The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
**Spoilers**
Wow, this book has everything. It takes you through the range of human emotions; happiness, hope, life and loss. Instead of reading, I listened to the audiobook version of this book. For those who listen to audiobooks, you will know it is a different experience to reading a book in your own voice. However, I’ve grown to like audiobooks and this story was what I needed after reading my last book.
The story follows the life of Leni, a teenage girl who moves to Alaska with her parents whose marriage can only be described as dysfunctional. The author does a fantastic job of developing the characters and relationships within the book. Leni and her mother, Cora, share a deep bond which is evident in their jokes, one-liners and terms of affection for each other. The narrative thread throughout the book centres around this relationship. They are ‘peas in pods, baby girl’.
In the harshness of Alaska, Leni discovers that this is her home and it is here that she also finds friendship that develops into love. This is set against the turmoil of her parents marriage, her fathers issues and the choices this presents. Regrettably these choices lead to some heart wrenching moments in the book and it is in these moments all I wanted for Leni was a change in her circumstances.
Beset with continuous misfortune there were times I wondered, how much more bad luck can these people have? Although I loved this story, just when you thought things had got better they were quickly met with more despair. The sheer volume of shocking events in Leni’s life did make me question the storyline. This was particularly the case in the last few chapters, however I was happy to forgive this because I was rooting for Leni and I couldn’t wait to listen more.
In short, you know the measure of a book when you are sad that you have reached the end. I enjoyed the plot and the characters so much I wanted a sequel. This was my first Kristin Hannah book, and it won’t be the last.
Readers on Good Reads rated this book 4.3/5
My review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5.
Expectation by Anna Hope
At the beginning of the month I couldn’t wait to begin reading this book. The blurb alluded to the lofty heights of female expectation in the twenty first century versus the reality this ideal presents instead. It appealed on many levels. We all face personal disappointments, but this feminism narrative about expectation versus reality is widely relatable.
Although well written, the novel didn’t light my fire. At just over 300 pages long, I was about a third of the way through and thinking to myself, when will this get better? The book oscillates between the life stories of three friends, in the present, past and future. Each friend seem to be ‘stuck’, striving for more in their lives than what they can currently achieve in their personal and professional lives. Unfortunately as each narrative focuses on what the characters do not have and what they want, it left me feeling quite downcast as the overriding tone throughout the book was disappointment.
Many books focus on human difficulties; matters of the heart, death and other types of emotional loss, illness, failed expectations, living through violence and so on. However, as a friend said to me when describing the book to her, there is no humour or small moments of happiness amongst the ordinary or difficult times of the novel. For some readers, this overwhelming pessimism might be a breath of fresh air compared to fantastical or happily ever after storylines.
The essence of a great novel is the sense of escape it invokes, and unfortunately after reading this novel, I felt neither happy nor had I escaped. Despite the drudgery throughout the book, the three friends seem to make peace with their past decisions and there is a greater sense of contentment in the final couple of chapters. Personally I didn’t warm to this type of storytelling, but that is not to say you might not enjoy it.
Readers on Good Reads rated it 3.7/5
My review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5.
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