The Great Alone

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What to expect

'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

Critics Review

I didn’t just love this book, I became obsessed with it [. . .] I could neither breathe nor move until I got to the end. I’m not sure a book has ever made me so furious, so thrilled or so devastated, often in the course of the same chapter. The characters were flawed and vulnerable, strong and naïve, and Hannah has delivered a masterclass in all the different ways love can both save us and destroy us. She is an absolutely lyrical writer [. . . ] she perfectly captures and evokes the majesty and splendid isolation of Alaska and it feels a privilege to have journeyed there with her. This is a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.
Karen Swan, Sunday Times bestselling author
Great characters, great plots, great emotions, who could ask for more in a novel?’
Isabel Allende on The Nightingale
Beautifully written . . . packed with action and emotion
Sara Gruen, bestselling author of Water for Elephants on The Nightingale
Movingly written and plotted with the skill of Greek tragedy. You'll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob
Daily Mail on The Nightingale

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 5.0
2.0
5.0
There were elements of this book I enjoyed, and it's compelling writing, but the melodrama was too much for me, and I found the characters so aggravating. I've enjoyed her other books but this one not so much. Narration was faultless, as always!
marieiram 09/08/2025
5.0
5.0
The Great Alone in its audio form is one of those story books the reader cannot put down. So intense was my desire to keep listening at all free hours of the day or while doing chores, and in my insomnia hours between two and four o’clock in the early morning, that I bought bluetooth headphones to be able to continue listening. The brutal story of the war-damaged Dad, Mom and Lennie is told in such detail that it is easy to visualise them, live with them, endure brutality with them, love, admire, hate and pity them. The narrator made it all easy. Wonderful. I highly recommend this book.
MargaretHelen 10/02/2024
5.0
5.0
silvie 17/01/2024

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