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1. Before reading the book, what was your
perception of life in Alaska? What surprised you?
2. The wild, spectacular beauty of Alaska. It was otherworldly somehow,
magical in its vast expanse, an incomparable landscape of soaring
glacier-filled white mountains that ran the length of the horizon,
knife-tip points pressed high into a cloudless, cornflower blue sky."
(22) The author describes the Alaskan landscape with such electric
language—what passages did you find the most moving? Did they help you
visualize the place or inspire you? Did you find the landscape to be in
contrast to the violence of the story? Or do you think it complemented
the breathtaking feeling of young love?
3. What aspects of the lifestyle would you find the most challenging in
the wild? How would you handle the isolation, the interdependence among
neighbors, the climate? Would you have what it takes to survive?
4. "Up here, there’s no one to tell you what to do or how to do it. We
each survive our own way. If you’re tough enough, it’s heaven on earth."
(39) What drives the settlers in The Great Alone to Alaska?
They’re not all desperate people in desperate need of a fresh start like
the Allbrights, but what could be attractive about this unique way of
life for some? What brings Large Marge there? The Walker family? Do you
think most are hunting for something—or hiding?
5. In The Great Alone, we’re transported by the author back to
America in the early seventies with plot elements such as the gas
shortage, shocking news headlines, counter-cultural ideas, and of
course, the wardrobe choices. If you were present for these years, what
was it like to see snapshots of it in the story? Did it match up with
your memories, or color the story for you? What would you add?
6. Did you find Cora’s actions and liberated" mind-set to be in
conflict? When we first meet Cora she’s venting about discriminatory
credit practices at the bank while sipping from a feminist-messaged
coffee cup, but we soon discover she’s at a tense crossroads in her
personal life. What do you think holds her back?
7. Leni sees the complexity of her parents’ relationship when in such
close quarters with them in the cabin—the rawness of their lives
together. Did you think it was going to be the weather or the violence
that killed them first?
8. Discuss the forms of love within this book—crazy and romantic love,
neighborly love and compassion, love for the natural world, and a
mother’s love. What else would you add?
9. A girl was like a kite; without her mother’s strong, steady hold on
the string, she might just float away, be lost somewhere among the
clouds." (118) If you have faced the loss of a loved one, did you find
this quote to have special resonance for you? What did the author get
right about this sentiment? How else would you describe a mother’s
influence? Does Cora serve such a role for Leni—why and why not? Did
your ideas change throughout the book?
10. Leni and Matthew compare their friendship with Sam and Frodo’s from
The Lord of the Rings, but what other couples from literature do you
think they’d fit neatly into the roles of ?
11. This is dangerous, she thought, but she couldn’t make herself care.
All she could think about now was Matthew, and how it had felt when he
kissed her, and how much she wanted to kiss him again." (233) Do you
recall your own days of young love and that rush of feeling? Do you
think the experience is universal?
12. How did the building of Ernt’s wall affect you as a reader? Did you
find that the construction heightened the suspense—or was it
suffocating?
13. Did you see Cora’s explosive act of protection coming? What did it
feel like to read that scene? As a parent, do you think you’d be capable
of the same act, or be able to write such a confessional letter?
14. Did you hold Leni responsible in your mind for any of Matthew’s
misfortune? Why or why not? How does Leni show her devotion in the end?
Did you anticipate the kind of future that is set in motion for them at
the close of the book?
15. At the end of the story, Leni ends up back in Alaska—do you think
there’s an ultimate place where people belong? How would you know if you
got there?
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