The Great Alone

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All in all, I absolutely loved this book and I now have to read everything this author has ever written. Leni saw Mama softening, reshaping her needs to match his, imagining this new personality: Alaskan. Maybe she thought it was like EST or yoga or Buddhism. The answer. Where or when or what didn’t matter to Mama. All she cared about was him. “Our own house,” she said. “But … money … you could apply for that military disability—”

The ending of The Great Alone is somewhat bittersweet, but it ends with Leni’s total adoration of Alaska. I think I could write “I LOVE THIS BOOK! I LOVE THIS BOOK! I LOVE THIS BOOK!” at least million times! This is not only my last year’s favorite book but this is also one of my all-time favorite books.

1978

What do you think about Ernt’s character and how he treats his wife and daughter? Do you think he could have sought support in the 1970s even if he wanted to? At school, Matthew is withdrawn. There is a school field trip where he shoves Leni away she tries to help him. Afterwards, Matthew tells her he is going to stay with his aunt, so he can see a shrink and be with his sister and get the help he needs. He leaves.

Tom goes by Harlan's place to offer people jobs paying above average to help renovate the saloon. Ernst sees people accept his offer and storms off in a huff. Kristin Hannah already stole my heart and took all the tears a human body could produce with her masterpiece “Nightingale” (For one year, I suffered from dry eye syndrome! I cried for months and made little children traumatized with my red-rimmed image. Even Step King inspired to write a book named “Red-rimmed” after his “Red-rum sequel”. The story focused on a redhead woman stealing people’s cry and swallow them at night. Yikes! You can imagine he dropped out the project!) Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

Hopefully, these book club questions for The Great Alone will help to get the discussion going for your next book club meeting! As the book concludes, a lot happens and Hannah rushes through the ending a bit, though I tend to be biased towards books that move a little too fast versus those that move a little too slow. Even with the speedy ending, it still manages overall to be a satisfying emotional journey up until the end. Book Review: Some Criticisms