a beautifully detailed and emotionally affecting novel that is both compelling and gripping. She captures the twin threats posed the Alaskan environment and the home ripped asunder by the dangerous Ernt. Hannah's greatest achievement though is the characters she creates and the in depth development that takes place. This is Leni's story, the burdens she grows up with, her emotional bond with her mother, and her search for identity and roots. Its a a tale of love and hope despite the battering that life can give. It is remarkably instructive on the cost, consequences and damage of war on families and the suffering that ensues. A brilliant read that I will not forget and recommend highly. Many thanks to St Martin's Press for an ARC. ...more

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Dec 23, 2018 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Matthew by: Julia Mclean

Shelves: audio, gr_awards_2019, historical-fiction, library, 2018, favorites, suspense, tear-jerkers

What a story! I mentioned this in one of my status updates and I think it is the best way to describe this book: every new scene in this book is out of the frying pan and into the fire!

My wife recommended this book to me and we usually have a pretty good idea of what the other will like (probably a 95% success rate). We have both read and enjoyed The Nightingale, which is probably what Hannah is best known for even though she has quite an extensive resume of novels. This book is quit ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobooks

(3.5) You know when a book goes from sad, to sadder and then... even more sad? Well that's this book.

As I slowly agonized trough this audiobook I found myself so incredibly frustrated with the characters. Domestic violence, PTSD, coming of age story and overall a pretty solid book but...

You know when some books are heart-wrenching and others you feel like your emotions are being played with just for the sake of making it sad? This felt like the second one a bit too much f ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

its books like this that remind me why reading is such a passionate and worthwhile constant in my life. i have come to rely on books to help me learn, grown, empathise, and sometimes escape. and this story did all of that.

but what i am grateful for, most of all, is how i was able to read about a place i have never been and fall in love with it, how i could find an undeniable softness for the harsh landscape of the alaskan wilderness, how i could come to understand the pure beauty of a place i h ...more

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Mar 08, 2018 Furrawn rated it did not like it

Shelves: books-i-truly-hate

Warning, I usually write quirky lyrical bits about a book. This is going to be more of a rant. There might be accidental spoilers so steer clear if that will bother you.

Again: SPOILERS though not clear spoilers.

Ok. I truly hated this formulaic flat stereotypes-everyone book. I LOVED The Nightingale. Made everyone I know read it. I thought The Nightingale hung the moon and stars. I was excited beyond words for the release of The Great Alone.

The Good:
The f ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Elyse (retired from reviewing/semi hiatus) Walters rated it really liked it

Kristin Hannah fans will be more than satisfied!!!

I found the story a little predictable- and not all characters as layered as I would have liked, yet the sincerity in which Kristin wrote this novel is admirable and beautiful....with much to respect for taking on these serious themes. Kristin’s heart and passion is mixed between all her words on every page.
The writing flows with emotional intimacy.

This story is told through the eyes of Leni, daughter of a former Vietnam POW.
Leni, ...more

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Oct 05, 2017 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

Book coincidences. I always read multiple books at the same time, always have. So, I was reading History of Wolves, and because I had paper Arcs of both books and wanted to pass them on, I also started this one. Both deal with the trauma of war, but this one was set in Alaska, and I love books set in cold climates. It is the seventies and Ernt, who came back much changed from Vietnam, can't seem to settle. Moving his small family from place to place, until he is left a small cabin in Alaska, fro ...more

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Nov 20, 2017 Carol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, read-2017, historical-fiction, published-2018, favorites

OH BOY. ALASKA. THE GREAT ALONE.

KRISTIN HANNAH grabbed my attention from the get-go with her freaky cold (Brrrrrrrr) descriptively atmospheric novel set in a remote 1970's Alaska where "you can make one mistake, but the second one will kill you"......literally.

THE FIRST HALF of the story introduces the reader to the Allbright family and the shock of their unimaginably dangerous and unpredictable new life in the wild.

LIVING ROUGH (Yikes!) in their inherited little cabin, they must haul water, grow their own vegetables, and hunt for food....allwild.

