The Four Winds
Books | Fiction / Women
4.1
(21.3K)
Kristin Hannah
"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers WeeklyFrom the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. “My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.
Historical Fiction
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More Details:
Author
Kristin Hannah
Pages
320
Publisher
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published Date
2021-02-02
ISBN
1250178622 9781250178626
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"Update: On second read, I am as swept away as I was on first read, even more so. I read it again to prepare a Four Winds book discussion I will be leading. I expected to skim through it, but no, I devoured every word.<br/><br/>My original review: I am swept away when I read Kristin Hannah. The heart of this book is Elsa, and it’s through her words and eyes we see the devastation, poverty and despair of hundreds of thousands of middle America farmers leaving their barren and parched farms and trekking to California to find work and promise for their families. We feel for Elsa during her lonely life in Texas; during her desperate trek from Texas to California, this time with two young children; and finally during her settling in the muddy camps of California, where the colorful and lush land belies the poverty, hatred and terrible conditions she and her loved ones face. Labeled Okies, they get treated like dirt — relevant, too, if we fast forward to 2021. Kristin Hannah skillfully takes the massive dust bowl migration of our country in the 1930s and zooms in with love and intimacy on the personal cost to Elsa and her children Loreda and Anthony. Kristin Hannah’s books take me to another life and another time, with tears now splashing on e-book screens instead of paper pages. One aside: The ending seemed too compressed for me, with events occurring at a pace not matched by the sweep of the remainder of the book."
"Update: On second read, I am as swept away as I was on first read, even more so. I read it again to prepare a Four Winds book discussion I will be leading. I expected to skim through it, but no, I devoured every word.<br/><br/>My original review: I am swept away when I read Kristin Hannah. The heart of this book is Elsa, and it’s through her words and eyes we see the devastation, poverty and despair of hundreds of thousands of middle America farmers leaving their barren and parched farms and trekking to California to find work and promise for their families. We feel for Elsa during her lonely life in Texas; during her desperate trek from Texas to California, this time with two young children; and finally during her settling in the muddy camps of California, where the colorful and lush land belies the poverty, hatred and terrible conditions she and her loved ones face. Labeled Okies, they get treated like dirt — relevant, too, if we fast forward to 2021. Kristin Hannah skillfully takes the massive dust bowl migration of our country in the 1930s and zooms in with love and intimacy on the personal cost to Elsa and her children Loreda and Anthony. Kristin Hannah’s books take me to another life and another time, with tears now splashing on e-book screens instead of paper pages. One aside: The ending seemed too compressed for me, with events occurring at a pace not matched by the sweep of the remainder of the book."
"A great one to read and then share! 5 stars!"
S G
Samantha Goodnight
"A beautiful story!"
C B
Christie Biggers
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