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Available
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Collection
Publication
St. Martin's Press (2018), Edition: Illustrated, 448 pages
Description
Lenora Allbright is 13 when her father convinces her mother, Cora, to forgo their inauspicious existence in Seattle and move to Kaneq, AK. It's 1974, and the former Vietnam POW sees a better future away from the noise and nightmares that plague him. Having been left a homestead by a buddy who died in the war, Ernt is secure in his beliefs, but never was a family less prepared for the reality of Alaska, the long, cold winters and isolation. Locals want to help out, especially classmate Matthew Walker, who likes everything about Leni. Yet the harsh conditions bring out the worst in Ernt, whose paranoia takes over their lives and exacerbates what Leni sees as the toxic relationship between her parents. The Allbrights are as green as greenhorns can be, and even first love must endure unimaginable hardship and tragedy as the wilderness tries to claim more victims.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Book on CD performed by Julia Whelan
2.5**
Ernt Allbright is a damaged man; a former Vietnam POW he is prone to fits of anger and depression. When one of his fellow POWs dies, he wills his land in Alaska to Ernt. So Allbright takes his wife, Cora, and 13-year-old daughter, Leni, to a remote village
I was engaged and interested in the story from the beginning, but … I quickly grew tired of Cora’s constant excuses for her sorry husband. She seemed to never take seriously the signs that he was a danger to her … and to their child! I found myself yelling at the CD player over and over as she and Leni made one poor decision after another. I could perhaps forgive Leni, who was a teenager after all, but I never could forgive Cora. Yes, I know that women who are abused frequently feel powerless and unable to extricate themselves from the abusive relationship. Yes, I know that even when there are children involved, many such women stick with their abusers (and that time after time, abused children want to be reunited with the parent who has been abusing them). I know this reality, but I don’t have to like it. And in this novel, it irritated me no end.
Additionally, I thought that what happens to Matthew was manipulative on the author’s part, trying to force tears and heartache on the part of the reader (not successfully in my case). And I thought the ending was far too pat and neatly tied up in a pretty rainbow.
On the plus side, I really did enjoy the depictions of the majestic natural beauty of Alaska. This is set in the mid- to late-1970s, before all the cruise ships brought thousands of tourists every summer. I liked the self-sufficiency of many of the characters, and particularly liked the strong women of the community – Large Marge, Geneva Walker, Natalie Watkins and Thelma Schill.
Julia Whelan does a fine job performing the audio version. She has a gift for voices and makes these characters come to life. I particularly like the way she voiced Cora, Large Marge, Ernt and Tom Walker. Too bad she didn’t have better material to work with.
2.5**
Ernt Allbright is a damaged man; a former Vietnam POW he is prone to fits of anger and depression. When one of his fellow POWs dies, he wills his land in Alaska to Ernt. So Allbright takes his wife, Cora, and 13-year-old daughter, Leni, to a remote village
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on Alaska’s Kenai peninsula, accessible only by plane or boat to homestead the land he has inherited. They are woefully unprepared, though optimistic and not afraid of hard work, and the local residents of Kaneq welcome them and rally to help them survive their first winter. But Ernt can’t accept help without rancor. He’s offended that people think him unprepared, and is likely as not to accuse anyone offering help of thinking him incompetent. He’s angry that a “rich man thinks he can buy my friendship” by offering the use of his tractor to help clear the land. He’s certain that the government is out to get him and he’s determined to show that he needs no one, and his family doesn’t either. As winter approaches and the hours of daylight diminish, Ernt’s depression worsens, as does his tendency to violent outbursts. I was engaged and interested in the story from the beginning, but … I quickly grew tired of Cora’s constant excuses for her sorry husband. She seemed to never take seriously the signs that he was a danger to her … and to their child! I found myself yelling at the CD player over and over as she and Leni made one poor decision after another. I could perhaps forgive Leni, who was a teenager after all, but I never could forgive Cora. Yes, I know that women who are abused frequently feel powerless and unable to extricate themselves from the abusive relationship. Yes, I know that even when there are children involved, many such women stick with their abusers (and that time after time, abused children want to be reunited with the parent who has been abusing them). I know this reality, but I don’t have to like it. And in this novel, it irritated me no end.
Additionally, I thought that what happens to Matthew was manipulative on the author’s part, trying to force tears and heartache on the part of the reader (not successfully in my case). And I thought the ending was far too pat and neatly tied up in a pretty rainbow.
On the plus side, I really did enjoy the depictions of the majestic natural beauty of Alaska. This is set in the mid- to late-1970s, before all the cruise ships brought thousands of tourists every summer. I liked the self-sufficiency of many of the characters, and particularly liked the strong women of the community – Large Marge, Geneva Walker, Natalie Watkins and Thelma Schill.
Julia Whelan does a fine job performing the audio version. She has a gift for voices and makes these characters come to life. I particularly like the way she voiced Cora, Large Marge, Ernt and Tom Walker. Too bad she didn’t have better material to work with.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
Leni's father, feeling bitter and alienated after his return from Vietnam, moves his family to some land he inherits in Alaska. The wild beauty of the place captivates Leni, but the harsh and unforgiving aspects of northern life prove difficult for their family to overcome, especially because they
This was a powerful melodrama, painting a sweeping picture of the Alaskan landscape and way of life, as well as believable, flawed characters. I enjoyed it, though found myself not entirely satisfied with the ending.I thought it was too good to be believed. I think the breaking point for me was when Matthew stood up out of the wheelchair. I could believe that his mind had healed enough to recognize her, but I think, realistically, he would have lost that leg. They could still have had a happy ending, but I think the one she wrote, complete with more babies in the epilogue, was a little too rosy. If you're intrigued by Alaska, or stories in general with family drama and elements of wilderness survival, give this one a try. It's not a book I would normally pick out, but I read it for my library's book club and enjoyed it.
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brought all of their troubles with them to their new home.This was a powerful melodrama, painting a sweeping picture of the Alaskan landscape and way of life, as well as believable, flawed characters. I enjoyed it, though found myself not entirely satisfied with the ending.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
When Leni's father returns from Vietnam, he has changed. He has sudden bursts of rage which make it difficult for him to hold a job and keeps both Leni and her mother constantly making sure they aren't doing anything that might set him off. So when he decides that they will pack up and move to a
This is the first novel I've read by Kristen Hannah and, while it was fine, it will probably be the last. While the setting was wonderful, the secondary characters were reliably one-note and didn't change over the course of the novel. And there was so much drama. Just tons of it. And then there would be more. But I can see why this was a bestseller, I certainly kept turning the pages, long after I'd begun rolling my eyes with every new plot development.