LIVING

...more

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Oct 30, 2018 Amalia Gavea rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 1970s, historical-fiction, american-literature, alaska, women-s-literature, usa

‘’Outside, night had fallen. A full moon cast blue-white light on everything. Stars filled the sky with pinpricks and elliptical smears of light. Up here, at night, the sky was impossibly huge and never quite turned black, but stayed a deep velvet blue. The world beneath it dwindled down to nothing: a dollop of firelight, a squiggly white reflection of moonlight on the tarnished waves.’’

The Allbright's seem a typical American family trying to find its way in a nation tarnished by the effects o ‘’Outside, night had fallen. A full moon cast blue-white light on everything. Stars filled the sky with pinpricks and elliptical smears of light. Up here, at night, the sky was impossibly huge and never quite turned black, but stayed a deep velvet blue. The world beneath it dwindled down to nothing: a dollop of firelight, a squiggly white reflection of moonlight on the tarnished waves.’’

The Allbright's seem a typical American family trying to find its way in a nation tarnished by the effects of the Vietnam War, in a society that undergoes significant changes. Ernt, Cora and their teenage daughter, Leni. Ernt, a veteran of the war, suffers from PTSD turning what should be a family haven into a battlefield of turmoil, threats and ferocious insecurity. Dissatisfied with his country, surrendering to his absurd notions of how a country should be governed, he drags his family into the Last Frontier. Alaska. A place of unimaginable beauty and danger. Everything changes for Leni, Cora and the residents of what seemed like the ideal, closely-knit community because of one man’s madness and vicious character.

I am sorry to say that this novel left me cold and disappointed…

There is no doubt that the premise of the story is interesting and realistic. The descriptions of the Alaskan nature are breathtakingly beautiful and there are quite a few elements that made me feel invested in the story of the Allbright family initially. This historical era is one that always attracts my interest and Hannah did a good job transferring it into the heart of the narration. All the familiar 70s trademarks have been put into good use. The search for a spiritual destination, the notion of Unitarianism, the rallies for peace. The yet unnamed ‘’don’t show, don’t tell’’ PTSD, the IRA attacks, the Watergate, the nightmarish terrorist attack during the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972.

In this background, enriched by many 70s cultural references, Hannah poses a major question: where does patriotism, the honest, peaceful love for one’s country end and nationalism, racism and mass hysteria begin? How can women respond and defend themselves in an era when men still think they rule everyone’s fate? The inseparable bond between a mother and a daughter, two survivors of a man’s madness, is hauntingly beautiful, seen through the eyes of Leni, a bookish girl and one of the most well-composed characters in Contemporary Literature. However, I’m afraid this is where my positive thoughts on this novel end…

The dialogue suffers from a number of cliches, in my opinion. Stilted and exaggerating like a cheesy Hollywood film. Repetition didn’t do any favours to the continuation of the story. This is my main complaint with this novel. How many chapters do you need to say the same things again and again? A writer doesn’t properly build tension in such a way. The only thing it made me feel was irritation and a deep desire to read the end and abandon the book altogether. I could have skipped pages after pages and I wouldn’t have missed anything at all. The way many chapters ended seemed like the old lingering take on a protagonist’s ridiculously lost expression in a soap opera. Not my ideal picture of an interesting book. On a side note, the references to The Thorn Birds and the friendship between Frodo and Sam were melodramatic, cheesy and irritating. In my opinion.

In terms of characterization, I wasn’t impressed at all. With the exception of Leni (whose romantic story was laughably bad), the rest of the characters left me utterly indifferent. I quickly lost patience with Cora. I mean, girl, you don’t want to lose face or you really enjoy Ernt’s you-know-what. That’s fine as long as you are alone. But being blinded by your illusions and shoving your ridiculous excuses to your daughter’s mind do little to ensure her safety. I didn’t buy any of Cora’s musings. Call me heartless, that’s my opinion. Despite the fact that she takes some action, her character is no figure to look up to. At least, not according to my standards. Ernt is a loony. Plain and simple. No justification, no pretext. The excuse of PTSD is quickly wasted. He is mad and that’s the end of it. Horrible character, written as a caricature to force drama. Don’t even get me started on Matthew and Large Marge because we’ll be here until Doomsday…

