The Great Alone: Kristin Hannah: A Story of Love, Heartbreak and Survival, From the Bestselling Author of The Nightingale

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My favorite part of it was still the first hundred or so pages when the family is first getting settled into their new home in the Great Alone. Life in Alaska is more difficult than the Allbrights expected, but they find their place in the Kaneq community. It will thrill her fans with its combination of Greek tragedy, Romeo and Juliet-like coming of age story and domestic potboiler. However, I think I will go ahead and add this to my Goodreads list because it really sounds interesting and chances are that I will want to see the movie and I must read the book before seeing the movie.

A few days later, Tom and Marge show up at the Allbright cabin and tell Ernt that he will go work on a pipeline in the winter while Marge keeps Cora and Leni safe. Where I had issues with the story—the inconsistent pacing and the blatant lack of development, particularly in the back half. Share your thoughts on The Great Alone or any remaining questions you may have in the comments below. After Geneva’s funeral, Matthew goes to live in Fairbanks, Alaska where he can live a normal life and see a therapist. Although much of Ernt’s sense of persecution in The Great Alone is imagined, his irritation at how Vietnam veterans were treated is based in reality.At once an epic story of human survival and an intimate portrait of a family tested beyond endurance, The Great Alone, offers a glimpse into a vanishing way of life in America. Although others eventually rescue Leni and Matthew, Matthew suffers severe consequences and falls into a coma.

Kristin Hannah’s Alaska descriptions were drawn from her own experience living in Alaska as a child, which created the vivid backdrop of The Great Alone.The cabin they've inherited is tiny, with no electricity or running water or even a bathroom (there's an outhouse). Ernt Allbright, a Vietnam veteran who suffers post-traumatic stress due to his capture and torture during the war, has received land from a deceased wartime friend. Ernst comes up with a plan to plant explosives around the Harlan's home to "protect" them, but the Harlans reject it after some argument. Later in her life, Hannah graduated from the University of Washington and for several years she worked for an advertising agency. Ernt - as well as others in their tiny town - wants to protect the community from any kind of change; from anyone who might come in and affect their way of life.