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small, isolated community in Alaska, they both agree. Life on a farmstead in Alaska is hard, but Leni makes a friend in the only other child her age at the school and she grows to love Alaska. But as the years progress, her father's paranoia and extremism increase, alienating everyone they know and the long winter nights make his rages worse. But what can Leni do when her mother refuses to leave?This is the first novel I've read by Kristen Hannah and, while it was fine, it will probably be the last. While the setting was wonderful, the secondary characters were reliably one-note and didn't change over the course of the novel. And there was so much drama. Just tons of it. And then there would be more. But I can see why this was a bestseller, I certainly kept turning the pages, long after I'd begun rolling my eyes with every new plot development.
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LibraryThing member rmarcin
Beautifully told story of a family who takes a chance and moves to Alaska. In the 1970s, the Allbright family of Ernt, Cora, and Leni move north and are totally unprepared for the isolation of the wilderness. They enter a tight-knit community and are welcomed and helped to survive their first
#TheGreatAlone #KristinHannah
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winter. However, the wilderness brings out the worst darkness in the father Ernt. He is abusive and becomes more and more agitated as the years go by. This is a story of love and loss and what people will do for true love. Heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. #TheGreatAlone #KristinHannah
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LibraryThing member skyeval
Stereotyped characters. Disappointing!
LibraryThing member Carolee888
I have a cousin in Alask sa and I have always wondered about her experiences growing up. Her fathe r and mother left Minnesota when she was younger and took their four children into a place that was wilder than I ever would dream of. Her father worked on the pipeline. There was no way that I could
This story did not disappont and made firm my resolve to visit Alaska in the furure. The family in this story left for Alaska with just VW van and very few supplies. Ernst a POW from the VietNam War, he wanted to get out of Seattle. They had moved often before because of him losing his temper and jobs. He refused treatment. He had started to abuse his wife, Cora. Cora and their daughter Len were afraid of Ernest. They did find enduring friends, Ernst found a drinking partner.
Except for ssome overly melodramtic scenes which had tears pouring down my face, I decided not to deduct a star because the wonderful depiction of Alaska's beauty and terror, the powerful story of domestic abuse and the rewards of surving. I highly recommend this audio book which was done beautifully.
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ever pass listening to this book.This story did not disappont and made firm my resolve to visit Alaska in the furure. The family in this story left for Alaska with just VW van and very few supplies. Ernst a POW from the VietNam War, he wanted to get out of Seattle. They had moved often before because of him losing his temper and jobs. He refused treatment. He had started to abuse his wife, Cora. Cora and their daughter Len were afraid of Ernest. They did find enduring friends, Ernst found a drinking partner.
Except for ssome overly melodramtic scenes which had tears pouring down my face, I decided not to deduct a star because the wonderful depiction of Alaska's beauty and terror, the powerful story of domestic abuse and the rewards of surving. I highly recommend this audio book which was done beautifully.
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LibraryThing member flourgirl49
Excellent, substantial novel about a homesteading family in Alaska in the 1970s. The storyline deals with domestic violence and a war veteran suffering from PTSD which tends to get pretty dark and uncomfortable at times. The beauty of Alaska shines through, though, and it's interesting to read
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about how people can live and thrive (or not) in 18 hours of darkness every day. Definitely recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member Micareads
An amazing book about a family who moves to Alaska to be safe. Little do they know there is as much danger inside their little cabin as there is outside...maybe more. It is also a coming of age and first love story that are wonderfully told. The sudden drama towards the end of the book was an
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unexpected twist but it brought the characters full circle. This is my 2nd book by Kristin Hannah and I have yet to be disappointed. Show Less
LibraryThing member japaul22
The Great Alone is the story of a broken family trying to find peace in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1970s. Ernt, the father/husband, came back from Vietnam broken and mentally unstable from his experience as a POW. His wife, Cora, can't forget the man she knew before the war and stays with him
Kristin Hannah seems to be a wildly popular author these days, and I can see why. This was the first book of hers that I've read and it's a page turner. It is plot driven, with characters you root for, and is somehow both comfortingly predictable and suspenseful at the same time. That being said, I think one of her novels was probably enough for me. Hannah's writing was too "movie-ish" for me. Lots of sweeping scenes and characters that you could visualize easily, but never quite seemed real or complex enough for me. It was a nice diversion and I would keep her other books in mind if a topic really intrigues me, but most likely I'm done.
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through an abusive relationship. Their daughter, Leni, is growing up with only this as her example of a loving relationship. Leni, who arrives in Alaska as an 9 year old, becomes the focus of the story as she grows into a young woman who can survive the Alaskan wilderness. They live in a cabin with no electricity or plumbing and have to learn quickly how to survive the brutal Alaskan winters. The eclectic community around them accepts them and helps and teaches them. Leni falls in love with a local boy, Matthew. Of course, Matthew's father is hated by her own father. Nothing is ever easy in this book, to say the least. Kristin Hannah seems to be a wildly popular author these days, and I can see why. This was the first book of hers that I've read and it's a page turner. It is plot driven, with characters you root for, and is somehow both comfortingly predictable and suspenseful at the same time. That being said, I think one of her novels was probably enough for me. Hannah's writing was too "movie-ish" for me. Lots of sweeping scenes and characters that you could visualize easily, but never quite seemed real or complex enough for me. It was a nice diversion and I would keep her other books in mind if a topic really intrigues me, but most likely I'm done.
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LibraryThing member Iudita
This was a really good read. Kristin Hannah can be relied on to tell a great story. I thought the she developed the characters beautifully. (In particular the father who you hate but feel empathy for at the same time) The descriptions of life in Alaska were beautiful to read. I was compelled to
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google images of Alaska several times throughout the book because I was craving the visual to go along with the story. I also admired the ending which I thought might be tricky to wrap up realistically but it was perfect. This will be an easy book to recommend for 2018. Many thanks to the publisher for the treat of reading Kristen Hannah's newest book. Show Less
LibraryThing member ecataldi
Worth. The. Hype. Honestly, I liked this even better than Kristin Hannah's, "The Nightingale," and that book was a masterpiece! I zipped through this one, unable to put it down. It was gripping from the beginning and I know that this is a book I will return to. Set in the remote Alaskan wilderness,
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this coming of age story features a young girl trying to navigate her parent's stormy relationship and make friends of her own (a hard task when there are only about 30 people in town). Leni's father came back from Vietnam a changed man, prone to violent outbursts, restlessness, and crazy ideas. When his buddy from Vietnam wills him a cabin up in Alaska, he packs his family into their VW van and moves them across county into the great alone. They are woefully under-prepared for their first winter and that summer the townsfolk comes together to help out the newcomers. Little does Leni's family realize how long the winters are and how short daylight is; Leni's father mood shifts ever darker. Despite the darkness in her father their is beauty everywhere: in their new neighbors, the rugged wilderness, the value of hard work and borrowed books. Beautifully written; this love letter to Alaska will resonate with readers and have readers rooting for Leni. Tears may fall, dreams may be born, anything is possible. Favorite book of 2018 so far! Show Less
LibraryThing member eyes.2c
Electrifying!
