I don't even know how to put down into words how much I loved this book, which is odd since it broke my heart over and over. Hannah's writing is incredible and the world building is phenomenal. I was there, I could taste the dust, feel the main character Elsa's weight on her shoulders and her heartbreak and I could hear the anger in the injustice of it all. I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this and I am so thankful that I did. Everyone needs to read this book. It's definitely one of my top 10 books of 2021 and we are only 8 days into the new year!

Kristin Hannah does it again with The Four Winds. Hannah did her research and the novel is very well done! I enjoyed this book especially how the library was a place of safety and solace for Loreda as well as how books were for her mother. The story of Elsa and Rafe drew me in immediately. In the end, it was the mother and daughter relationship that was the most special. I learned things about The Great Depression throughout this novel that I had never known. It was sad and a little scary with everything that is so uncertain in America right now, but it also made me appreciate what we have.

I thought this was okay, not a favorite of mine from Hannah. Did like the aspect where did get to learn more about the nineteen-thirties (Great Depression, dust bowl, and Hooverville's). I just felt like this book was missing a spark from it's main character and that it didn't pick up until the last quarter of this book.

I flew through The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. My first 5 star read of the year. Elsa finds her Texas panhandle family uprooted by the dust bowl and discovers wells of strength within herself she never knew she possessed. This comes out at the beginning of February and an amazing nonfiction source to read while you wait would be The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.

ARC/NetGalley

I received an ARC copy from Netgalley.

Disowned by her parents, Elsa moves in with her husband's family and learns the true meaning of family. After her husband leaves her during the Great Depression, Elsa and her inlaws struggles to keep the farm running. Given the opportunity, she and her children flee to California where the meet more hardships.

Excellent book about the struggles of the Great Depression and how the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Kristin Hannah doesn't disappoint with another great historical novel. It may be a depression-era novel but it is so much more. Definite must read

I started out absolutely loving this book. Kristin Hannah is a master storyteller - I felt like I was living in the depression in the middle of the dust bowl. I could feel the anguish these people were going through, I could feel the dust swirling around. Every time I put it down, I kept thinking about these people and would actually wonder how they were doing, as if it were actually happening and I had turned off the news. That's how real she made it feel for me. But the last part of the book they got into the politics of unionizing the workers and the communists who helped with the organization. I thought it just got too cheesy, too political, too fake, with Natasha who hung around barns in berets, and everyone calling one another comrade. I don't know if that's how it all happened back then, but for me, it just didn't fit with the rest of the book.

Wow! I am blown away (no pun intended). This book will stay with you long after you read the last page, much like The Nightingale. As we enter a new year with the same pandemic and political strife, so much of this book will open your eyes to the plight of those less fortunate trying to feed their families and make a living in dire times and trying to right wrongs. Sound familiar? This book takes us from Texas to California during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. I admit, I put off reading this book due to the subject matter. But, I became immersed in Elsa’s story from the beginning.

Elsa, born to wealthy parents, becomes ill as a child and thus, becomes her lot in life; frail, unattractive spinster. Elsa is ignored with only books to fill her days. She meets an attractive stranger and her life is forever changed. The Martinelli family becomes the family she always wanted. Elsa will do anything for her family to survive, even head west with Her children, to find work. Her journey is that of the migrant worker doing anything to feed their family. Friendships are formed even in this time of darkness, and love survives. Elsa’s love, devotion, determination, and strength will be visible to all, except Elsa herself.

This book is written beautifully, the characters are wonderful, giving us total insight to their plight and despair, while making them relatable with normal every day issues. Let me honest, this is not a light read. It’s dark, sad, and, at times, it will rip your heart out! But, it’s an important story that I’m sure many do not know all that well, and is all too relevant. Warning....ugly cry ahead!

Many thanks to Ms. Hannah, St. Martin’s Press and NeGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Sometimes, there are books that you read that really stay with you.
This is one of those books. I was so scared for the family and felt their pain, sadness and despair so profoundly. I found this book hard to put down, even though it wasn't a happy read. I really really didn't like the ending, although I think it is a good ending that wraps the story up well.

Kristin Hannah does it again and I got swept away in this book. Starting in 1921, in Texas and covers the Great Depression and the American Dream in California. But did it really turn out to be as good as it sounded? It's a book of hard times but undying love between a mother and her children. I love books with strong women as the lead character and this one does not let me down. Elsa does all she can to keep herself and her children alive, even though it is very tough for her. This book had me tears and the characters will stick with me for a long time.

Reminiscent in many respects of The Grapes of Wrath, this is a wonderful literary depiction of the farmer and the unemployed-turned-migrant worker, who suffered more than we today can imagine amid the Dust Bowl and the California labor strikes of the 1930s. The courageous and unassailable spirit of Elsa Martinelli, along with the love she receives from her children (Loreda and Ant) and extended family (Tony and Rosa), drives this story, which details not only the hardship and tragedy that the characters had to undergo, but also the perseverance, bravery and compassion they exhibited in the bleakest of times.

Hannah’s novel is well-plotted, and she provides great depth to her characters, who definitely seem very real. She also appears to have done extensive historical research and is very successful in embodying in her story the pain, suffering and desperation that existed among people in parts of our country during this time period. For all of these things, I applaud her.

My only quibble, and it is a small one, is that it seemed just a tad too long. I think that making this novel somewhat more compact (perhaps by about 20 percent) would have made it truly stellar. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this novel very much and consider it a great read!

"The Four Winds", by Kristin Hannah is a captivating novel of Texas families during the Dust Bowl era. It is a book of heartache, determination, courage, poverty, love. We are not disappointed with the characters' lives we come to know in this book. As we delve into their heart wrenching stories we come to understand them from their inner turmoil to understanding the actions they take and the consequences they will experience.

