Well, Kristin Hannah is two for two. Two books I loved and two books that made me cry. I read The Nightingale awhile ago and really enjoyed it, but didn’t give it five stars because I felt it dragged in parts. This one, however, I would call one of the best books I read this year. I absolutely loved it.
From Goodreads: Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
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.
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.
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.
I have ZERO desire to ever live off the grid. I like indoor plumbing, central heat and air, and being five minutes away from everything. I’m okay not eating moose, carrying a whistle to ward off bears, and I definitely hate being cold. That said, my lack of desire to be in Leni’s position didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book.
This book really is just gorgeous in its passion, splendor, and trauma. Leni and Cora’s life is hard. Ernt is horrible (TW for domestic abuse). The scenery is a character of its own. And if you don’t cry at this book, I’m not sure you’ve got a soul. Kidding…I know some people aren’t cryers, it’s fine. I’m usually not a crier, but my gosh, this book. I was just sucked in. I think that’s the test of a great book. My world disappeared, and I was wholly in Leni’s.
Pleasant Nights 