I was totally immersed in Hannah's novel right from the start. A superb story of a young girl's childhood with two broken, dysfunctional parents played out in the depths of Alaska in the early 1970's.
Leni Allbright is thirteen when her ex Vietnam Vet POW father decides to take them to
My heart bleeds for the whole family caught in the vortex of the damage that war plays on the survivors--if the emotional and mental anguish can even be called that. As Leni so eloquently and sadly states, 'One thing every child of a POW knew was how easily people could be broken. Leni still wore the shiny silver POW bracelet in memory of a captain who hadn’t come home to his family.'
Leni and her mother Cora are swept up into Ernt's latest grand plan. They will go to Alaska to take up the offer of a property in what surely must be the 'last frontier'--the wilderness of the far north where survival is not guaranteed and where life is a continual effort to stock up for the long winters broken by the vast amazing summers. The palate Hannah employs to paint the landscape is mesmerizing. The human state she portrays is relentless and stark, compassionate and revealing all at once. Ernt, Cora and Leni will come face to face with their own strengths and failings and the leaching away of Ernt's self control.
Leni is forged into a person who is 'Alaska -tough'.
The portrayal of the locals, a mixed bag of people, from the off-grid survivalists, to those who have been challenged by and met the demanding way of life, to those who have just plain fallen in love with this untamed wilderness, all ring true.
A mesmerizing novel of survival, loss and harsh truths. The story surrounds you and absorbs you. It displays a raw and powerful story force that has the pull of legend. A tale that eats into your heart and gives pause for reflection on a multiple of levels. To my mind the title, The Great Alone, plays on both the mental states of the central players and the challenge of the vastness and wildness of Alaska.
A NetGalley ARC
I was totally immersed in Hannah's novel right from the start. A superb story of a young girl's childhood with two broken, dysfunctional parents played out in the depths of Alaska in the early 1970's.
Leni Allbright is thirteen when her ex Vietnam Vet POW father decides to take them to
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Alaska.My heart bleeds for the whole family caught in the vortex of the damage that war plays on the survivors--if the emotional and mental anguish can even be called that. As Leni so eloquently and sadly states, 'One thing every child of a POW knew was how easily people could be broken. Leni still wore the shiny silver POW bracelet in memory of a captain who hadn’t come home to his family.'
Leni and her mother Cora are swept up into Ernt's latest grand plan. They will go to Alaska to take up the offer of a property in what surely must be the 'last frontier'--the wilderness of the far north where survival is not guaranteed and where life is a continual effort to stock up for the long winters broken by the vast amazing summers. The palate Hannah employs to paint the landscape is mesmerizing. The human state she portrays is relentless and stark, compassionate and revealing all at once. Ernt, Cora and Leni will come face to face with their own strengths and failings and the leaching away of Ernt's self control.
Leni is forged into a person who is 'Alaska -tough'.
The portrayal of the locals, a mixed bag of people, from the off-grid survivalists, to those who have been challenged by and met the demanding way of life, to those who have just plain fallen in love with this untamed wilderness, all ring true.
A mesmerizing novel of survival, loss and harsh truths. The story surrounds you and absorbs you. It displays a raw and powerful story force that has the pull of legend. A tale that eats into your heart and gives pause for reflection on a multiple of levels. To my mind the title, The Great Alone, plays on both the mental states of the central players and the challenge of the vastness and wildness of Alaska.
A NetGalley ARC
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LibraryThing member debkrenzer
The emotion that I felt while reading this book? Wow! It was intense. Granted it was a huge negative emotion in the fact that I thoroughly detested one of the main characters. A man suffering, but the damage he caused, erased any pity you ever had for the man. I read this book seething. I will let
For that fact and the fact that I spent a whole day with these characters. It was rainy and I was lazy. In between bouts of Words with Friends, I lived this Alaskan world. Why anyone would want to do all that work and freeze their a$$ off most of the year? SMH
I was so mesmerized with this book and will remember a dreary winter day, spent in bed under the blankets totally living this Alaskan adventure.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Kristin Hannah and Net Galley for providing me a perfect winter day and a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
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you know domestic abuse is in full swing in the book. Not a plus or a negative, just a factor.For that fact and the fact that I spent a whole day with these characters. It was rainy and I was lazy. In between bouts of Words with Friends, I lived this Alaskan world. Why anyone would want to do all that work and freeze their a$$ off most of the year? SMH
I was so mesmerized with this book and will remember a dreary winter day, spent in bed under the blankets totally living this Alaskan adventure.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Kristin Hannah and Net Galley for providing me a perfect winter day and a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
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LibraryThing member fredreeca
Ernt is a Vietnam war veteran. He has become unstable, volatile and abusive since his time as a POW. When he inherits a homestead in Alaska, he decides to move his family for a fresh start on life.
Alaska has always been on my bucket list. The vastness is appealing to me. So, I jumped on this book
Not only did Kristin Hannah have a great setting she also created some of the best characters. Ernt with his insanity, Cora with her strength and Leni, their daughter, with her determination form a family like no other. And then there is Large Marge…yes that is her name…Matthew and his family, just to name a few. I enjoyed this community of outcasts. They have a tough exterior but their hearts know no limits.
Parts of this novel I savored and parts I rushed through because it was terrifying. It was tough to get through some spots. I had to stop and breathe in places, especially where Leni was concerned. This is an incredible book! This story encompasses so much. And I cannot tell you what I liked more…the story, the land, the people…all of it creates a tale of survival, love and hope.
