Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Fiction
Format: Hardback, 440 pages
Kristin Hannah is the author of several novels, most notably The Nightingale, so I was glad when my book group picked The Great Alone as our selection for last month. This story is set in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1970s. It centers around the Albright family, Ernt, Cora and their daughter Leni, who try to make a go of it there. Ernt suffers from PTSD from the Vietnam War. Although he has made several failed attempts to start over, the idea of the Alaskan wilderness presents a compelling way to make a new life. So, his wife and daughter buy into his idea, hoping Ernt will return to the happy and healthy husband and father they remember from before the war.
When the family arrives in what is real wilderness, they begin by living on the edge in a small, broken-down cabin off the grid. Through hard work and the support of their neighbors, they make it through the first winter, and their living conditions improve a bit. Their community is mostly a gathering of misfits, and regardless of their neighborly support, Ernt’s emotional and mental struggles increase and domestic violence becomes an issue. Eventually, it is clear that Ernt can’t run from his demons no matter how far out in the wilderness he goes. Cora loves Ernt in her own broken way, so she and Leni are stuck in a continuing downward spiral of their co-dependent family relationship.
Leni is 13 when the family moves to Alaska and is the unintended victim of her parents’ dysfunctional relationship. Over the next few years, as she matures, she begins to realize the extent of her father’s toxic emotional cycles. Fortunately, over time, Leni becomes more self-sufficient and develops an internal strength as she watches her father emotionally and physically dominate her mother.
Two of the main characters are certainly flawed, but some of the secondary characters are memorable and add dimension and balance to the novel. And, as Leni gets older, her high school and young romance adventures also help to offset the difficulties she experiences in her own family.
This story is one of an extremely difficult mental health issue and the family dynamic tragedies that result. At the same time, it’s a picture of the wilds of Alaska in the 1970’s and the resilience and grittiness of those who made a life there. The descriptions of the landscape, animal life, and natural world in the Alaskan wilderness are breathtaking at times. The author takes great pains to describe what planning and preparation the settlers have to make during the short summer season to endure the darkness and isolation of the winter when stored food, wood for heat and often the support of neighbors are necessary to keep them alive.
In the end, The Great Alone is a story of strength in the face of physical and emotional challenges and of overcoming obstacles. Although this novel is very different from Hannah’s well-regarded novel The Nightingale, true to form, in The Great Alone her heroes are still the strong women.