This novel is begging to become a Hollywood production. Unfortunately, I seldom watch these and ‘’Hollywood’’ books are absolutely not to my liking. I’m certain that somewhere deep inside those pages, beyond all this repetition and drama, lies a perfectly good book and many trusted friends loved it. This is the reason why I grant 3 stars and not 2 (not that it matters but for argument’s sake…). For the beauty of the Alaskan territory and the character of Leni and for the fact that I was not the suitable reader for this book. I am sorry but family melodramas that try to force my feelings are not for me…

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word... ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The year 1974, Vietnam War is over but war against the inner demons, struggles, psychological damage residues on people’s minds, hearts and souls still out there!
Allbright family wanted a fresh start and brand new life but they chose the wildest, harshest, cruelest place to live…

Welcome to Kaneq, Alaska… I’m making a correction. This was not family decision. Ernt made her family move there. His wife Cora who is suffering from his anger management issues left from traumatic expe The year 1974, Vietnam War is over but war against the inner demons, struggles, psychological damage residues on people’s minds, hearts and souls still out there!
Allbright family wanted a fresh start and brand new life but they chose the wildest, harshest, cruelest place to live…

Welcome to Kaneq, Alaska… I’m making a correction. This was not family decision. Ernt made her family move there. His wife Cora who is suffering from his anger management issues left from traumatic experiences from war and his smart, brilliant, young daughter Leni is also confused to start at a place they couldn’t locate on the map. They reluctantly obey his decision and did their best to make him happy by creating a new house life left in the middle of nowhere.

But NOT THE WILD, KILLER ANIMALS HUNT FOR BLOOD OUTSIDE or WORST,CHALLENGING, FREEZING WEATHER CONDITIONS scared mother and daughter for their lives. The monster was hiding outside. He was living at their house and building a cage to protect them from outer world but truly building a cell to trap them into their own prisons.

Mother and daughter shut their mouth and endured all the false treatments, paranoid behaviors. Cora suffered from beating and verbal abuses but she didn’t defend herself till one day Ernt targeted their own daughter, Leni. That triggers last piece of endurance Cora barely gathered. She needs to protect her daughter by standing against her husband even it means to sacrifice herself and their life changes in one night.

I think I could write “I LOVE THIS BOOK! I LOVE THIS BOOK! I LOVE THIS BOOK!” at least million times! This is not only my last year’s favorite book but this is also one of my all-time favorite books.

Kristin Hannah already stole my heart and took all the tears a human body could produce with her masterpiece “Nightingale” (For one year, I suffered from dry eye syndrome! I cried for months and made little children traumatized with my red-rimmed image. Even Step King inspired to write a book named “Red-rimmed” after his “Red-rum sequel”. The story focused on a redhead woman stealing people’s cry and swallow them at night. Yikes! You can imagine he dropped out the project!)

I’m rereading now and I know I’m gonna wail when I’m reading the last chapters. But at least ending was not dramatic like Nightingale (thanks to the author for not being merciless this time)

Now “Firefly Lane” is on my list. It’s also gonna be TV series with Katherine Heigl (I’d better read and skip the show because I don’t want to hate story for wrong casting)

Summary: This author is one of the most talented, creative, inspirational people on the earth. I loved her books so much. I never get bored to read them several times. And for the last words Great Alone! I LOVED IT 3 MILLIONS! ...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Linda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-winners, net-galley, nature-themes, favorites, fiction, alaska-theme

Like a curved, upturned palm, Alaska beckons with her beauty, her majesty, and her prolific grandeur.

The awe-inspiring allure gestures first until the ruggedness of her backbone sets in.

The Allbright family lives on the edge of a nomad's existence. Seattle, once filled with promise, no longer does. It's 1974 and these displaced individuals are the walking wounded. Ernt bears the mental and physical scars of being a prisoner of war held in Vietnam. The nightmares are no longer wrappe Like a curved, upturned palm, Alaska beckons with her beauty, her majesty, and her prolific grandeur.

