The Great Alone, by Kristen Hannah

 

Characters
Allbright family	Kaneq, Alaska
Lenora “Leni” Ernt – father Caroline “Cora” – mother   Golliher – Cora’s parents   Leni and Matthew’s children: Matthew Jr. “MJ” Kenai Cora   Cora and Leni’s assumed names: Evelyn Chesterfield Grant Susan Grant	Earl Harlan – father Bo Harlan – son, POW in Viet Nam with Ernt, deceased Thelma Schill - daughter   Large Marge Birdsall Natalie Watkins   Tom Walker Geneva Walker – wife, separated, died when fell through ice when with Matthew Matthew – son, severely injured in fall Alyeska – daughter Atka – second wife   Calhoun Mulvey – Geneva’s boyfriend   Tica Rhodes – teacher   Dieter Manse - pilot

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Discuss the various characters.  Could you understand their motivations?
1. Could you empathize with Ernt, even if you disliked his actions?
2. What did you think about Cora’s parents?  How would you react if your daughter was in a terrible relationship and ran away?  Leni thought her grandmother was “a complex mixture or optimism and practicality” (pages 398 & 399).
3. When reflecting on their family dynamics, Leni thought, “Dad blew his temper and Mama somehow encouraged it.  Like maybe she needed to know how much he loved her all the time” (page 77).  Is that how you would describe their family dynamics?
4. Was it possible for Cora to leave Ernt?  

2. On page 20, Cora told Leni not to tell her father, Ernt, that Cora had visited her mother and got some money from her.  Leni thought that not telling, the omission of the truth, was the same as a lie.  What do you think?
3. At the end of chapter 5, when Leni met Matthew at the town barbeque, she felt sad because she could not tell him what her life was like.   She had always dreamed of having a friend, but in that moment realized that she, “couldn’t have a real friend because she couldn’t be one” (page 69).  Can you imagine what Leni’s life was like?
4. Were you surprised that the teacher, Tica Rhodes, was allowed to take the children from school and on a plane ride with Dieter Manse?
5. Many people in Kaneq had previously led normal lives and now were living very different lives.   For example, Large Marge was a prosecutor, Natalie was an economics professor, one woman (rumored to be a former policewoman) lived in a school bus and read palms, and one man thought he was married to a goose.  Were these people different before they came to Alaska, is that why they came, or did living in Alaska change them?
6. When Tom Walker started to make improvements in the town to attract tourists, the town was divided about if the town should change or not.  Was either side right or wrong?  Was there a middle ground?
7. In the article Leni wrote in 2009, she said that when living in Alaska, “you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away…” (page 438).  What personality characteristics are essential to thriving in an environment such as Alaska?  Could you?
8. Books were important to Leni and in her college application she wrote, “For as long as I can remember, books have been my safe place” (page 240). In the novel, the author specifically mentioned at least 14 books such as The Outsiders, The Lord of the Rings, The Thorn Birds, Interview with a Vampire, and some historical romances.  Why did the author choose these books?
9. Was Cora justified in killing Ernt?  Could she have avoided having Leni help with the disposal of the body?  Were you surprised when Curt Ward tricked Leni into confessing?  Was she too trusting?
10. Discuss your reading experience.    Did you like the ending?  Was it satisfying?