The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah

Put this on your summer reading list! I just finished The Great Alone, an epic tale of survival set in the rugged and unforgiving wilderness of 1970’s Alaska. This is only the second book I’ve read by this author, the first being The Nightingale, a captivating story of two sisters who help save lives during World War II. This book was likewise fascinating, and I’m looking forward now to adding all of Hannah’s books (she has many) to my list of must-reads.

Leni Allbright comes to Alaska the same way many people do: in search of a better life. Leni’s father is a Vietnam veteran, returning home with PTSD and a dream of finding a fresh start. One of his dead Army buddies wills him a piece of land in Kaneq, Alaska, and so the family heads north in a dilapidated van with very little money and even less idea of what they’re getting into. Ernt, Leni’s dad, is volatile and tempermental. His stormy relationship with Cora, the mother, is a source of anguish for Leni, who just wants somewhere she can belong.

Immediately the kind, colorful people of Kaneq embrace the Allbrights. Not only do they assist in the cleanup of their critter-filled cabin, they help them prepare for winter. It’s a serious business, since winter lasts eight months and only the toughest survive. Planting vegetables, raising goats, and learning to hunt are only a few of the tasks the Allbrights must learn before they’re ready to face their first winter in the tough Alaskan wilderness.

The story focuses on Leni and her blossoming relationship with Matthew Walker, one of the few boys in the small settlement. Their friendship is sweet—a nice contrast to the ugliness we see going on between some of the adults. The worst of these is Leni’s dad, who aligns himself with the hard-headed conspiracy theorists in the town. He becomes an outspoken advocate against tourism and change in Kaneq.

Over the years, as Ernt grows more and more abusive and irrational, he succeeds in alienating everyone who once helped his family. Leni finds herself at odds between the boy she loves and the father who wants to tear them apart. As another winter descends on Alaska and the Allbright’s tiny home is once more blanketed in snow, their fragile family begins to fracture. When things finally come to a head, Leni and her mother must finally learn what it truly means to survive.

This is a beautifully written tale of love and loss in the wilds of Alaska. Not only does it lay bare a once-forgotten corner of our planet, but it also explores the dark and hidden recesses of the human mind. Man’s struggle against nature, as clearly depicted in the book’s pages, is provoking. But it pales in comparison to the real crux of the novel: man’s struggle against himself.

Review: Stephen King's The Outsider

I just finished reading Stephen King’s The Outsider, the latest novel in a line of heart-stopping thrillers from the master of horror. This book only came out a few short weeks ago and I was lucky enough to get ahold of a copy. Although this isn’t my favorite King novel, the story’s setup is masterful and I found myself captivated by main character Terry Maitland’s dilemma of mistaken identity and small-town injustice. When Coach Maitland is suddenly arrested for the murder of a young boy—one of the former members of his tight-knit baseball team—the entire community is outraged. After all, baseball is a big deal in Flint City and Maitland is well-loved, something of a local legend. But as the case builds against Maitland, the townspeople begin to turn on him.

Told from Detective Ralph Anderson’s point of view, the story progresses rapidly. Anderson is a decent guy, friends with Maitland and his wife, but the numerous eyewitnesses are too convincing to ignore. When DNA and fingerprint evidence clearly points to Maitland, even Anderson feels vindicated by the very public arrest made at the ball field in front of nearly sixteen hundred fans. It would seem to be an open-and-shut case.

The twist comes when Maitland’s side of the story comes out. His alibi is ironclad. As Detective Anderson begins to flounder with new doubts about the case, the wheels of justice have already begun to turn. Maitland stews in jail, his reputation growing more tarnished by the hour, unable to defend himself against the powerful evidence. The district attorney is out for blood. Maitland’s wife can’t even leave the house without incurring the wrath of her neighbors and harassment by the press.

And that’s when things really heat up.

In true King fashion, the second half of the book takes on a supernatural twist that grows darker by the page. A sinister entity moves through the town, taking what it wants, playing mind games with the citizens of Flint City. Anderson and Maitland—along with the few others they’ve convinced—risk their careers, and ultimately their lives, to investigate the evil that lurks in the town’s darkest corners. The last few chapters proceed at breakneck speed, hurtling the reader to a highly satisfying conclusion.

Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors, and this book definitely delivers. The characters he develops are fully fleshed-out and sympathetic, even the bad ones. His plots are intricately woven and masterfully conveyed. Despite the “horror” label most of his books garner, they’re not only about blood and gore. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have such a loyal base of readers. King seems to have hit upon a winning formula for success: he woos us gently at first, building the tension bit by tiny bit. The worlds he creates are vividly real. The protagonists are complex, likeable, and more than a little bit flawed. Silently we root for them. Then, when the really bad stuff finally happens--which it always does-- we're fully on board, one-hundred percent, biting our nails down to the nubs and staying up long past midnight to reach our destination: the final page. And when we do, it’s always with more than a tinge of regret that the ride is over so soon.