The awe-inspiring allure gestures first until the ruggedness of her backbone sets in.

The Allbright family lives on the edge of a nomad's existence. Seattle, once filled with promise, no longer does. It's 1974 and these displaced individuals are the walking wounded. Ernt bears the mental and physical scars of being a prisoner of war held in Vietnam. The nightmares are no longer wrapped in the darkness. They seep into the day and explode without warning. Cora, his wife, flits back and forth with her feeble attempts to sidestep his abusive behavior. And caught in the throws of this disfunction is thirteen year old Leni. Her silence lays a mantle over the brokenness.

Ernt receives a letter from the father of his best friend who was killed in Vietnam. Earl Harlan tells Ernt that Bo left a sizable plot of land and a cabin to him in Kaneq, Alaska. It's his for the taking. Ernt whoops with joy and begins to sell everything they have for a beat-up VW bus in order to make the journey. Cora sees the face of the love she long remembered from before the war. Perhaps this is the new beginning that they are so desperate for. And Leni just yearns for a place of permanence for once in her young life.

With hardly a plan or adequate preparation, the Allbrights find themselves in the jaw-dropping majesty of the Alaskan wilderness. With the help of Mad Earl's family and the resourceful Marge Birdsall, also known as Large Marge, the Allbrights cut into the land and start to dig in. Like the famous line from Game of Thrones: "Winter is coming." Tremendous effort must be put forth in order to exist through the brutality of an Alaskan winter.

"Alaska herself can be Sleeping Beauty one minute and a bitch with a sawed-off shotgun the next."

Filled with grizzly bear, caribou, wolves, and enormous moose, danger is around every turn. But our story brushes against more than Nature......human nature to be exact. Ernt begins to resent his new neighbors as the darkness within him takes hold once again. And once again, Cora invents excuses for Ernt's behavior until she begins to believe it all herself. She and Leni hardly breathe in the confines of that tiny cabin.

Kristin Hannah creates a storyline that lays bare the tragedies of war, broken families, unfulfilled dreams, and the explosive side of a dormant wound. Her characterizations are remarkable as life unravels from 1974 to 1986. We will experience the dramatic changes that take place within Leni as she shields herself from the rages that exist within as well as those from the treacherous land itself. Kristin Hannah writes from a source of profound respect for the individuals who ramble down the uneven terrain of life. Her words will invoke a gamut of feelings within you as you leave your own footprints behind. A remarkable read, indeed, and so worthy of your attention.

I received a copy of The Great Alone through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Kristin Hannah for the opportunity.

...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-favourites

I think Kristen Hannah is like a fine wine. With each new novel, she gets better and better.
Thirteen year old Leni and her parents move to the Alaskan wilderness as a possible solution to her dad's illness. He suffers from PTSD having returned from Vietnam broken, with an extreme vision and little survival skills.
Once the harshness of winter sets in, the human spirit is tested in a family whose relationship is already in a delicate balance; the lack of daylight brings with it the challeng ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Susanne Strong rated it really liked it

Shelves: traveling-sister-read, netgalley

4 Stars.

Alaska, 1974: This is the story of the trials and tribulations of the Allbright family. Life has not been easy for Ernt, Cora or their daughter Leni. Ernt is a POW, home from Vietnam. He is now prone to fits of anger and extreme violence. Ernt considers alcohol to be his savior – yet for his wife and daughter, it is the devil.

After coming home from the war, Ernt feels as though he doesn’t fit in anywhere and that everyone is against him. In an incredible turn of e 4 Stars.

Alaska, 1974: This is the story of the trials and tribulations of the Allbright family. Life has not been easy for Ernt, Cora or their daughter Leni. Ernt is a POW, home from Vietnam. He is now prone to fits of anger and extreme violence. Ernt considers alcohol to be his savior – yet for his wife and daughter, it is the devil.

