Disclosure: Shortly after reading the first novel in my Dream Messiah series, my wife picked up the novel; The Great Alone, by Kristen Hannah. She kept telling me ‘You have to read this. So much is similar to your book!’

Since I had a pile of books already on ‘to be read’ list, it felt like I’d get to it sooner if I could listen to the audiobook. That’s the version I’m reviewing today.

The Great Alone refers to a line from Robert Service’s poem, ‘The Shooting of Dan McGrew,’  describing a scene during the gold rush of the Klondike and Alaska. It’s an apt title for this novel. It is well written with excellent location descriptions and characters to bring out your entire range of emotions. It is well narrated by Julia Whelan in a nearly flawless performance. I only wish they would have used a de-esser on the recording, her speech has a lot of sibilance.

This is not a happy book full of joy and rainbows. This is a book which will make you angry for the most part. While most of the key characters are victims, the heros, particularly a woman known as Large Marge, take no shit.

The story begins in the 1970s of Seattle, Washington, where Leni is an awkward thirteen year old girl living with her parents Cora and Ernt. This coming of age story is told by young Leni and ends a decade later after one helluva ride. 

Leni’s mother, Cora begins to lose my sympathy early on in the story. She is an enabling, co-dependent woman addicted to the damaged man who is dominating her and Leni. She is not an unintelligent or untalented woman. Unfortunately like many people in abusive relationships, she doesn’t have the brains or guts to leave.

Ernt has just returned from Vietnam to his young family in Seattle. Ernt may have started out as a decent guy, but he rapidly deteriorates after his return to the States. After losing numerous jobs and close run-ins with the law, he moves the family to a rural outpost in Alaska where his now-deceased Army buddy has left him title to a ramshackle cabin.

The family of three are excited to pile into an old VW bus for the long drive north to the town of Homer, then take a ferry across Katchemak Bay to the fictional town of Kaneq. Once they find the remote cabin, the disappointment and challenges really begin. The homestead is run down and truly off the grid; no electricity, no phone and no indoor plumbing.

As they settle in, the family also settles into a deepening pit of dysfunction. Ernt is an alcoholic, clearly has PTSD, and is a mean drunk. Cora, the target of Ernt’s jealousy, becomes his punching bag any time she dares to disagree with him. Ernt will descend into dangerous, delusional paranoia. Leni is learning to love the landscape and spirit of Alaska as the family is tested by the rigors of life in the wilderness. In fact, Alaska is as much a character in this story as the humans. 

I must declare that I lived in the same area and built a few homesteads where the author Kristin Hannah describes, during the period when the book takes place. She’s done an impressive job of evoking visions and emotions while describing what Leni is experiencing through the weather and living conditions, and the eccentric folk that live on the outskirts of civilization. Hannah writes some great literary lines tying the Alaska landscape to the personalities and emotions. 

It seems that every time Leni begins to find joy as she grows up and works her way through the difficulties of a homesteader’s life, the spousal and family abuse get worse. Without sounding like a violent pyshco myself, there are times when you’ll want to cold-cock Ernt. There are times when you want to shake up Cora and tell her to get her daughter and herself the F out of there. But stick with it, and there is resolution to this bleak story. If you want happy or cozy stories - this is not the book for you.

The cultural references to the era are dead on-target.If you’ve lived in Alaska, you’ll relate to all the characters and personalities. If you’ve never been to the state of Alaska and the Great Alone state of mind, this story may be an amalgamation of the people, and it’s spot-on. It’s a five-star work, in my opinion.