The Four Winds begins in 1921 when 25 year old spinster Elsa Wolcott, who’s denied love & acceptance by her upperclass family & feeling stifled in their home & her life, sleeps with Rafe Martinelli, an 18 year old Italian-American man.

Pregnant & summarily denounced by her family, Elsa is sent to marry & live with Rafe & his parents. Reflecting on the fact that she is not loved, still, Elsa resolves to give her baby the family & home she never had.

The book picks back up in 1934 where we learn the effects on Elsa of living in that kind of marriage & trying to keep a home & farm going. Then the dust storms & Great Depression get worse & that’s where the story really takes off.

The Four Winds makes it clear from the Prologue that it’s a story about women, & that’s what we get as Elsa tries to protect her family in TX & across the country in CA. Elsa’s story also becomes a migrant camp worker’s story. The parallels between then & now—when the rich get richer off the work & hardships of those who do the work, when politicians & police work to support the system that keeps rich white people rich—are strong.

Kristin Hannah is a masterful writer & my emotions were definitely engaged—but while Elsa & her arc are inspiring, her story also feels overtly representative in some ways, symbolic. I felt some distance from her. That feeling is underscored for me by the ending, which is well-written but which I didn’t like on a couple of different levels.

This isn’t my favorite of Hannah’s books, & I do have some quibbles, but it’s another stunning offering. I’m grateful that we have this exploration of the power & strength of women & mother-daughter relationships during one of the US’s most tumultuous moments. A story that gives hope & assurance of some kind in the good people are capable of even as it points out some of the worst acts of humanity.

4⭐️. The Four Winds is out on 02/02/21. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Beautifully written story about a courageous woman trying to survive during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era. It is heart breaking to see Elsa crave for love and acceptance in her own family. After being treated so poorly Elsa will prove to be a warrior in protecting her own children. Based on survival stories of people flooding into California during this time period, the discrimination shown is astonishing. This well researched novel flows well and is hard to put down. Readers will be drawn into this compelling story. Highly recommended!

Like The Nightingale, The Four Winds sported a narrative that was rather distant and emotionally restrained. Once again, I found it incredibly hard to relate to Hannah's main character, Elsa Martinelli (née Wolclott), with Hannah relaying all her characterization through telling and confining the showing to limited scenes with small spells of action to pull the plot along with the incredibly stilted dialogue.

Hannah's style is just not for me. Her reliance on the constantly moving story would normally be great, but she has no flare for realistic dialogue — her preference for dropping bell-tolling lines at the end of segments or chapters is exhausting in its predictability. And the tendency Hannah has of constantly dropping cultural references as mile markers are about as heavy handed as a sledgehammer to the skull. For instance, early in the book, Elsa gets bold (which is her break-from-character moment that catapults her into the rest of the story) and buys some red silk fabric which she decides to whip up into a flapper-style dress. It comes from out of nowhere, she doesn't fit in with anyone else in the town in this dress — even when she goes out late at night for some random bit of fun, it's a flash bang moment that serves a certain purpose in the story in propelling the plot forward for Hannah.

Hannah's style lacks too much nuance for my taste. If there's a decade-related Plains reference that screams 1930s, it's probably woven somewhere very clumsily into this story. All-in-all, this read like a slight twang-injected Wikipedia entry or textbook excerpt. I've already packed up the two physical books by Hannah that I owned and had not yet read, and given them to a friend.

Kristin Hannah has done it again. She perfectly uses words to describe the strength of the American spirit, the warrior nature of motherhood, and how love can change someone’s life.

Four Winds is a story of the “worst environmental disaster in our history; the collapse of our national economy; and the devastating effect of national unemployment.”It is about how people from the four corners of America were drawn together during a time of tragedy and hardship.

In a year like 2020, it was powerful to be reminded that our country has made it through hard times through hard work, ingenuity and leaning on each other. Family, love, and HOPE are what is important. This was the perfect book to end 2020. You will not be disappointed.

Wow, what an amazing book!!! Ms. Hannah has again given us an incredible story about perseverance, real life and love. What a timely book to have read during this ongoing pandemic crisis where Americans are once again in economic crisis with a few environment issues thrown in as well (wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes). She has managed to capture the destitute feelings of the migrants and farmers while at the same time showing their strength and resilience. The conditions those people in the thirties had to endure was criminal, living in shanty towns, no drinking water, little food and no real help, plus the prejudices of the people in the towns. It is just heartbreaking to think that people in a country as rich as the United States, had to endure those kinds of hardships. It is hard to imagine!. The only thing I wish we had found out is what happened to her uppity, mean and horrible family. You kind of get an idea but I would have liked to know exactly what happened to them!! If you want to read an extremely compelling story about a time in history that may be yet again just on the horizon this is the book for you. The thing I like about Kristin Hannah is that no two of her books are alike. Many authors become formulaic and you can't read too many in a row or they all run into one another and sound the same. Ms. Hannah does not fall into that category at all. Her books are all distinctly different and have such strong characters (in particular the women) in them. They are informative, compelling and a delight to read!!

Elsa Martinelli grew up financially comfortable but lonely and mistreated in the ways women have always been mistreated - scorned by her own family for a perceived lack of physical beauty, assumed to be frail and weak, limited by their ideas of what her intellect would allow. Knowing that she wanted more from life than the role of sickly spinster that her parents had assigned to her, she does something daring and scandalous that earns her banishment but also allows her to escape. She finds love and acceptance and family by working hard on a small farm. But that's just the beginning.