After coming home from the war, Ernt feels as though he doesn’t fit in anywhere and that everyone is against him. In an incredible turn of events, a home is bequeathed to Ernt in Kaneq, Alaska and he feels that it is has last chance. Wanting to make him happy and keep him calm, Cora and Leni agree. The move is one for which they are wholly unprepared. Winters are fierce, harsh and absolutely terrifying. There are only 6 hours of sunlight a day, and the conditions are dire.

The atmosphere and the wilderness however, give something to Leni Allbright that she has never had before, peace and solitude. If only it was enough. Cora is a woman who fell very hard for a man who treats her the way that no woman should ever be treated. Her family is trapped in a vicious cycle, one whose demons it seems impossible to out run, even after having reached the ends of the earth.

“The Great Alone” is a novel so full of beautiful, vivid descriptions that I could close eyes and see the land, the mountains, the water: the immense beauty that is Alaska - even though I have never been there before. The characters are captivating and rich. They made me so very anxious at times, I couldn’t help but clench my fists and hold on for dear life, yet they also made me love. “The Great Alone” is my first Kristin Hannah novel – it will not be my last.

This was Traveling Sister Read. The discussion for this book was very lively and full of emotion. I was glad to have my sisters close while I read it!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kristin Hannah for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon and Twitter on 2.17.18. ...more

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Jul 24, 2019 Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) rated it really liked it

This was okay! I really loved the setting and the atmosphere, but this kind of felt like two different books to me. I did still enjoy it (hence the 4 star rating), but I feel like if it had been a little bit more cohesive this would have been a new all-time favorite.

TW: domestic abuse, death of a parent, alcoholism, depression

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Feb 21, 2018 Megan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Only 2 stars because she's a "good" writer and I did keep reading until the end to see what happened. Really deserves one star. What schlock! Was this meant to be a Young Adult book? Or the screenplay treatment for a bad Hallmark movie? As mentioned, Hannah's writing is quite nice and she paints quite a vivid and lovely picture of Alaska. But she does it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. We get it. Alaska is wild and beautiful and harsh. On to the characters - each and everyone is a completely one d Only 2 stars because she's a "good" writer and I did keep reading until the end to see what happened. Really deserves one star. What schlock! Was this meant to be a Young Adult book? Or the screenplay treatment for a bad Hallmark movie? As mentioned, Hannah's writing is quite nice and she paints quite a vivid and lovely picture of Alaska. But she does it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. We get it. Alaska is wild and beautiful and harsh. On to the characters - each and everyone is a completely one dimensional caricature. The beautiful, love-struck mother with the loving, wealthy parents, who allows her crazy, penniless husband to force her and her teen daughter to move into a cabin with no electricity or toilet in Alaska. Glorious Mama (what was with the book being in third person but calling the parents "Mama" and "Dad?) then allows crazy husband to beat the living hell out of her repeatedly (something the daughter never notices until Alaska). Daughter meanwhile just loves living in a shack in the tundra and magically meets the love of her life in the one room school. Never for a moment does she resent her beautiful, perfect mother for foisting this life upon her and refusing to leave her insane, violent husband. Dad is a mysteriously released POW who starts out lovely and ends up a complete nutjob. Neighbors are godsends or Doomsdayers, with no countervailing good or bad characteristics. The plot goes out of control - endless awful and ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE things happen. As Hannah reminds endlessly, Alaska is dangerous! But hey, fall in that ice, run your car off the road, fall down that ravine, take that punch to the face, have unprotected sex, make it as bad as you possibly can so your implausible redemption is all that schlockier. So many idiotic plot holes arise in the last 1/2 of the book and the love story is just so saccharine and unlikely. I rolled my eyes so often, I can't even believe I finished the book. Also, it is at least 150 pages too long. I know I enjoyed The Nightingale, so I was heartily disappointed by this one. SKIP! ...more

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Apr 20, 2018 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: st-martin-s-press, historical-fiction, 2018, paperback

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is a 2018 St. Main’s Press publication.

