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

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The story follows Leni, a quiet, subdued teenager dealing with her parent’s dysfunctional relationship. When the family inherits land in Alaska, they decide to uproot their lives in search of a new beginning. Leni is completely unprepared for the wild unpredictability of Alaska and how solitude will impact her volatile father. While daunting at first, Alaska provides a good, new step once the family settles. However, when winter arrives, Ernt’s moods darken. What do you think it was about the winter that seemed to set him off? Was it simply inevitable wherever he lived?

One thing is for sure, Kristin Hannah, hands down, is a talented author who can weave a tale. I have read many of her previous novels and always found them to be beautiful and thought provoking. This one, however, rubbed me the wrong way. With all of that said, I still found this to be a worthy read. I love the thought of living a simpler life—although probably not realistic for this city girl—and spending a bit of time in Alaska proved to be eye-opening and even sort of refreshing. 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.As such, I found the initial setup of The Great Alone, which spans approximately the first half of the book, really well done. It’s evenly paced and delivers a steady stream of emotional ups and downs as the Allbrights navigate this new territory and their new lives. The Nightingale is an epic love story and intimate family drama about two sisters in France, caught up in a world at war, living in a country under siege, who will have to do the unthinkable to survive.

Did you enjoy the ending? Did you find it to be realistic? How do you think Leni’s life turned out in the end? We see from Leni’s perspective that Cora can be a bit of a flirt. Why do you think that was? What was she trying to get Ernt to prove to her?Her house sat in the middle of a cul-de-sac, on a yard less tended than the rest: a bark-brown rambler with empty flower boxes and clogged gutters and a garage door that didn’t close. Weeds grew in clumps from the decaying gray roof shingles. An empty flagpole pointed accusingly upward, a statement about her father’s hatred of where this country was headed. For a man whom Mama called a patriot, he sure hated his government. Never haa the setting of a book been so intoxicating to me than the Vietnam-era Alaska that Kristin Hannah described. On numerous occasions, I found myself googling “Alaska 1970s” to get an even clearer picture of the beautiful state which was itself the main character in this book. (That’s what I call a real book hangover!) A huge thank you to the Mimi from Goodreads for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review! Leni is accepted to college. Marge says Tom, Thelma, and etcetera have agreed to pay the costs so she can go. There's a graduation party at the saloon for her and Matthew but Ernst refuses to let her go. Kristin Hannah has written more than 20 novels, but it took one monster hit to really put her on the map. That was “The Nightingale” (2015), based on a true story and centered on two sisters caught up in the French Resistance, and it was such a hard act to follow that Hannah says she wrote and discarded a novel she could have published next.

What do you think of the character of Cora at this point? Do you think she was a good mother to Leni? Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023. While everyone warned Leni how dangerous Alaska was, it turned out the biggest danger was in her own home. Ernt is abusive to Cora but he always swears that he’ll never happen again and he’ll quit drinking, which he never does. Ernt clearly has PTSD but is there something else at play there? Leni was truly an amazing main character. I couldn't look away. I was constantly cheering and gasping at what Leni lived through.Leni was spellbound. She still couldn’t believe that an army could march in and take a teenager from her apartment. How could anyone be safe anywhere in a world like that? And how did a rich teenager become a revolutionary named Tania? On a cold, bleak morning in mid-April, Leni got up early and staked out her place on the ratty floral sofa in the living room and turned on the Today show. She adjusted the rabbit ears to get a decent picture. When it popped into focus, Barbara Walters was saying “. . . Patricia Hearst, now calling herself Tania, seen here in this photograph holding an M1 carbine at the recent bank robbery in San Francisco. Eyewitnesses report that the nineteen-year-old heiress, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in February . . .” I don’t have n o phone, but you can write me c/o the Homer Post Office. I’ll get the letter sooner or later. Leni has a fairly nihilistic view of life: why do you think this is? Do you think she really believes that hope is pointless? The harsh world coupled with the beautiful scenery and surroundings truly made me immersed in this book.

The torment she inflicts upon her characters is just so excessive. It doesn’t feel real. It’s impossible to believe that all this awfulness could happen to one person. And for me, what’s even worse is the corny, schmaltzy melodrama and emotional manipulation. It kills my reading experience. It pushes me over the edge to where I’m shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and disappointed that I am, once again, responding in this way to these wonderful stories […] Because I loved The Great Alone. Most of it, at least. Until sadly, I no longer did.” 3 Books Like The Great Alone Leni used books and photography to help her process her turbulent childhood. How did they help her remain steady and process her life? Do you think Leni was resigned to these changes at this point? What did you think about her character at the start of the story? In 1974, a troubled Vietnam vet inherits a house from a fallen comrade and moves his family to Alaska.

Beyond the Book

McNary, Dave (February 5, 2018). "Sony Buys 'Nightingale' Author's Alaska Novel 'The Great Alone' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved March 13, 2021.

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