I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review
Alaska has always been on my bucket list. The vastness is appealing to me. So, I jumped on this book
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as soon as I heard it was available. Kristin Hannah nailed Alaska for me. I could just picture the greatness and the dangers which encompass this last frontier.Not only did Kristin Hannah have a great setting she also created some of the best characters. Ernt with his insanity, Cora with her strength and Leni, their daughter, with her determination form a family like no other. And then there is Large Marge…yes that is her name…Matthew and his family, just to name a few. I enjoyed this community of outcasts. They have a tough exterior but their hearts know no limits.
Parts of this novel I savored and parts I rushed through because it was terrifying. It was tough to get through some spots. I had to stop and breathe in places, especially where Leni was concerned. This is an incredible book! This story encompasses so much. And I cannot tell you what I liked more…the story, the land, the people…all of it creates a tale of survival, love and hope.
I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review
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LibraryThing member teachlz
Linda’s Book Obsession Review of “THE
GREAT ALONE” By KRISTIN HANNAH
St. Martin’s Press, February 2018
Kristin Hannah, Author of “The Great Alone” has written an amazing literary masterpiece of epic proportions. I loved absolutely everything about this novel.
I appreciate the way that
The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Historical Fiction, and there are moments of Suspense and Adventure. The timeline of this story is in the turbulent 70’s around the Vietnam War. The location of the story is in Alaska, a land of contradictions, light and darkness, beauty and danger. The author writes several times in the novel, “Alaska is a place people are running to, or running away from”. To live in the wilderness of Alaska, one has to learn to survive.
The author describes the characters as complex and complicated, strong and weak.
My favorite character is Leni Albright, a thirteen year old, coming of age, who has moved from place to place, always feeling alone. Leni’s father, Ernt, a former POW in Vietnam comes back an emotionally damaged man. Ernt takes Leni and his wife Cora, to live in Alaska , where they can live off the land. The local people try to help make their transition easier, and stress the dangers of winter, and wild animals.
Despite the fact, that Leni has come from a dysfunctional family, she wants to find a place where she is not alone. Leni wants to go to school, and at time seems too mature for a young girl. As the winter sets in Alaska, and there is darkness, Ernt steps into his own darkness and becomes abusive and paranoid. Leni fells that she has to look out and protect her mother.
Kristin Hannah writes about the importance of survival, the importance of family, friends,working hard, love and hope.
I appreciate that the author writes about important issues that exist today as well, emotional and physical abuse, PTSD, soldiers suffering from stress after coming home, and seeking professional help. Mental health for those victims of abuse is important as well. Self-worth, loyalty, compassion, and survival are issues in this novel as well.
I would highly recommend “The Great Alone” for all readers. I can see the transition of this amazing novel to the movie screen. I received an Advance Reading Copy for my honest review.
GREAT ALONE” By KRISTIN HANNAH
St. Martin’s Press, February 2018
Kristin Hannah, Author of “The Great Alone” has written an amazing literary masterpiece of epic proportions. I loved absolutely everything about this novel.
I appreciate the way that
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Kristin Hannah weaves the narrative, colorful cast of characters, literary elements, genres, scenic descriptions, and history of Alaska in one novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Historical Fiction, and there are moments of Suspense and Adventure. The timeline of this story is in the turbulent 70’s around the Vietnam War. The location of the story is in Alaska, a land of contradictions, light and darkness, beauty and danger. The author writes several times in the novel, “Alaska is a place people are running to, or running away from”. To live in the wilderness of Alaska, one has to learn to survive.
The author describes the characters as complex and complicated, strong and weak.
My favorite character is Leni Albright, a thirteen year old, coming of age, who has moved from place to place, always feeling alone. Leni’s father, Ernt, a former POW in Vietnam comes back an emotionally damaged man. Ernt takes Leni and his wife Cora, to live in Alaska , where they can live off the land. The local people try to help make their transition easier, and stress the dangers of winter, and wild animals.
Despite the fact, that Leni has come from a dysfunctional family, she wants to find a place where she is not alone. Leni wants to go to school, and at time seems too mature for a young girl. As the winter sets in Alaska, and there is darkness, Ernt steps into his own darkness and becomes abusive and paranoid. Leni fells that she has to look out and protect her mother.
Kristin Hannah writes about the importance of survival, the importance of family, friends,working hard, love and hope.
I appreciate that the author writes about important issues that exist today as well, emotional and physical abuse, PTSD, soldiers suffering from stress after coming home, and seeking professional help. Mental health for those victims of abuse is important as well. Self-worth, loyalty, compassion, and survival are issues in this novel as well.
I would highly recommend “The Great Alone” for all readers. I can see the transition of this amazing novel to the movie screen. I received an Advance Reading Copy for my honest review.
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LibraryThing member annwelton
Again - thank you to NetGalley for this Advanced copy of Kristin Hannah's next book. And knock it out of the park she did, again.
Really could not put this one down - such a great story of a very poor family trying to make it in far-away Alaska, after so many failures.
You will LOVE this book, no
Really could not put this one down - such a great story of a very poor family trying to make it in far-away Alaska, after so many failures.
You will LOVE this book, no
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doubt about it! Thank you Kristin, again - and what is next? Show Less
LibraryThing member susan0316
Before I read The Great Alone I didn't know much about Alaska - about the early settlers or the beauty of the state. The author does a wonderful job giving the reader a beautiful story along with wonderful descriptions of Alaska. I must admit that I felt cold sitting in my warm house when I read
In the early 70s, Cora and Ernt decide to move to Alaska. Ernt is a Vietnam veteran who has spent time in a POW camp and is suffering from what we would refer to today as PTSD. Along with their 13 year old daughter Leni, they drive to Alaska to their new lives. They are totally unprepared for what is ahead of them and people in their small town help them get started. Life is tough and the family lives right on the edge of survival. Along with physical survival, Ernt is a violent man and Cora and Leni are always trying to keep him happy. Leni is a wonderful character and this is a real coming of age story for her as she grows from a 13 year old to an adult.
This is a wonderful story of survival - physical as well as mental, love and family. I highly recommend it!
Thanks to the girlfriend giveaway on facebook for a copy of this fantastic new book. All opinions in this review are my own
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her descriptions of the blowing snow and the cold temperatures. This is a wonderful novel about love and family - both your family by blood and those you collect along the way.In the early 70s, Cora and Ernt decide to move to Alaska. Ernt is a Vietnam veteran who has spent time in a POW camp and is suffering from what we would refer to today as PTSD. Along with their 13 year old daughter Leni, they drive to Alaska to their new lives. They are totally unprepared for what is ahead of them and people in their small town help them get started. Life is tough and the family lives right on the edge of survival. Along with physical survival, Ernt is a violent man and Cora and Leni are always trying to keep him happy. Leni is a wonderful character and this is a real coming of age story for her as she grows from a 13 year old to an adult.