Review: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

This summer I’ve been reading lots of dystopian fiction, and another one that’s gotten a lot of buzz lately is Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. (The new Hulu series might have a lot to do with that.) I haven’t seen the show yet, but I’m pretty sure I read this book back in the 90’s and wanted to read it again to refresh my memory.

Originally published in 1985, the story is set in future New England, where women’s rights have been overturned. In the new patriarchal Christian theonomy, called the Republic of Gilead, women are segregated by the color of their clothing. The wives of the Commanders wear blue; handmaids wear red; Marthas (the cooks and housemaids) wear green. Econowives wear striped clothing and young, unmarried girls wear white. The entire story is told through the eyes of Offred, a young woman who attempted to flee to Canada with her husband and daughter when the Sons of Jacob launched their revolution in the U.S. and began curtailing women’s rights. The family is caught before they reach the border and Offred is separated from them. She is taken to a re-purposed high school and indoctrinated as a handmaid by the “Aunts”.

Because of environmental contaminants, most of the women in this society are now sterile. Offred is part of a small class who are reproductively healthy. She is assigned to one of the Commanders to reproduce offspring for him. This is a coveted position, but we get the sense that Offred doesn’t feel too happy about the situation (who would?). There are rules the handmaids must follow, designed to keep them in check. When the Commander initiates an illegal friendship with Offred, inviting her into his study to play board games and read his books, she is conflicted about the arrangement.

Offred learns about the Mayday resistance from one of the other handmaids. She develops a relationship with one of the household employees and discovers he is part of this movement. He offers to help her escape.

I don’t want to give away the ending, but it certainly doesn’t wrap things up in a nice, neat package. This is a thought-provoking book. Atwood does a great job building this world and creating a sense of mystery. Since it was written more than thirty years ago, in the days before cell phones and internet, some of the plot devices feel slightly out-of-date. But it still works. This is a haunting cautionary tale that garnered several awards and launched Atwood’s career. Put it on your summer must-read list if you haven’t already done so, and then join me as I settle in with my popcorn to watch the series!

Review: Wool by Hugh Howey

I just finished reading Hugh Howey’s Wool, the dystopian page-turner that everyone’s been talking about, and I have to say I absolutely LOVED it! This is the first book in the Silo Saga. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the survivors are living in a gargantuan silo buried deep in the ground. In this first book, we don’t know exactly why they have to live in the silo, except that the outside world, as viewed from the big screens in the uppermost level, appears bleak and abandoned. We imagine some sort of biological weapon or nuclear holocaust has been unleashed on planet Earth. The world Howey has created here is fabulous. Except for the weird up-top politics and secret executions carried out in the dead of night, I want to live in a silo! Everyone has a job to do, and from a young age kids decide how they will contribute. Teenagers ‘shadow’ adults in fields they’d like to specialize in: mechanical, IT, farming, portering (which consists of hauling stuff up and down the vast staircase that spans all 130 levels), security, etc. When they’re experienced enough, they start earning ‘chits’.

The opening scene is a cryptic one, in which Holston, the sheriff, is contemplating the death of his wife and weighing his own mortality. He is sent out to ‘clean’—the ultimate punishment for crimes against the silo. Mayor Jahns, a tough old lady who has run the silo for years, appoints a new sheriff and that’s when the real trouble begins. Juliette, the beautiful, resilient girl from mechanical, has no experience in law enforcement but nonetheless makes the daunting trip up-top to begin her new assignment. This riles Bernard, head of IT, who has his own agenda for the silo. Mayor Jahns winds up dead, and Juliette begins to suspect she was murdered.

Juliette’s secret investigation into the darkest secrets of the silo leads her to numerous revelations. First, Bernard and his colleagues in IT seem to know more than the rest of them about what’s really going on. Second, the world outside the silo may not be exactly the way it’s being portrayed on the big screens. Third, someone very, very badly wants to keep everyone inside.

Things come to a head when Juliette’s probing questions come to the attention of those who are really in charge of the silo. Everything she cares about is suddenly threatened: her friends in mechanical, the young man she’s falling in love with, her entire way of life. What happens next and how Juliette survives and fights back make for a fascinating read.

This book is a must for anyone who loves dystopian fiction. Howey’s writing is crisp and illuminating. I devoured this book, and you will, too.