The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is almost as sprawling as the setting in Alaska.
cover blurb It's 1974 and the Allbrights are a family in crisis. They are alone, living off the grid, in a harsh and unforgiving wilderness.
Ernt is volatile ever since his return from Vietnam. He can't hold a mechanic's job, distrusts America, and is impulsive. Cora loves her husband madly, deeply and will follow him anywhere. Leni, age thirteen, is caught in the middle.
Now - Alaska. That's going to be the answer for their lives. Ernt is convinced they can make a new life in this wild free land on property given to him by a Vietnam buddy who didn't make it back. The three months of summer seem promising. But alas, darkness and winter comes and stays and stays. The peril from wild animals - some outside, some in your own home.
Kristen Hannah explores human frailty and resistance. Her story will chill you as you watch Leni grow into her destiny as a kid in 1974 to a young woman with a baby in 1986. Alaska is wild and wonderful in this well written family saga.
Great review. I've read a couple of novels set in Alaska and I'm not sure it's a place I'd like to live for long! It definitely becomes a character in its own right.
ReplyDeleteI’ve toured Alaska. The vast beauty is amazing. But it stays dark and cold for way too many months. Some unique folks live there, that’s for sure.
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