Alaska- beautiful, harsh, dangerous, addictive-

After Ernst comes home from Vietnam, he flounders, suffering from what we would now term, PTSD. His wife, Cora, sees a much different man in front of her than the one she married. But, she is determined to help him, and so when he inherits a home in Alaska, she and their thirteen -year old daughter, Leni, follow him into unchartered territory. As they begin their j ...more

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Jan 14, 2018 Karen rated it it was amazing

5 Stars for The Great Alone... Alaska. It’s 1974 and a family of three, including a father mentally traumatized by his service in the Vietnam War, move to Alaska to a forty acre plot of land left to him by a fellow soldier who never made it out.
Life there is so hard and very bleak. This story is fast paced, and riveting. The characters so beautifully brought to life. Such an atmospheric read, I am so happy that I was able to read this at a time when we have our own Arctic Blast going throu ...more

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Feb 28, 2018 Norma * Traveling Sister rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite-reads-of-2018, netgalley-edelweiss-approved, traveling-sister-reads

*4.5 stars* rounded up for The Great Alone!

THE GREAT ALONE by KRISTIN HANNAH is an absolutely wonderful, spellbinding, powerful, tense, touching, and heartbreaking domestic family drama story that was an all-consuming and emotional read for me. I was totally captivated with what I was reading and it was extremely hard for me to put down. I couldn’t think of anything else but this story and I don’t think I have felt so many different emotions from reading a book in quite some time. T ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 *TUDOR^QUEEN* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars

I was a bit out of my usual comfort zone as far as reading genres when I came to this book. When I was about 5 percent into the book I was loving it, but as I got just a little bit further I thought to myself, "if I wasn't committed to reading this for NetGalley, I'd move onto something else." However, after taking a deep breath and persevering with the book, I came away with a healthy admiration for this author's writing.

I've held the lifelong belief that while reading boo 4.5 stars

I was a bit out of my usual comfort zone as far as reading genres when I came to this book. When I was about 5 percent into the book I was loving it, but as I got just a little bit further I thought to myself, "if I wasn't committed to reading this for NetGalley, I'd move onto something else." However, after taking a deep breath and persevering with the book, I came away with a healthy admiration for this author's writing.

I've held the lifelong belief that while reading books I've travelled all over the world in my mind. For this reason, I do not feel at all like I've missed out due to my anemic personal travel log. One of the gifts I received from this book was the very unique experience of living "off the grid" in Alaska.

It's the early 1970s, and 13 year old Lenora (Leni) Allbright is living with the stress and uncertainty of her parents' volatile marriage. Her father Ernt is a Vietnam POW, never quite the same upon his discharge from the Armed Forces. His sleep is often disturbed by flashbacks and he's unable to control his jealously where his attractive and dedicated wife Cora is concerned. Leni has too often seen her father's hair trigger violence towards her mother, as well as Cora's willingness to forgive without consequences. Cora and Ernt fell in love quite young, culminating in unexpected pregnancy and a rushed, simple wedding. Cora came from wealth and her parents disapproved of the marriage, but her love for Ernt was steadfast. Even though Ernt didn't come home from the war the same man, Cora stoically dealt with the rollercoaster moods from her husband. As Leni witnesses her parents riding the wild emotions of their marriage, their sexual passions still intact... she's a young teenager with a secret to be embarrassed about. Her father sometimes hits her mother.

Then a life-changing decision is suddenly made: Ernt receives a letter from the father of a fellow POW- one who didn't make it home alive. His comrade willed him some land and a home in Alaska. Ernt views this opportunity as a lifeline; a place where he can live in solitude off the land. A place to start anew. With hope and some trepidation, Cora agrees to leave their Seattle home along with Leni and Ernt for an unknown future in Alaska.

When the Allbrights arrive in this remote strip of Alaska, it's quite unsettling just how "off the grid" this new life will be. There is no running water or electricity, and their modest cabin is littered with dead bugs. There is no bathroom; those needs are met by an outhouse. The only means of communication with their fellow cove inhabitants is by ham radio. They are also warned by the locals how easily one can die during the cruel Alaska winters. The Allbrights must learn how to hunt and fish, can foods, tend to livestock and cut firewood... just to name a few life-saving skills. During the heart of an Alaskan winter, there are barely 8 hours of light in the day. Talk about cabin fever! This was where I hit critical mass in the book and felt so claustrophobic and disturbed that I wished to put aside the book.