This is a wonderful story of survival - physical as well as mental, love and family. I highly recommend it!
Thanks to the girlfriend giveaway on facebook for a copy of this fantastic new book. All opinions in this review are my own
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LibraryThing member Mrs.DuBois
Not many historical fiction books exist for the Vietnam conflict. That, the fact it's by a favorite author, Kristin Hannah, and it begins in 1974, the year I graduated high school, all added to my desire to read this book.
High school age, Leni Allbright, has been forced to move from school to
The family's adjustment to Alaska, Ernt's intensified off-balance aggressive behavior, Cora's abuse at the hands of Ernt, Leni's coming of age in the wilds of Alaska and her dangerous romantic alliance with Matthew are the underlying plots that lead the reader through the story. I found myself simultaneously cheering for, and frustrated with Leni and Cora, and continuously angry with Ernt.
One flaw in the story which bothered me is the statement that Ernt would not leave visible marks on Cora but several times he beat her leaving black eyes and bruises on her face. Huh? How did that get missed by the editors? Still it's a great read based in a time that has been neglected.
(This book was an arc received in exchange for an honest review.) #stmartinspress
High school age, Leni Allbright, has been forced to move from school to
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school due to her dad's inability to settle down. Her dad, Ernt, was a Vietnam POW experiencing what appears to be PTSD. Mom, Cora, continuously acquiesces to dad, including the family move to small town Alaska where the majority of the story takes place. The family's adjustment to Alaska, Ernt's intensified off-balance aggressive behavior, Cora's abuse at the hands of Ernt, Leni's coming of age in the wilds of Alaska and her dangerous romantic alliance with Matthew are the underlying plots that lead the reader through the story. I found myself simultaneously cheering for, and frustrated with Leni and Cora, and continuously angry with Ernt.
One flaw in the story which bothered me is the statement that Ernt would not leave visible marks on Cora but several times he beat her leaving black eyes and bruises on her face. Huh? How did that get missed by the editors? Still it's a great read based in a time that has been neglected.
(This book was an arc received in exchange for an honest review.) #stmartinspress
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LibraryThing member John_Warner
Alaska is a land of dichotomies. Leni Albright, the protagonist of the novel, used the following polarities to describe where her family settled in the early 1970's: beauty and horror, savior and destroyer.
Like so many men returning from the Vietnam War, Ernt Albright returns to his wife Cora and
Kristin Hannah's writing clearly exposed the reader to both the beauty and viciousness of Alaska. I fell in love with the cast of colorful characters that populated this small community; each citizen supporting and coming to the aid to those in trouble. Finally, I loved watching how the wilderness molded a 13 year old Leni into the young woman she becomes at the end of the novel. However, be warned to have a box of tissues around you when you read this new favorite read of mine.
Like so many men returning from the Vietnam War, Ernt Albright returns to his wife Cora and
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daughter Leni, a psychologically scarred man, prone to over-drinking and violence. When an army friend leaves him property on the Kenai peninsular in Alaska, Ernt is convinced that this is an opportunity for a new start. However, when they arrive in summer they quickly learn that they are inadequately prepared for living off-the-grid for the upcoming winter. Large Marge, former D.C. prosecutor and current Alaskan shopkeeper advises the Albright newly arrived Albright family, "In Alaska, you are allowed one mistake, the second mistake will kill you." Leni learns that the Alaska in winter can be vicious; however, danger lurks not only in the wilderness but can live behind closed doors.Kristin Hannah's writing clearly exposed the reader to both the beauty and viciousness of Alaska. I fell in love with the cast of colorful characters that populated this small community; each citizen supporting and coming to the aid to those in trouble. Finally, I loved watching how the wilderness molded a 13 year old Leni into the young woman she becomes at the end of the novel. However, be warned to have a box of tissues around you when you read this new favorite read of mine.
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LibraryThing member DrApple
The Alaskan wilderness is a major character in this story of a young girl and her family who move to Alaska. Leni and her Mom had gotten by just fine while her dad was in Viet Nam. When he returned they were sure life would be even better, but Dad's experiences in battle and as a prisoner of war
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had left him with emotional and psychological problems that he could not control. Moving to Alaska, where a family is basically on its won to survive makes these problems more extreme and much more dangerous. Dad beats Mom, but she refuses to leave him because she loves him so. He's always sorry afterward, and she is always sure this will be the last time. Leni becomes a young woman in the wilds of Alaska. She gains confidence, strength, and a will to survive. She falls in love with the only boy her age in the local school, Matthew Walker. Matthew is a gentle and sweet boy, and the two dream of leaving the wilderness and going to Fairbanks together for college and then to build a life. The problem, Leni's father hates Michael's family, and, therefor, Michael. There are tragedies and shocking events that complicate Leni's life, but I won't share them here. The only negative of this novel is that it becomes almost unbearable waiting to see what terrible think Leni's father will do next. Show Less
LibraryThing member rosies
felt I was with her every step of the way
LibraryThing member Sharn
This was a good book but not one of my favorite Kristin Hannah books (I liked it but I didn't love it like I normally do. I thought it was repetitive at times and definitely too wordy. My only other criticism is that, at times, I seriously felt like I was reading a Nicholas Sparks book.
The
The writing was wonderful and the characters were all well defined.
The
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Allbright's (Ernt, Cora and Leni) move to Alaska when they are given a piece of land thinking it's the answer that they are looking for, little did they know that it would forever change their lives. Alaska taught them more than they ever imagined and they were lucky to survive the beautiful landscape, wildlife and brutal climate changes. There are a 1,000 ways to die in Alaska.The writing was wonderful and the characters were all well defined.
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LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks
The Great Alone is the story of the Allbright family: Cora, Leni and Ernt. Ernt receives a letter that he has inherited a home and piece of land in Alaska, from a fellow soldier he was friends with during the Vietnam War. Cora and Leni reluctantly agree to go, in hopes for a new beginning. Ernt has
When the family arrives in Alaska they are immediately warned by the locals how hard it can be. Most people that move to Alaska don’t make it through the first winter. Fear is common sense. “If you’re tough enough, it’s heaven on earth. You have to know how to survive.”
Cora is warned by the other Alaskan women, “A woman has to be tough as steel up here. You can’t count on anyone to save you and your children. You have to willing to save yourselves. And you have to learn fast. In Alaska you can make one mistake. One. The second one will kill you.”
