Great Alone Paperback – January 1, 2018

"The Great Alone" by [Author's Name] took me on an unforgettable emotional rollercoaster that left me both drained and exhilarated. This novel is a powerful and beautifully written exploration of love, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of the human soul.From the very beginning, I was captivated by the vivid and atmospheric descriptions that transported me to the rugged and unforgiving landscapes of Alaska. The author's ability to paint such a vivid picture of the setting allowed me to immerse myself fully in the story, making it feel as if I were living alongside the characters.At the heart of the novel is the story of the Allbright family, who, seeking a fresh start, move to the wilderness of Alaska. The struggles they face, both external and internal, are depicted with raw honesty and a deep sense of empathy. I was emotionally invested in the journey of the protagonist, Leni, as she navigated the harsh realities of her surroundings and the complexities of her family dynamics.One of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the author's ability to evoke a wide range of emotions. From heart-wrenching sadness to moments of profound joy, I found myself on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the entire narrative. There were times when I had to pause to gather myself as tears streamed down my face, deeply moved by the characters' experiences and their profound impact on me as a reader.The exploration of themes such as love, sacrifice, resilience, and the lengths one would go to protect those they care about resonated deeply with me. The author's nuanced portrayal of complex relationships, the dynamics of small communities, and the fragility of the human psyche added layers of depth to the story, making it all the more compelling."The Great Alone" is a testament to the power of storytelling. Through its lyrical prose and richly drawn characters, it delves into the depths of human emotions, exposing vulnerabilities and celebrating the strength of the human spirit. It is a book that will stay with me long after the final page, leaving an indelible mark on my heart.If you are seeking a book that will take you on an emotional journey and leave you pondering life's complexities, "The Great Alone" is an absolute must-read. Prepare to be moved, to shed tears, and to experience the full range of human emotions. This novel is a literary gem that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone in search of a powerful and unforgettable reading experience.

I was captivated from this novel from the beginning. So many factors are involved: Broken people with broken souls; family abuse; a sad portrait of a woman who tolerates abuse; the effects of abuse on a child; the tragedy of a Viet Nam Vet's post-war mental breakdown of his once good soul. For me, however, the most poignant and educational factors were the descriptions of a wild, desolate, beautiful Alaska in the 1970's. And the stories behind the characters involved who lived there - and played vital roles to the main characters. The tension is palpable. The story is mesmerizing, soulful, heartbreaking, suspenseful. It's one of those rare novels that had me breaking my rule of reading only at bedtime...I had to find out 'what's happening next?".If the following passages do not whet the appetite, I don't know what will:"Two kinds of folks come up to Alaska, Cora. People running to something and people running away from something. The second kind-you want to keep your eye out for them. And it isn't just the people you need to watch out for, either. Alaska herself can be Sleeping Beauty one minute and a bitch with a sawed-off shotgun the next. There's a saying: Up here you can make one mistake. The second one will kill you.""Even her laugh seemed at home here, an echo of the bells that tinkled from wind chimes in front of the shops.""Leni stared down at the sea, rolling inexorably toward her. Nothing you did could hold back that rising tide. One mistake or miscalculation and you could be stranded or washed away. All you could do was protect yourself by reading the charts and being prepared and making smart choices.""She was sweating hard, scooping a bucket of water from the creek, slopping it across her boots, when night fell. And she meant FELL; it hit hard and fast, like a lid clanging down on its pot.""Dad's intentions were good, but even so, it was like living with a wild animal. Like those crazy hippies the Alaskans talked about who lived with wolves and bears and invariably ended up getting killed. The natural-born predator could seem domesticated, even friendly, could lick your throat affectionately or rub up against you to get a back scratch. But you knew, or should know, that it was a wild thing you lived with, that a collar and leash and a bowl of food might tame the actions of the beast, but couldn't change its essential nature. In a split second,, less time than it took to exhale a breath, that wolf could claim its nature and turn, fangs bared.""A girl was like a kite; without her mother's strong, steady hold on the string, she might just flat away, be lost somewhere among the clouds.""Fear and shame she understood. Fear made you run and hide and shame made you stay quiet, but this anger wanted something else. Release.""There it was: the sad truth. Mama loved him too much to leave him. Still, even now, with her face bruised and swollen. Maybe what she'd always said was true, maybe she couldn't breathe without him, maybe she'd wilt like a flower without the sunshine of his adoration.""Everyone up here had two stories: the life before and the life now. If you wanted to pray to a weirdo god or live in a school bus or marry a goose, no one in Alaska was going to say crap to you. No one cared if you had an old car on your deck, let alone a rusted fridge. Any life that could be imagined could be lived up here.""It made Leni feel as if she were a coil of rope drawn around a cleat with the wind pulling at it, tugging, the rope creaking in resistance, slipping. If the line wasn't perfectly tied down, it would all come undone, be torn away, maybe the wind would pull the cleat from its home in fury.""There were a lot of bumper stickers like that out here, deep in Alaska's wild interior, far from the tourist destinations of the coast or the majestic beauty of Denali. Alaska was full of fringe-ists. People who believed in weirdo things and prayed to exclusionary Gods and filled their basements with equal measures of guns and Bibles. If you wanted to live in a place where no one told you what to do and didn't care if you parked a trailer in your yard or had a fridge on your porch, Alaska was the state for you.""The farther away you got from civilization, the stranger things got. Most people spent one dark, bleak, eight-month winter in Fairbanks and left the state screaming. The few who stayed-misfits, adventurers, romantics, loners-rarely left again.""Sometimes you had to go backward in order to go forward.""He hadn't realized how time could unspool the years of your life until for a second you were fourteen again, crying from a place so deep it seemed to predate you, desperate to be whole again.""Time was not something she usually paid much attention to. On the homestead, the bigger picture mattered-the darkening of the sky, the ebbing of the tide, the snow hares changing color, the birds returning or flying south. That was how they marked the passage of time, in growing seasons and salmon runs, and the first snowfall.""After that and all the way home, he said nothing, which should have been better than yelling, but it wasn't. Yelling was like a bomb in the corner: you saw it, watched the fuse burn, and you knew when it would explode and you needed to run for cover. Not speaking was a killer somewhere in your house with a gun when you were sleeping.""Love and fear. The most destructive forces on earth. Fear had turned her inside out, love had made her stupid.""Five out of every thousand people went missing in Alaska every year, were lost. That was a known fact. They fell down crevasses, lost their way on trails, drowned in a rising tide. Alaska. The Great Alone.""Someone said to me once that Alaska didn't create character; it revealed it.""This state, this place, is like no other. It is beauty and horror; savior and destroyer. Here, where survival is a choice that must be made over and over, in the wildest place in America, on the edge of civilization, where water in all its forms can kill you, you learn who you are........You learn what you will do to survive. That lesson, that revelation, as my mother once told me about love, is Alaska's great and terrible gift. Those who come for beauty alone, or for some imaginary life, or those who seek safety, will fail. In the vast expanse of this unpredictable wilderness, you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away, screaming, from the dark and the cold and the hardship. There is no middle ground, no safe place; not here, in the Great Alone."The physical descriptions throughout the novel are ethereal...you can touch and feel and see what the author paints for you.I think the author did an exquisite job with this novel - my one-time journey through Alaska will never be forgotten.

