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A review by seastheday
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
At no point was I hopeful. At no point did I find joy in a single thing that occurred. It was so difficult to even be happy for a moment for Lenny, it was always so short a period of time & something horrible always happened from it. It made it hard to like the book because I was unable to feel the feelings a moment evoked. Or the moment was SUPPOSED to evoke.
I loved the towns people. I loved the setting. I hated her father. And honestly, I hated her mother. I know her mother was the one in the DV relationship & those relationships are hard to get out of due to the cycles of abuse. I didn’t blame her for not leaving- that wasn’t my problem with her. It was her character arc / trauma for the book. The glaring issue with Lenny’s mom is that her mom didn’t act like a mom. She treated Lenny like a best friend. So Lenny really had no actual parental roles for the majority of the book. This made Lenny feel like they were equals and that Lenny had to take care of her mom when she was injured or hurting. It was unfair & the entire inner monologue for Lenny had to do with her mom. I think Lenny’s mom was the true villain of this story. After Lenny’s father of course.
Would I read this again? NO.
Am I glad I read this? NO.
Do I want my time back? YES.
Should others pick this up? ONLY if you understand Domestic violence, abusive/toxic relationships, grooming & parentification. If one is unaware/new to these subjects, some of the story will be lost/not translated. It’s also a failure on the authors part to portray these things well.
I loved the towns people. I loved the setting. I hated her father. And honestly, I hated her mother. I know her mother was the one in the DV relationship & those relationships are hard to get out of due to the cycles of abuse. I didn’t blame her for not leaving- that wasn’t my problem with her. It was her character arc / trauma for the book. The glaring issue with Lenny’s mom is that her mom didn’t act like a mom. She treated Lenny like a best friend. So Lenny really had no actual parental roles for the majority of the book. This made Lenny feel like they were equals and that Lenny had to take care of her mom when she was injured or hurting. It was unfair & the entire inner monologue for Lenny had to do with her mom. I think Lenny’s mom was the true villain of this story. After Lenny’s father of course.
Would I read this again? NO.
Am I glad I read this? NO.
Do I want my time back? YES.
Should others pick this up? ONLY if you understand Domestic violence, abusive/toxic relationships, grooming & parentification. If one is unaware/new to these subjects, some of the story will be lost/not translated. It’s also a failure on the authors part to portray these things well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Rape, Abortion, and War