“They lived on a piece of land that couldn’t be accessed by water at low tide, a peninsula with only a handful of people and hundreds of wild animals, in a climate harsh enough to kill you. There was no police station, no telephone service, no one to hear you scream.” Winter was a big deal. Survival, could hinge on the smallest thing.” You have to be self-sufficient. You either belong here or you don’t.
Leni soon discovers that despite all the bad things, she belongs more in Alaska than she ever has anywhere else. She felt a great opening in her soul. She felt fully herself. She finally belonged.
Pretty soon, the cruel Alaskan winter arrives and Leni’s father gradually gets angrier and more abusive. Every day is darker and colder. “As winter pared their life away, the Allbrights were left with only each other. Every evening was spent together, hours and hours of night, huddled around the woodstove. They were all on edge. Arguments erupted over nothing. Worse than the weather was the confinement it caused.”
Leni’s father “looked ruined, tired, but present; in his eyes, she saw more love and sadness than should be able to exist in one human being. Something was tearing him up inside. It was the other man, the bad man, who lived inside of him and tried to break out in the darkness.”
For a while, Leni, like her mother, believed that her dad really was just sick and sorry. They thought that if they loved him enough, he would get better and it would be like before the war. It wasn’t long before Leni stopped believing that.
“The darkness and the cold and the isolation got inside my father in a terrible way, turned him into one of the many wild animals.” The war broke Ernt and no one could help him. “With no local police and no one to call for help. 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.”
Leni and her mother stick together to get through her father’s episodes. They are very close, strong for each other when they have to be, each other’s reason for living. Leni, “Whatever happened, she wasn’t ever really alone. She had her mama. Her childhood would always smell like sea air and cigarette smoke and her mother’s rose-scented perfume.”
As for Cora, she loved Ernt way too much to leave him. She felt like she couldn’t breathe without him. She longed for the man he was before the war. The book says a lot about the durability and lunacy of love and how it stays against all odds.
“In the vast expanse of this unpredictable wilderness, you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away, screaming, from the dark and the cold and the hardship. There is no middle ground, no safe place; not here, in the Great Alone.”
“Wild. That’s how I describe it all. My love. My life. Alaska. Truthfully, it’s all the same to me. Alaska doesn’t attract many; most are too tame to handle life up here. But when she gets her hooks in you, she digs deep and holds on, and you become hers. Wild. A lover of cruel beauty and splendid isolation. And God help you, you can’t live anywhere else.”
I loved this book. Do not expect another “Nightingale.” This book is very different, but just as powerful and lovely.
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some serious PTSD issues and is often abusive and angry and unable to keep a job. They are all hopeful Alaska will be a good change for him. When the family arrives in Alaska they are immediately warned by the locals how hard it can be. Most people that move to Alaska don’t make it through the first winter. Fear is common sense. “If you’re tough enough, it’s heaven on earth. You have to know how to survive.”
Cora is warned by the other Alaskan women, “A woman has to be tough as steel up here. You can’t count on anyone to save you and your children. You have to willing to save yourselves. And you have to learn fast. In Alaska you can make one mistake. One. The second one will kill you.”
“They lived on a piece of land that couldn’t be accessed by water at low tide, a peninsula with only a handful of people and hundreds of wild animals, in a climate harsh enough to kill you. There was no police station, no telephone service, no one to hear you scream.” Winter was a big deal. Survival, could hinge on the smallest thing.” You have to be self-sufficient. You either belong here or you don’t.
Leni soon discovers that despite all the bad things, she belongs more in Alaska than she ever has anywhere else. She felt a great opening in her soul. She felt fully herself. She finally belonged.
Pretty soon, the cruel Alaskan winter arrives and Leni’s father gradually gets angrier and more abusive. Every day is darker and colder. “As winter pared their life away, the Allbrights were left with only each other. Every evening was spent together, hours and hours of night, huddled around the woodstove. They were all on edge. Arguments erupted over nothing. Worse than the weather was the confinement it caused.”
Leni’s father “looked ruined, tired, but present; in his eyes, she saw more love and sadness than should be able to exist in one human being. Something was tearing him up inside. It was the other man, the bad man, who lived inside of him and tried to break out in the darkness.”
For a while, Leni, like her mother, believed that her dad really was just sick and sorry. They thought that if they loved him enough, he would get better and it would be like before the war. It wasn’t long before Leni stopped believing that.
“The darkness and the cold and the isolation got inside my father in a terrible way, turned him into one of the many wild animals.” The war broke Ernt and no one could help him. “With no local police and no one to call for help. 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.”
Leni and her mother stick together to get through her father’s episodes. They are very close, strong for each other when they have to be, each other’s reason for living. Leni, “Whatever happened, she wasn’t ever really alone. She had her mama. Her childhood would always smell like sea air and cigarette smoke and her mother’s rose-scented perfume.”
As for Cora, she loved Ernt way too much to leave him. She felt like she couldn’t breathe without him. She longed for the man he was before the war. The book says a lot about the durability and lunacy of love and how it stays against all odds.
“In the vast expanse of this unpredictable wilderness, you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away, screaming, from the dark and the cold and the hardship. There is no middle ground, no safe place; not here, in the Great Alone.”
“Wild. That’s how I describe it all. My love. My life. Alaska. Truthfully, it’s all the same to me. Alaska doesn’t attract many; most are too tame to handle life up here. But when she gets her hooks in you, she digs deep and holds on, and you become hers. Wild. A lover of cruel beauty and splendid isolation. And God help you, you can’t live anywhere else.”
I loved this book. Do not expect another “Nightingale.” This book is very different, but just as powerful and lovely.
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LibraryThing member waldhaus1
I found myself enjoying this book intensely. The description of a battered wife was in ways almost to academic - too much by the book. The batterer was given the excuse of having spent time as a POW in Vietnam. While I have no doubt that was an ordeal for him what I know of abusive men tells me it
I really loved the descriptions of Alaska and the challenges of living there - more in the 70s than now I imagine. Yet Alaska is still a challenge for those who make a home there. Twice I have had the pleasure of staying out near the base of Denali, of being able to watch the moon over the peak and the sun rise over the mountain. It is rugged country and still a wilderness.
I had the pleasure of spending 4 days at a lodge on the Kenai just getting a taste for the area.
Many things happen in the story and Hannah does an excellent job of drawing the reader in. There are surprises, unexpected turns and twists, but the essential hummanity of the people is what shines through. I almost have to wonder can people really be that good?
