He prefers the company of survivalist and doomsdayer Mad Earl to that of the cheerier and more optimistic people in town. The Great Alone is a survival story, both about surviving in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness and about growing up with an abusive and volatile father. As Leni grows up, she and her mother must manage Ernst and the demons which haunt him. But as the days shorten and the sky darkens when winter appraches, Ernst’s temper and volatile impulses re-emerge. Leni is hopeful when they first arrive in the small outpost of Kaneq. Cora, his wife, loves him and tries to help him. Ernst, the father, is a Vietnam veteran and former POW who has struggled emotionally since the war. In The Great Alone, the Allbrights are a family who move to a small town in Alaska for a new start. Plot Summaryįor the Detailed Plot Summary, click here or scroll all the way down. Of course, aside from the general locale, I quickly discovered that these are two very different books - in tone, subject matter, time period and etcetera. I’m always a little hesitant to jump into books with similar premises or similar settings. I knew I’d read it sooner or later, since I’d heard so much about it, but it got pushed off for a while when I was reading The Snow Child (also about a family trying to make a life in Alaska). As referenced in the book, the title comes from a line from a poem by Robert Service (“The Shooting of Dan McGrew”) where he refers to the remote Alaskan lands as the “Great Alone”. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is a story set in the Alaskan wilderness.
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