Ernt at first thrives with the simplicity and physicality of working the land, but does not do well when the unrelenting winter hits. I won't get into the nuts and bolts of the story. Suffice it to say, and I quote Leni, her parents were in a "sick, twisted love that bound her parents together." There are characters that you will grow to love in this book, and one will absolutely turn your stomach. This is a story that is rich, atmospheric and fraught with great emotions. I came away from this book with utter respect and appreciation for the people who homestead in Alaska, with all its beauty and challenges. For all the hard physical work to survive there, they seem to love it and would have it no other way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gift of a great read. ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 Dorie - Cats&Books :) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, literature, netgalley-feedback

This is a great book with wonderful descriptive writing about the landscape and climate in Alaska. The majority of the book takes place there and it’s amazing to me that anyone would love to live there, mainly because the lack of much daylight all winter long, and that winter lasts nine months.

It is 1974 at the start of the book and Leni Allbright is the new girl in middle school in Seattle, at the age of thirteen she has already been in many “new” schools, having moved around the co This is a great book with wonderful descriptive writing about the landscape and climate in Alaska. The majority of the book takes place there and it’s amazing to me that anyone would love to live there, mainly because the lack of much daylight all winter long, and that winter lasts nine months.

It is 1974 at the start of the book and Leni Allbright is the new girl in middle school in Seattle, at the age of thirteen she has already been in many “new” schools, having moved around the country with her parents. Her father, Ernt, can never seem to find a place that suits him, where he can find a job and be happy. He came back from Vietnam a changed man, according to her mother Cora. Leni can’t really remember her father before the war. All she knows is the constant arguing between her parents which usually ended with crying and apologies.

Ernt gets a letter from the father of a buddy whom he served with in the war. He has left his cabin and forty acres of land in Alaska to Ernt. This sounds like just the answer he has been looking for. Cora, who will do anything for Ernt because she loves him deeply, agrees to move the family there.”I need this Cora. I need a place where I can breathe again. Up there, the flashbacks and nightmares will stop. I know it”.

What follows is quite an adventure. When they arrive in the summer Alaska seems like a beautiful paradise. They learn how to garden and raise goats and chickens. Then the winter comes, with it’s six hours of sunshine a day and terrible cold. We learn what it means to survive a winter in Alaska, there are many friendly people in the small town where they live who reach out to help them stock supplies for the winter. Ernt is unhappy about the lack of money and provisions and he takes it out on Cora. Ernt is really a terrible man and now the situation has escalated into spousal physical abuse. Leni meanwhile has struck up a friendship with a local boy, Matthew, with whom she bonds immediately.

There are wonderfully described characters in this book. I loved Large Marge who would do anything to help her friends. Mad Earl is a man who is mad at the government, mad at the military and the war which took his son and a very bad influence on Ernt. Matthew is a big hearted, loving young man whose father Tom Walker is the owner of the salon in town and has lots of influence along with money. Tom and Large Marge begin to sense that things are not alright in the Allbright household but there is little they can do because Ernt won’t allow anyone to help them.

Without going into the plot I can tell you that it is constantly changing, made me carry my Kindle wherever I went to keep up with the story and there were no slow spots for me in the flow of this book. There are unexpected tragedies and heartbreak, there is love and resilience and the characters of Cora and Leni are constantly changing and growing. In the author’s acknowledgements I learned that the story is loosely based on her family’s experiences, you can google it to learn more about her family history.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a well written, beautifully descriptive book that will take you on an adventure that you won’t soon forget.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley, thank you. ...more

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Feb 08, 2018 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, library-book, 1970s, alaska, domestic-violence, ptsd

4.5 Stars

”Well she seemed all right by dawn's early light
Though she looked a little worried and weak.
She tried to pretend he wasn't drinkin' again
But daddy'd left the proof on her cheek.
And I was only eight years old that summer
And I always seemed to be in the way
So I took myself down to the fair in town
On Independence Day.

