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The Great Alone

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The Great Alone

By: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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About this listen

'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

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.

‘A woman has to be tough as steel up here. You can’t count on anyone to save you and your children. You have to be willing to save yourselves’

Thirteen-year-old Leni is coming of age in a tumultuous time. Caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, she dares to hope that Alaska will lead to a better future for her family, and 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.

As Leni grows up in the shadow of her parents’ increasingly volatile marriage, she meets Matthew. And Matthew – thoughtful, kind, and brave – makes her believe in the possibility of a better life.

‘A masterclass’ - Karen Swan, author of The Stolen Hours

‘A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival, as epic as the Alaskan landscape it so vividly describes’ - Kate Morton, author of Homecoming

©2018 Kristin Hannah (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio 20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Small Town & Rural Women's Fiction Romance Survival Heartfelt Tear-jerking Alaska

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All stars
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Having read The nightingale by Kristin Hannah’s I knew how this author writes and was looking forward to listening to this.

She has again delivered a marvellous book, that reaches out so you can feel all the emotions of the characters and know them personally.

The setting in Alaska with it’s fabulous descriptions of the terrain flora and fauna and people make you want to get up and discover it yourself. The Alaskan tourist board will be happy.

Lastly Julia Whelan, what an amazing narrator male female and child accents delivered perfectly.

I personally do not like American narrators and I have returned books which I know I would have enjoyed due to that American twang and nasal inflections. However Julia just purred into my ear and told this story faultlessly.

A palpable book

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Thank you Kristin Hannah. You captured a whole chunk of my life. I worked in Alaska during the years of the setting of this book. I met the people from Anchorage to Fairbanks. The people who worked on the pipeline and their families. I remember the Land of the Midnight Sun. The moose and reindeer who strolled into town, and the black bears who reminded us we were not the top of the food chain in this extraordinary landscape. I saw cabbages the size of VW Bugs in the Matanuska Valley ... and the mosquitoes. People say New Yorkers are tough -- and they are -- but no one who hasn't lived in Alaska will ever be Alaska Tough. These people are the salt of the earth and have roots like an Oak tree. There is no one like them! I remember Alaska as what America, and life, should always remain.

BEST BOOK I'VE EVER LISTENED TO!!!

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How can one fail to get swept up in the elegant and magisterial description of Alaska? The words painted a the landscape with such clarity it was both breathtaking and terrifying in equal measure. There was no doubt that it takes a special kind of personality to survive the extremes and Ernt's damaged mind simply couldn't cope. If ever there was an example of "it takes more than love to make a marriage work", then Cora and Ernt personified the saying. I felt fury so many times and then had to remind myself that it's easy to condemn a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. All the same there were occasions I was screaming at Cora to "take Leni and run". The other residents of their little enclave were divine characters, who I'd love to meet in real life. They all had their own tale to tell and whilst Ms Hannah gave us a few details, a great deal was also left to the reader's/listener's imagination and could easily become books of their own. Maybe A Great Alone series? Don't worry, no spoilers here but the ending was absolutely perfect. It seemed fitting after everything Leonora had survived and rounded off a wonderful 15 hour listen. 5 stars from me and a highly, high, high, highly recommended.

Compelling

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I loved this extraordinary story of homesteaders in 1970s Alaska. It was gripping and vividly descriptive, sparing nothing, which made it difficult to listen to at times. I would thoroughly recommend it.

This is the 3rd novel I have heard Julia Whelan narrate. While she is excellent, I do wish she wouldn't try to portray men and tough women through a downward shift in tone and pitch. All men, and even some women, over the age of 60 develop an old timer whistle between the teeth, while younger men are all drawn from the same stable. This has the effect of making the listener feel that any of the male characters could have been beamed up from another of her narrated novels, eg, when I first heard Ernt, the abusive husband/father in this novel, I felt I was right back in Tara Westover's 'Educated', where another toxic father held dominion over his helpless family.
it's a risk one always takes with Audible - the impression you receive of characters comes from the narrator rather than your own imagination - but it might just be time for Whelan to adjust her technique, otherwise this same father figure will be crawling through every one of the many books she narrates.

Raw, wild, intensely moving

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A story full of love, fear, terror, love loss, deep friendship, strength Adventure, I felt every human emotion reading this book, even grief .

From the start to the finish I lived every part of the story, if this is the only book you ever read you will be happy and fulfilled, I do not feel what I have to say is adequate, so please let it yourself...

Best Read ever

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set in Alaska the book is very educating,
a father who is suffering from post traumatic stress from the war keeps moving his wife and daughter to different states until they finally settle in Alaska they learn survival skills and decide to stay.
but the father has a mean streak and keeps his family close, mum and daughter are treading on egg shells around him.
Things go from bad to worse as the father can not hold the violence with in.

Epic

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quiet a long book, loved every chapter. it's written beautifully and has a good pace

Loved the author's beautifully descriptive scenes.

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I cried and cried at times but it is so beautifully written. I loved it and got so wrapped up in it. Taking time at the end to just listen for hours on end. Hours I didn't have but needed to take to listen to this.

Just loved it

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fantastic- a heart wrenching story. well written, addictive, enlightening. I would definitely recommend. a great listen

fantastic!

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The book was good and the narrator was wonderful! Because of her reading ability, I felt every moment in my blood. I cried two times. Thank you so much 😘

Julia Whelan is wonderful!

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