Published: 6, February 2018
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genres: Women's, Fiction, Mothers & Children, Family, Domestic Life, Coming of Age, Survival
The Great Alone was a phrase in Robert Service’s poem “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” in which he refers to the isolated Alaskan lands as the "Great Alone" and with this knowledge, you can guess this book’s story is set in the Alaskan wilderness.
I call it a formula novel, and something I noticed was the good and evil extremes because the good people were very good and bad people were really bad. But you are going to read page after page just to know what happens next.
The Great Alone is a survival story about growing up with an abusive and unpredictable father and surviving in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. The author creates a vivid and unforgettable picture of a family and a community trying to carve out a living and surviving in the wild. The meager yet active society she paints provides warmth and softens the harsh Alaskan landscape harshness.
I love reading survival stories and this is one that is in Alaska, where you are fighting against nature 24/7. As a result, I thought The Great Alone's early setup, which covers roughly the first half of the novel, was exceptionally effectively done. It's well-paced, with a continual stream of emotional ups and downs as the main family adjusts to their new surroundings and lives.
The tale darkens, the book becomes much more dramatic, and it begins to reach a repetitious note as the novel approaches the halfway point. I think it happened because of the way some members of these families were abusive towards other members and what happened to these abused people was the cause of this feeling, otherwise, it is an amazing read and I think the reader will not get bothered by all this because it is the part of growing up in many families. In the end, it is what you choose to become matters and not the abuser.
The middle had a bit slow movement but that is okay with such a huge book and I felt the ending was a little rushed also but still it was not bad. Some authors try to connect all loose ends and fix any remaining plot idea at the end to finish the book properly and that is in my mind, a good way and sign of an intelligent writer.
Synopsis:
“In Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, a desperate family seeks a new beginning in the near-isolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature.
#1 New York Times Instant Bestseller (February 2018)
A People “Book of the Week”
Buzzfeed’s “Most Anticipated Women’s Fiction Reads of 2018”
Seattle Times’s “Books to Look Forward to in 2018”
Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.
In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own.”
Rating: 95/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.
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