“Well ,word gets around in a small, small town
They said he was a dangerous man
But mama was proud a/> ...more

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Feb 24, 2018 Arah-Lynda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top, i-said

There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting;
It’s luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
So much as finding the gold.
It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has lease;
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.
Robert Service

This book got me to thinking about why I read and at times it would seem I have as many answers as there are mome ...more

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Feb 10, 2018 Nat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pink-covers

“And you,” Large Marge said. “What’s your story, missy?”
“I don’t have a story.”
“Everyone has a story. Maybe yours just starts up here.”

I was on the look-out for a novel set around quiet people, and The Great Alone looked like one to fulfill that promise with “the harsh, uncompromising beauty of Alaska.” Plus, the mention of exploring PTSD in the father figure piqued my interest.

The bonus was when I started reading the book and became quickly swept up in Leni's life. She's thirteen when the novel begins, about to enter another new school since her parand Thestory.”
“Everyonemissy?”
“I ...more

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Jul 09, 2018 Brandice rated it it was amazing

Wow! The Great Alone was another captivating story by Kristin Hannah. This was my second book by Hannah, after just finishing The Nightingale and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story is about Leni Allbright, an only child and teenage girl whose parents move around frequently to support her dad’s latest and greatest ideas for new ventures. Her father, Ernt, is skeptical of the system, the government, and modernization. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam war and dealing with PTSD which has seriously changed him. L Wow! The Great Alone was another captivating story by Kristin Hannah. This was my second book by Hannah, after just finishing The Nightingale and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story is about Leni Allbright, an only child and teenage girl whose parents move around frequently to support her dad’s latest and greatest ideas for new ventures. Her father, Ernt, is skeptical of the system, the government, and modernization. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam war and dealing with PTSD which has seriously changed him. Leni’s mom, Cora, puts up with Ernt’s abuse but shields Leni as much as she can, and tries to side with Leni in all situations as she remembers what it was like to be young and crave freedom. The Allbright family moves from Seattle to Alaska when one of Ernt’s fellow soldiers gifts him property there. The story follows their journey North and their attempt to adapt to the harsh frontier and Alaskan wilderness, with minimal modern conveniences.

As many other reviews of this book have noted, Hannah’s sweeping descriptions of the Alaskan landscape are wonderful throughout the book. I had no trouble vividly picturing the scenes and this was just another enjoyable element of The Great Alone.

“Even with all the pictures Leni had studied and all the articles and books she’d read, she hadn’t been prepared for the wild, spectacular beauty of Alaska. It was otherworldly somehow, magical in its vast expanse, an incomparable landscape of soaring glacier-filled white mountains that ran the length of the horizon, knife-tip points pressed high into a cloudless cornflower-blue sky. Kachemak Bay was a sheet of hammered sterling in the sunlight. Boats dotted the bay. The air smelled briny, deeply of the sea. Shorebirds floated on the wind, dipped and rose effortlessly.”

I really liked Leni as a character, but I didn’t care for either of her parents. Ernt was clearly dislikable but I also found Cora to be unlikable, less so than Ernt, yet it was tough to appreciate what I thought were poor choices in her actions for the majority of the book. Leni had to endure so much - a lot for anyone - but especially someone so young. There was a lot of sadness in this story but Leni’s resiliency was admirable. I also loved her love of books, and enjoyed many of the characters of the Allbright’s Alaskan community.

”This state, this place, is like no other. It is beauty and horror; savior and destroyer. Here, where survival is a choice that must be made over and over, in the wildest place in America, on the edge of civilization, where water in all its forms can kill you, you learn who you are. Not who you dreamed of being, not who you imagined you were, not who you were raised to be. All of that will be torn away in the months of icy darkness, when frost on the windows blurs your view and the world gets very small and you stumble into the truth of your existence. You learn what you will do to survive.”

Hannah is an excellent storyteller. I highly recommend The Great Alone. ...more

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About Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah

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Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People's Choice award for best fiction in the same year. Additionally, it was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and Th ...more