Eliza's Reviews > The Great Alone

I am feeling extremely raw after reading this. This book is so wonderful, but also so terrible and heartbreaking. I swear, I don’t think I’ve felt this many emotions from a book in a long, long time. It made me feel happiness, sadness, rage, and love — sometimes all at the same time.

It’s funny how I ordered this book purely because of its cover and because it was about Alaska (I’m in a random stage where I want to move there). And now it’s one of my all-time favorite novels. Funny how these things work.

The Great Alone begins with the image of a wonderful little family: Cora, Ernt, and Leni. Sure, there are underlying problems but every family has problems, so you don’t think much about them. That is, until the story continues and you begin finding out bits and pieces of things you didn’t have a clue were going on.

Segueing away from that for a moment, the main character (for the most part), Leni, is an absolute joy. The novel starts off when she is thirteen and ends with her being twenty-five, so you get to see her grow tremendously. Regardless, Lori is not your average thirteen-year-old. She is smart and realistic, and I was often shocked by her interpretations of the world around her.

Her mother, Cora, otherwise known as “Mama,” is an awesome character, too. I really liked her, flaws and all, because of how much she loved Leni and would do anything for her (even though it doesn’t seem like that at first - but trust me, it’s there). Not only that, but the mother and daughter bond that Leni and Cora share is so similar to my mama and I, that I loved this book even more for their bond. That’s not to say that my father is like Ernt — he’s not — but I’ve always been closer to my mama.

All the other characters: Ernt, who I don’t like, for good reason, but I sympathize with because of what he’d gone through in war; Large Marge, who is hilarious and an ex-lawyer (that surprised me!); Mr. Walker, who I’m still upset Cora didn’t end up with because he’s a sweetheart; Matthew, who I freaking love and he had almost, almost made me cry when we had that accident. And of course, all the other characters were wonderful and realistic — but these were the ones that left a lasting impression.

All of the descriptive scenery and realistic dialogue and believable characters just goes to show you how good of a writer Kristin Hannah is. As a lawyer turned writer, I wouldn’t expect any less. People might be surprised to know, but lawyers have to be really good writers!

Honestly, Hannah has become an instant buy author for me. Just like that. I have another one of her books in my room, which will definitely be read sooner than later now because I swear her writing and storytelling is brilliant and oh so heartbreaking.

Overall I tried not to spoil too much in my review, because half of this book's charm comes from all of its twists and turns. Seriously, I cannot recommend this book enough. It won’t disappoint you — but it may break your heart.