October 2022 Book Review

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah

4 /5

Wow. This book was long and detailed and a lot was packed into 400+ pages. At some point I just thought “can anymore major events happen in this story?” This was the first book I’ve read by Hannah and I would definitely read her work again.

Leni, a thirteen year old girl, travels with her family to Alaska in the 70’s to live off the grid. Her father cannot keep a job after he has returned as a POW from Vietnam, so he decides to pack his family up and move to the homestead that a buddy from the war gifted to him. Leni’s father, Ernt, most definitely struggles with PTSD, although in the book it is never mentioned as that, but only that he is a changed man. 

Kaneq, Alaska has beautiful summers and harsh winters. Everyone warns of the winter and spends the entire year gearing up for it. A place where you may only get 6 hours of daylight has got to be a mind bender and something that takes a long time to get used to. Leni’s father doesn’t do well in the dark. That’s when the nightmares come. Although part of me believes that he was this way before the war. 

Ernt is an end of the world kind of guy. He’s got the bug out bags ready to go by the door. He thinks the government is corrupt. He is violent. So he essentially moves his family to a place where they will never escape. His wife, Cora, is desperately trying to hold on to a man that she knew before the war and Leni never seems to realize that he beats her until they move to Alaska (strange). 

The plot at the end takes a turn that I think is a little unbelievable, or even unnecessary but I did like the sense of community that Cora and Leni have surrounding them. Again, this book was long for the story that it was telling. I’d say ¼ of it was spent describing the landscape of Alaska, which at a point I found myself skipping over just to get back to the dialogue. Hannah’s writing is fantastic though and she talks about a lot of hard things. It does make you more interested in Alaska, almost like you want to try it for yourself…almost 😉  

 

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

3.5/5

This is another book that I’ve read that really starts out strong and captures my interest, but steadily goes downhill as we work towards the end. It starts with a murder and works itself back from that day, leaving readers guess who committed the murder. 

Stephen is a 60-something physician. He has two adult daughters and is getting ready to divorce their mother, who has advanced dementia only to turn around and marry Heather. Heather is younger than both of his daughters, Tully and Rachel. 

Tully and Rachel are cooperative with the idea that their father is about to marry someone younger than them, but they definitely have their reservations. They both have major issues that seem to be brought about as coping mechanisms for each of their different situations. On top of all of their own personal problems, their mother is living in a nursing home with advanced dementia. During a visit, their mother Pam, leaks a few disturbing items about their father. Of course, no one really believes the demented lady until other things start coming to light. 

This is classic dysfunctional family drama turned into murder mystery. The plot seemed weird and the “twist” at the end was not great in my opinion. It could have gone in so many other directions that would have made more sense. 

I did like the characters in the book for the most part though and I felt sorry for most of them. This was also the second book in a row that I’ve read that domestic violence was the main theme so I think that put a bad taste in my mouth. Overall quick and easy read, but not much to be excited about.