Jean's Reviews > The Great Alone

Sometimes walking on eggshells isn’t enough to avoid trouble. Not when a moody family member is racked with nightmares and paranoia resulting from years as a POW in Vietnam. The Allbright family knows this firsthand, as husband and father Ernt battles these demons since his return from the war. Drinking only makes it worse. With her husband unable to hold down a steady job, his wife Cora works as a waitress in Seattle to help make ends meet. Suddenly one day, it seems that their ship has come in. A letter arrives to inform them that one of Ernt’s service buddies left him his property in his will. In Alaska.

In The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah strikingly captures the events of the seventies: the war, the protests, disappearances of college women in Seattle, and the energy crisis. She portrays the mood, the attitudes, and the culture of those times. Alaska was an untamed wilderness, a refuge for those who needed a place to hide or for those who wanted to make a fresh start. Ernt Allbright sees it as his big chance to live a new life. He promises that things will be different – better. And for a while, they are. It is summer in the land of the midnight sun. There is so much to do, and these “cheechakos “ have much to learn. There are vegetables to grow and store, fish to catch and smoke, animals to hunt. There is no electricity, no indoor plumbing. Today we would call it “living off the grid”. The work is hard, but it is beautiful, breathtaking country, and for once, Ernt seems happy. This makes Cora happy and thirteen-year-old daughter Leni cautiously optimistic too.

Leni goes to a one-room school, where for once, she is easily accepted as the new kid. She makes friends with Matthew, a boy her age. Cora finds a friend in Large Marge, a former attorney who now runs the general store and provides any kind of help the family needs. Ernt finds a like-minded comrade in Mad Earl, the father of his friend who bequeathed the homestead to him. He’s an anti-government type who gives Ernt an excuse to drink and get riled up and rant about the war and all the injustices in the country. Then there’s Tom Walker, a relatively well-to-do fellow whose forbearers founded the township. Ernt instantly becomes jealous and distrustful.

Throughout the first summer, everyone harps about preparing for winter. Leni and her mother cast wary glances at one another. Winters in Alaska are long – and dark. Darkness spells danger. Ernt does not handle darkeness well. It brings out the beast in the worst way. Even when they tiptoe around him and do everything they can to avoid upsetting him, the slightest look or wrong word or inflection can trigger a rage that provokes a beating. Cora always says it must be her fault, that she must have done something to set him off. Leni is stuck in the middle. She tells her mother they have to leave him, but Cora says she can’t stop loving him. He’s sorry, he says. It won’t happen again, he promises. Over and over.

"The Great Alone." That’s what people call winter. That’s what Leni feels in her family. She and Mama say they are like two peas in a pod. Leni can’t leave her mother. Mama can’t leave Dad. So she is stuck. As Leni becomes closer to Matthew – Tom Walker’s son – she can’t explain to him about her dad. So she seeks solace in books. She read once that there are a thousand ways to die in Alaska, which includes bears and wolves, falling through the ice, and succumbing to other natural disasters. I wonder if that includes dying inside. Cora Allbright – what an ironic name! The brightness has been gone from this marriage, yet she clings to this ghost of a man whom she loved before the war. Leni – so brilliant, curious, and loving – does she have a future away from this volatile, toxic home life?

The domestic violence in this novel is unpleasant and wearing, to say the least. I know there are many readers who will, understandably, choose to forego reading this book because of that. Ms. Hannah does not sugar coat it or excuse it, even though Cora tries to. It takes Leni, the teenager so affected by the discord, to have a hand in being the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. I found myself cringing and gritting my teeth through many scenes. While the story focuses on Leni and her family, there are other strong, likable characters in this saga. Matthew Walker has more than his share of terrible struggles, and he proves himself worthy. Big-hearted Large Marge and Tom Walker are sturdy, faithful friends. For those who love adventures, this book has lovely descriptions as well as danger. I found myself experiencing a wide range of emotions – anger, of course, but humor, awe, sorrow, surprise, and joy.

The Great Alone begins in 1974 when Leni is 13. It spans twelve years, through 1986. Leni grows from childhood through adolescence to womanhood during that time. Kristin Hannah has created a remarkable work of fiction that felt real. It’s a coming-of-age story, a survival story, and a tribute to the power of community and friendship and love. Love is never perfect; it can be challenging and harsh. It can be breathtakingly beautiful and enduring. Love between parent and offspring, between young lovers, and love humans have for nature all dominate the daily lives of folks in Kristin Hannah’s Alaskan wilderness in The Great Alone. As 2017 draws to a close, I am thinking that perhaps I saved the best book for last. This one certainly makes my top three.

My thanks to NetGalley, St.Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this wonderful book. My opinions are my own.

5 stars