You have to read and decide for yourself.
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revealed whatever was already there.I really loved the descriptions of Alaska and the challenges of living there - more in the 70s than now I imagine. Yet Alaska is still a challenge for those who make a home there. Twice I have had the pleasure of staying out near the base of Denali, of being able to watch the moon over the peak and the sun rise over the mountain. It is rugged country and still a wilderness.
I had the pleasure of spending 4 days at a lodge on the Kenai just getting a taste for the area.
Many things happen in the story and Hannah does an excellent job of drawing the reader in. There are surprises, unexpected turns and twists, but the essential hummanity of the people is what shines through. I almost have to wonder can people really be that good?
You have to read and decide for yourself.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Great Alone- Kristin Hannah, author; Julia Whelan, narrator
This is a hard book to summarize because it goes off on so many tangents over several decades, really beginning in 1974, with a major change in lifestyle for the Allbrights, and ending with a published piece about Alaska, by Lenora
Ernt Allbright and Coraline Golliher fell in love when she was 16 and still in high school. Her parents objected to him. When she became pregnant, she quit school, and they ran away and eloped. He worked as a mechanic, and they lived a vagabond sort of life until he went to Vietnam. After his helicopter was downed, he was captured and became a prisoner of war in a place known for its brutality. Cora was left alone with her daughter, until he returned, a much damaged man, prone to nightmares and violence.
One day, in 1974, a letter came from the father of one of his Nam buddies. Bo had died there and had left him his land in Alaska. As he found it hard to be in the real world, a place where Patti Hearst was kidnapped, Watergate was being investigated, and Israelis were murdered at the Munich Olympics, he decided they should move to Alaska, the new frontier, and start life again without the encumbrances of modern technology, without the government’s interference. In Alaska, there was no electricity in the shack he inherited. There was no indoor plumbing. There were no hard and fast laws to follow. Survival was the only game. His mental health seemed to improve. Then the long nights came.
Lenora was 13 years old when they moved to Kaneq. She loved Alaska’s beauty and majesty. Although it was a hard life, without creature comforts, she adjusted well. Her father was a difficult taskmaster who taught her to shoot and kill for food, who taught her how to survive. The neighbors taught her mother and her to forage for food, plant gardens and smoke meat. The neighbors helped them build outbuildings, clean the shack left to her father, and in general, to learn the way of the land in Alaska. People who survived there were strong and independent, some escaping from something and some looking to leave the rat race that society was rapidly becoming.
Cora and Ernt’s love was as dysfunctional as Ernt was. Cora could not leave the abusive relationship and often made her daughter responsible for keeping the peace by humoring Ernt to prevent him from exploding. Leni felt responsible for her mother’s safety and was afraid to leave without her. She feared for her mother’s safety. As the years passed, although just a teenager, she began to see her father more clearly than her mother did, and she began to be afraid. She wished her mother would leave him, but her mother kept making excuses for him and forgiving him. She promised he would change, and he often begged for forgiveness, promising his violent outbursts and reactions would never happen again. He even promised to stop drinking, but he never did.
The life was hard and when winter came, the darkness, isolation and weather set her father off and he often had violent tantrums, striking out at Cora, but generally, not at Leni. While attending the one room schoolhouse she met another teenager her age, Matthew Walker, and both quickly bonded. Soon that bond grew into devotion and love, but as her father became more and more irrational, he began to hate the Walkers because of their wealth and influence, and also because Walker wanted to modernize the town, with electricity, plumbing, better roads and guest houses. As he became more and more jealous, belligerent and dangerous, the neighbors rejected him and his ideas. He grew angrier and the Allbrights became more and more isolated from the community.
After a particularly violent incident, Leni and Cora tried to run away, but they skidded off the road and were injured. Cora refused to report Ernt to the police. Instead, after medical treatment, they returned to the cabin and their fear. Another time, after an incident, Matthew and Leni ran in one direction and Cora ran in another, to prevent Ernt from finding them. Cora promised she would call the police and report him. Large Marge, another settler would help her. However, in the end, she refused to press charges and he was soon released from jail. Meanwhile, Matthew and Leni were severely injured when they tried to return to see how Cora was doing. Matthew’s injuries were far worse, and he was placed in a coma, with brain damage. He might never wake up again. He might never walk or talk again. Once more, Cora and Leni returned to the cabin. Things rapidly escalated downward and as Ernt builds a fence to pen them in, they become more and more afraid, and he grows more and more dangerous. Alaska is called “the great alone”. It is a dangerous place that one has to constantly try to contain in order to survive. There was the ever present danger of wild animals, limited supplies in the winter, extreme weather and tides. Self sufficiency was a must, but it was a skill that was learned and acquired through trial and error and community cooperation. Neighbors counted on each other for help. Ernt wanted to isolate them from the community. That was dangerous.
Finally, a series of events caused him to completely erupt. When he started beating Leni, threatening her life, it was the last straw for Cora. She took matters into her own hands, at last. They were on the run, sneaking out of Kaneq, racing to Seattle where her estranged parents lived. They begged for help. Leni was pregnant. They assumed new identities. Their many foolish choices had condemned them to this chaotic life
As the years passed, Leni’s son, Matthew Jr., grows into a happy, obedient boy who brings joy to all of them. Eventually, Leni even gets her college degree. Then her mother falls terminally ill, and she writes out a confession for the crime she had committed. After her death, Leni returned to Alaska with her mother’s ashes and the written confession, as Cora had requested. She reunited with her friends and introduced her son to his relatives and his severely injured father.
The story was about soldiers who suffered from the trauma of war, it was about battered wives with no power, it was about young, romantic love and about dysfunctional love between disturbed and damaged people. It was about the foolish decisions people make. It was about people who wanted to prevent change and some who preferred it. The author states it was about people who had dreams.
The book was obviously well researched. The landscape of Alaska came to life. I felt as if I was there when the darkness that threatened Ernt, came down around him, loosening his fragile self control. The narrator read the character’s personalities so well that I was placed directly into each character’s head, experiencing their individual traumas, and there were traumas galore, so many in fact, that it felt like the author was a bit afraid to leave any experience of life out of the narrative. However, her writing style held my attention, as I wanted to find out how all the myriad problems were resolved, but the narrative often seemed too intense to imagine as a part of reality. There were just too many incidents that made me question whether or not they really could have happened. Could characters really keep making the same excuses and mistakes over and over again without learning from them? After awhile, don’t apologies for the same infractions lose their meaning? Would the “prince and princess” really find each other again? Too many problems piled up, emergencies piled up, dangerous rescues and life threatening situations piled up, so at times, the storyline simply stretched credulity and became like a fairytale.
