Ernt Allbright, a former
POW, comes home
from the
Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job,
he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where
they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
اضافة اعلان
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.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to
their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely
independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit
days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of
preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness
descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family
begins to fracture.
Soon the perils outside pale in comparison
to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in 18
hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their
own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
In this unforgettable portrait of human
frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the
modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska ― a place of
incomparable beauty and danger. “The Great Alone” is a daring, beautiful,
stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the
wildness that lives in both man and nature.
“The Great Alone” is packed with rapturous
descriptions of Alaskan scenery, which are the most reliably alluring part of
it. Hannah remembers and summons an undeveloped wilderness, describing a
gloriously pristine region in the days before cruise ships discovered it.
One of the fighting points in the book is
whether the little enclave the Allbrights call home should be opened up to
tourists. Hannah presumably has mixed feelings about this, what with her
family’s travel lodge. But she keeps it simple in the book, making Ernt the
purist and Tom Walker the guy who sees tourism as inevitable. Tom shuts Ernt
down by saying, “I got boots that have covered more ground in Alaska than you
have.
“Books are the mile markers of my life.
Some people have family photos or home movies to record their past. I’ve got
books. Characters.
For as long as I can remember, books have been my safe
place,” a quote from the book states.
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and
bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international
blockbuster, “The Nightingale,” which was named Goodreads Best Historical
fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People's Choice award for best
fiction in the same year.
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