The author's rich descriptions allow the mind to paint a picture of a world we've never known and can hardly imagine but I've been to Dalhart so I understand that area. Our hearts are intwined with theirs as we read of the Martinelli's gritty determination to eke out a living in a new country. It is this family that will fill the gaps in Elsa's life and teach her to never give up. As a mother, I cannot imagine witnessing the deterioration of my children or friends.

There are a couple fo scenes of intimacy outside marriage that were not highly descriptive but are present. I tried to skip through. It is part of the tale that takes young Elsa to her future. I have read very few books that captivate me the way The Fours Winds has. It will stay with you long after the read and that is the measure of a good book.

Thank you NetGalley for this book & St. Martin's Press. I would never have found this book.

Kristin Hannah has blown my mind once again. Amazing piece of writing. This author can do no wrong. I didn’t think any work could compare to the nightingale but I was wrong!

Although this book was good, it was not my favorite from Kristin Hannah. Its a dark and depressing story, so it you are looking for something light and happy this is not it. I should also mention that historical fiction is not my favorite genre, but i love the details and education that kristin hannah provides in her novels. She is so descriptive that she takes you right to the era shes describing. The story follows Elsa on a journey to support her family. Overall an emotional story, and I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Kristin Hannah is a talented author who has written some amazing novels. While I appreciated the detail and development of this story and the characters, this novel was not one of my favorites. There were incongruities and abrupt changes that bothered me - Elsa at the end seems completely different from Elsa in the beginning and the change went beyond any explanation or character growth. Some of the plot trajectory toward the end was also difficult for me; the romance with Jack was very quick, the death of Jean, and some other scenes seemed rushed and less authentic. Nevertheless, I admire Hannah's depiction of a period of history that isn't often discussed. Despite some weaknesses there are some beautiful scenes and touching images in this novel and I'm sure her many fans will still enjoy it!

Let me start by saying that I love Kristin Hannah AND this wasn't my favorite book of hers. I almost always give her books 5 stars but this one just eeked out 4 from me. This book is depressing - So much depression, dust and darkness. As a reader, I need a small glimmer of hope every once in a while. This book took 300 pages to find any green, any water and any hope and then it was quickly swiped away. Although the ending was "ok" I felt like I had been on a JOURNEY that was almost physically painful - A sign of a great author - But be ready for it!

#NetGalley
#TheFourWinds

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC. Kristin Hannah- author of The Great Alone and The Nightingale...she is just amazing! Four Winds is the story of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma and the panhandle of Texas. Families walked and those that could, drove to California for a better life. They became migrant workers picking cotton and fruit, working for pennies. The “company store” taking 10% of that pay to cash their chit wages and charging high prices for groceries making the families forever in debt. The story of their lives and resilience is extraordinary. #fourwinds #kristianhannah #feb2021

Amazing. Kristin Hannah brings the despair and horror of the Dust Bowl times to us like no other book I've read. Sympathetic, well-drawn characters. Have a tissue box handy.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC to read and review.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

An exceptional novel chronicling the Great Depression's mass migration to California in the 1930's. Beginning in the Texas panhandle, we follow the life of Elsa Martinelli and her family. This book is heartbreaking and devastating. That events similar to what happened to Elsa and her family happened in the United States should open our eyes to current events and all of us should feel compassion for our fellow citizens.

I only wished for a happier outcome for our family.

I don't know when a book has touched me like " The Four Winds" did. It is set in a time period I don't usually read and I kept putting off starting it but once I did I didn't want to put it down and at the same time it is so painful I had to come up for air every not and then. These characters will become a part of you and you will feel like you are living every dust storm, flood and blistering hot day right there with them. Even though I am a US history buff this book brought to life a time that I think gets skimmed over in history but you will never ever forget it now. After reading this book you will be grateful for every bit of food, every drink of water and a roof ( no matter how many leaks) over your head. I believe you will be profoundly different when you close this book.
Thank you to the publisher (St. Martin's Press) and /or author (Kristin Hannah) via NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Book Review: The Four Winds: A Novel by Kristin Hannah
(Published by St. Martin's Press on February 9, 2021)

4.5 Stars.

As "The Nightingale" meets "The Grapes of Wrath", can we ever expect anything less than epic from the Kristin Hannah brand?

The author revisits two important coincidental periods in American history: the Great Depression (1929-1933), and the Dust Bowl, a period in the 1930's of severe dust storms which devastated the ecology and agriculture of American prairies, mainly, it is said, due to improper topsoil farming.

-----

1921, Texas. Unfortunate circumstances cause the despised, uncomely daughter of a wealthy Dallas merchant to be banished to a farm in the prairies, where enceinte Elsa Wolcott is wedded to her reluctant beau, and where she sheds her sheltered life and discovers her true worth as a person and a woman.

The prairie is also the place where Elsa unexpectedly finds unconditional love from her in-laws, hardy Italian immigrant farmers, Tony and Rosalba Martinelli, their love for her and for her children, Loreda and Ant, the kind of love which she would never ever get from her own uppity family.

1935, San Joaquin Valley, CA. Driven by hardships inflicted by dust storms on the Martinellis' farm, Elsa and the children escape to the Golden State, only to be despised, detested and exploited as migrant "Okies". To survive they get deeply involved with the nascent pro-labor movement in California's farmlands. And by necessity, the young ones quickly come of age...

"Why was I so mean for so long? You gave me wings, Mom. Did you know that? I feel you here..."

Elsa Martinelli nee Wolcott. Mother. Daughter. Warrior.

Definitely a must-read for Kristin Hannah fans and fans-to-be!

Review based on an ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.