This is a hard book to summarize because it goes off on so many tangents over several decades, really beginning in 1974, with a major change in lifestyle for the Allbrights, and ending with a published piece about Alaska, by Lenora
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Walker, in 2009. Although all the dots connect and get resolved in the end, there is a danger of giving the story away in the summary, so I must warn readers that this review contains spoilers.Ernt Allbright and Coraline Golliher fell in love when she was 16 and still in high school. Her parents objected to him. When she became pregnant, she quit school, and they ran away and eloped. He worked as a mechanic, and they lived a vagabond sort of life until he went to Vietnam. After his helicopter was downed, he was captured and became a prisoner of war in a place known for its brutality. Cora was left alone with her daughter, until he returned, a much damaged man, prone to nightmares and violence.
One day, in 1974, a letter came from the father of one of his Nam buddies. Bo had died there and had left him his land in Alaska. As he found it hard to be in the real world, a place where Patti Hearst was kidnapped, Watergate was being investigated, and Israelis were murdered at the Munich Olympics, he decided they should move to Alaska, the new frontier, and start life again without the encumbrances of modern technology, without the government’s interference. In Alaska, there was no electricity in the shack he inherited. There was no indoor plumbing. There were no hard and fast laws to follow. Survival was the only game. His mental health seemed to improve. Then the long nights came.
Lenora was 13 years old when they moved to Kaneq. She loved Alaska’s beauty and majesty. Although it was a hard life, without creature comforts, she adjusted well. Her father was a difficult taskmaster who taught her to shoot and kill for food, who taught her how to survive. The neighbors taught her mother and her to forage for food, plant gardens and smoke meat. The neighbors helped them build outbuildings, clean the shack left to her father, and in general, to learn the way of the land in Alaska. People who survived there were strong and independent, some escaping from something and some looking to leave the rat race that society was rapidly becoming.
Cora and Ernt’s love was as dysfunctional as Ernt was. Cora could not leave the abusive relationship and often made her daughter responsible for keeping the peace by humoring Ernt to prevent him from exploding. Leni felt responsible for her mother’s safety and was afraid to leave without her. She feared for her mother’s safety. As the years passed, although just a teenager, she began to see her father more clearly than her mother did, and she began to be afraid. She wished her mother would leave him, but her mother kept making excuses for him and forgiving him. She promised he would change, and he often begged for forgiveness, promising his violent outbursts and reactions would never happen again. He even promised to stop drinking, but he never did.
The life was hard and when winter came, the darkness, isolation and weather set her father off and he often had violent tantrums, striking out at Cora, but generally, not at Leni. While attending the one room schoolhouse she met another teenager her age, Matthew Walker, and both quickly bonded. Soon that bond grew into devotion and love, but as her father became more and more irrational, he began to hate the Walkers because of their wealth and influence, and also because Walker wanted to modernize the town, with electricity, plumbing, better roads and guest houses. As he became more and more jealous, belligerent and dangerous, the neighbors rejected him and his ideas. He grew angrier and the Allbrights became more and more isolated from the community.
After a particularly violent incident, Leni and Cora tried to run away, but they skidded off the road and were injured. Cora refused to report Ernt to the police. Instead, after medical treatment, they returned to the cabin and their fear. Another time, after an incident, Matthew and Leni ran in one direction and Cora ran in another, to prevent Ernt from finding them. Cora promised she would call the police and report him. Large Marge, another settler would help her. However, in the end, she refused to press charges and he was soon released from jail. Meanwhile, Matthew and Leni were severely injured when they tried to return to see how Cora was doing. Matthew’s injuries were far worse, and he was placed in a coma, with brain damage. He might never wake up again. He might never walk or talk again. Once more, Cora and Leni returned to the cabin. Things rapidly escalated downward and as Ernt builds a fence to pen them in, they become more and more afraid, and he grows more and more dangerous. Alaska is called “the great alone”. It is a dangerous place that one has to constantly try to contain in order to survive. There was the ever present danger of wild animals, limited supplies in the winter, extreme weather and tides. Self sufficiency was a must, but it was a skill that was learned and acquired through trial and error and community cooperation. Neighbors counted on each other for help. Ernt wanted to isolate them from the community. That was dangerous.
Finally, a series of events caused him to completely erupt. When he started beating Leni, threatening her life, it was the last straw for Cora. She took matters into her own hands, at last. They were on the run, sneaking out of Kaneq, racing to Seattle where her estranged parents lived. They begged for help. Leni was pregnant. They assumed new identities. Their many foolish choices had condemned them to this chaotic life
As the years passed, Leni’s son, Matthew Jr., grows into a happy, obedient boy who brings joy to all of them. Eventually, Leni even gets her college degree. Then her mother falls terminally ill, and she writes out a confession for the crime she had committed. After her death, Leni returned to Alaska with her mother’s ashes and the written confession, as Cora had requested. She reunited with her friends and introduced her son to his relatives and his severely injured father.
The story was about soldiers who suffered from the trauma of war, it was about battered wives with no power, it was about young, romantic love and about dysfunctional love between disturbed and damaged people. It was about the foolish decisions people make. It was about people who wanted to prevent change and some who preferred it. The author states it was about people who had dreams.
The book was obviously well researched. The landscape of Alaska came to life. I felt as if I was there when the darkness that threatened Ernt, came down around him, loosening his fragile self control. The narrator read the character’s personalities so well that I was placed directly into each character’s head, experiencing their individual traumas, and there were traumas galore, so many in fact, that it felt like the author was a bit afraid to leave any experience of life out of the narrative. However, her writing style held my attention, as I wanted to find out how all the myriad problems were resolved, but the narrative often seemed too intense to imagine as a part of reality. There were just too many incidents that made me question whether or not they really could have happened. Could characters really keep making the same excuses and mistakes over and over again without learning from them? After awhile, don’t apologies for the same infractions lose their meaning? Would the “prince and princess” really find each other again? Too many problems piled up, emergencies piled up, dangerous rescues and life threatening situations piled up, so at times, the storyline simply stretched credulity and became like a fairytale.
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Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2020)
Audie Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2019)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2019)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2018)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — February 2018)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Adults (Fiction — 2018)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-02-06
Physical description
9.59 inches
ISBN
0312577230 / 9780312577230