Although a family of three and related friends and other relatives are part of this tale, the real character/hero is the state of Alaska and how its demands carve the people who live there into people they never would have anticipated.Ernt Allbright is a victim of the Vietnam War and his POW status; his wife, Cora, can't imagine living without him, and their daughter, Leni, is caught between the parents' love/hate episodes. Then there's Matthew, whom Leni meets as a lonesome 13-year-old and who remains the love of her life, even after he is nearly killed as he attempts to save her from a fall the night they leave her parents' homestead to get away from her volatile father.How these characters follow the road Alaska sets before them is truly an epic journey, through years and tears and hurts and loves. Well worth a reader's time.

It’s a sad part of our history to know that women didn’t have the rights during the time period of this story. Domestic violence against women was ignored for many years. Women didn’t have money to support themselves and were dependent on husbands even when it they were abused. This family each had problems to overcome and managed to make a life while dealing with the harsh realities of Alaska.Yes there are many sad turns in this book. It was quite interesting to hear about the requirements to live through an Alaskan winter. I understand how neighbors help one another and accept differences.I wasn’t initially thrilled about my book club’s choice of this book but am happy it was chosen. I throughly enjoyed the many different people and community that was exposed.This is a solid five for me.

Me parece una excelente novela. Los horrores de la guerra se reflejan en un ex combatiente en Vietnam, emocionalmente dañado, que desahoga sus sufrimientos con violencia hacia su esposa, en el inmenso, oscuro y helado terrritorio de Alaska en los años 60 - 70.El desarrollo de la historia es estrujante, ya que no se avista un alivio al sufrimiento de la hija adolescente y su madre. El desenlace se mezcla con una historia de amor que complica la situación de una forma inextricable.

gracias

Greatly recommend this book! I could not put it down.

It drags a bit too much at the beginning but it catches on and I couldn’t put it down the moment they arrive in Alaska. Its a good story though kind of cliché. Leni is a very lovableChild that ttakes one’s heart right aaway.

Couldnt stop reading.It shows duality..beauty and darkness of life, people....but at the end it comes down to love and good will.