Spoiler/content warning: this article contains mentions of DV and graphic spoilers.
The book that made me fall in love with Kristin Hannah’s work.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah brings us into the life of thirteen-year-old Lenora “Leni” Allbright in 1974. Leni’s father, Ernt, is a Vietnam war veteran and former POW struggling to cope with the effects of PTSD during a time where there is little acknowledgement for mental illnesses. He impulsively moves his family of three from place to place, desperately seeking a new start that will be the answer to their happiness. Thinking he’s finally found it, he takes his family off the grid to a remote community in northern Alaska.
The story takes the reader on an emotionally tumultuous journey as Leni and her mother, who will do anything for the man she loves, struggle to survive the tough Alaskan winter amidst her father’s increasing anger. One of the larger themes is the intersection of domestic violence and mental health. It shows the jarring effect that Ernt’s struggles with PTSD have on his behaviour. It illustrates the troubling dynamics of domestic violence in the context of the 1970s, demonstrating how difficult it would have been for women to seek support and justice. For the most part, this theme is handled impressively, despite the tendency to resort to stereotypes. One of the other aspects of this book that I loved was how it spans several years, which allows you to feel invested in the characters’ lives. The downside of the vast time frame, however, leads the events towards the end to feel very rushed.
While Kristin Hannah succeeds in creating compelling characters, they are often reduced to dangerous stereotypes, specifically in the context of domestic violence. Ernt is described as a man whose psyche has been changed by the war. Leni’s mother, Cora, clings to a happier memory of him pre-Vietnam, as she often expresses to Leni. This storyline implies that the war and the resulting PTSD turned Ernt into a violent monster who now has no control over his actions. I don’t have much background knowledge on PTSD, but as other critics have pointed out, it feels unfair to portray individuals with PTSD in this way.
The lack of justice for the victims is perhaps the most accurate aspect of this book, given that it takes place during a time when women weren’t even allowed to have credit cards without a man signing off on it. It accurately depicts how the law is very rarely on the victim’s side in cases of domestic violence, leading Leni and her mother to make one of the toughest decisions they’ve ever had to face. This particular event truly demonstrates how the lack of money and resources Leni and Cora have to their names, coupled with the isolation as a result of living in Alaska— despite the close-knit community, there is nowhere to go where Ernt won’t find them—can result in feelings of hopelessness and desperation.
While Leni and her mother were lucky enough to find some support in their community, one thing I did not appreciate—not that I believe it was unrealistic—was how the people in the community responded to the Allbrights’ situation. Large Marge, a good friend of the family who helps them get settled, stages an intervention with Ernt and the girls during which she suggests he go away to work on the pipeline for the whole winter. The idea is he will come back less angry and willing to change for his family. This is great in theory, but the only way it would work in action is if there was a plan in place for after he comes back to manage his trauma and anger. But there is no mention of him going to therapy to process his emotions, attending an anger management class, taking medication, or doing anything for his mental health. Because he can’t hold a job, he comes back early from the pipeline and Leni and her mother’s life pretty much goes back to the way it was before. The few months of peace that they were afforded in her father’s absence are forgotten about.
To me, this aspect of the book shows the lack of understanding towards mental illness, especially a disorder as complex as PTSD. Going to therapy and taking medications seems to be less widely accepted at that time, even for someone like Ernt, who would benefit from such.
This book is very similar to Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life in the sense that the characters go through an unbelievable level of trauma that leaves you wondering, “Is it even possible for one person to suffer this much in such a short time?”. I will keep in mind that this is a work of fiction, which doesn’t always accurately reflect reality. In spite of this, because the characters are so compelling, the reader develops a fondness for them. I felt angry and disappointed for Leni, a young teen who wishes her mother could allow them to escape their situation, while also feeling empathetic for Cora, who is struggling with her own trauma which makes it difficult for her to leave. I found myself hoping that Leni and Cora would escape their misery, just like I did with the characters in A Little Life,
Although I found this to be quite the page-turner, the events felt very rushed towards the end. I appreciated the fact that there was somewhat of a happy ending for the characters and it answered most of the questions that I had, but I would have liked the author to focus more on the quality of storytelling here. Some critics have pointed out that these events in the last section of the book may have been redundant, but I see them as a necessary contribution to both the characters’ development arc and advancing the plot.
This book, although devastating, was nevertheless a captivating read.