Elsa is a wife and a mother fighting to protect her children, her in-laws, and the land she has come to love when the Dust Bowl hits the midwest. She fights harder than anyone to hold on to the life she has created on the farm, but eventually, she has no choice but to leave Texas for California - a "land of milk and honey" where jobs were supposed to be plentiful. California, however, doesn't turn out to be what she had been led to believe. Yes, the choking, life-threatening dust is gone, but the migrants are treated with disdain and refused housing, service, and dignity. Wages are low, and most are trapped in the criminal cycle of working for a company that takes everything and more back for sub-standard housing and a form of modern-day slavery created by the company store. Throughout all of this, Elsa struggles to connect with her daughter, Loreda, who takes after her father - dreamers who are always hoping to leave, believing that the next place is finally the one where they will find everything they want. Loreda doesn't want to settle for what life hands her the way she believes that her mother has always done.

Thanks to her daughter, Elsa becomes a reluctant part of the labor movement. At first, she's uncomfortable going against authority, but she becomes more deeply involved in the movement she finally finds the love she never knew she deserved and discovers what she is truly capable of in order to protect her children and build a better life. A tragedy, however, is what it takes for Loreda to finally understand why Elsa seemed to settle in her life, why she was so attached to the land and family and Texas, and to learn that she was very wrong about her mother.

The Depression and Dust Bowl era is my least favorite historical period to read about, but Hannah has created a story that is gripping and vibrant despite the darkness of the period. My biggest complaint about this book is how well the story is built, but how quickly the final act happens. It's as if, when the ending arrived, Hannah needed to wrap it up as quickly as possible. It was unbalanced in details and depth of storytelling from earlier parts of the book, where some of the descriptions and details could even have been pared back and part of the book could have been sped up a bit to the benefit of keeping the story moving.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I’ve always been impressed by the fact that Kristin Hannah delves into different events in history and brings them to life with such vibrancy and very real, relatable characters. She’s done it with WWII, Vietnam and now the Dust Bowl. I read the Grapes of Wrath in high school, but that was the extent of my knowledge of this subject, so I was fascinated to read about it.

The story portrays a woman, Elsa, who lives with her family on the Texas panhandle in the 1930’s and must display extreme endurance and strength in order to take care of her family during this very difficult time in history. The depiction of her struggles is extremely well-written and absolutely heartbreaking at times. I felt like I really got to know and love Elsa and wanted to reach into the pages of the book to help her. What a horribly depressing time in history! And the parallels between how “okies” were treated by California residents then and how immigrants in our country are treated by some now was striking. History does indeed repeat itself.

Fans of Kristin Hannah and historical fiction in general will devour this.

The Four Winds is a book about the unbreakable American spirit. It is also about how poverty in America can crush and grind a person down. Even though this book takes place in the 1930s, it feels very timely. “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” Has been 2020 in a nutshell. Elsa Martinelli and her family are living in the Dust Bowl trying to survive. It’s very easy to fall in love with her, her family, and the people that come along during the events of this novel.

Kristin Hannah never disappoints! I do not know much about this time period beyond the fact the Great Depression took place. This book made me want to learn everything I could. Pick up the beautiful and heart breaking book!

Kristin Hannah novels are so hit and miss for me.

For instance, I absolutely loved Night Road...it's probably one of my all-time favorite books. Yet, I really fecking hated the The Nightingale.

And here's why...

Every time I read Hannah's historical fiction, I end up feeling as though she researches like a mad woman, jots down every tragedy she can find during that time period, and then destroys her main character by making her suffer through every. single. calamity.

It's too much.

This book was so horribly depressing, and was so full of misery and death (animals included...it's bad, friends), that I couldn't wait for it to end. There was zero enjoyment while reading this. Yes, it's well-written, and yes, Ms. Hannah knows how to ratchet up the tension...but man, balance is a good thing. The constant darkness is overwhelming.

The conclusion was completely predictable and emotionally manipulative. I know I was supposed to break down into devastated tears, but instead, I let out a huge sigh and rolled my eyes. Does that count?

I'm once again in the minority here, so read it...you know you want to.

TRIGGER WARNING: CONSTANT ANIMAL SUFFERING AND DEATH

2.5 starsAvailable February 2, 2021

Despite my less than enthusiastic review, I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy.

Worldwide life feels beyond difficult and stressful with the debilitating effects of the pandemic. Unemployment is catastrophic. Too many people are dying. Then I read Four Winds. In the Texas panhandle in the 1930s Elsa grows up in a well to do family who not only fail to love and accept her, but continually undermine her confidence. When she becomes pregnant out of wedlock, they totally reject her. She moves to a wheat farm, marries Tony -the father, and lives with him and his parents. His parents come to love and appreciate her, fostering her self confidence. She learns to be a loving mother.

In 1934 the dust bowl and the Great Depression are concurrently destroying the Martinelli’s farm. Elsa has loved her difficult life with her in laws despite the lack of affection in her marriage. Her two children mean everything to her. When her husband leaves and life gets even harder, how will this family survive? Unlike today there are no safety nets. This dark tale reminds us that it is bad for us now, but it could be so much worse.

I look forward to recommending this book to my book club and friends who love historical fiction. Kristin Hannah has another winner on her hands. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Powerful. Heartbreaking. Mesmerizing. Unputdownable.

Depression, drought, dust. Workers' rights, fair pay, American migrant rights.

I can't say enough about this book. What a time period to set this in. It is so relevant considering all that Covid-19 has thrown at us. About the only thing missing from our lives today is the dust-bowl.

I haven't read much about this time period or this part of the country to understand these people's hardships and heartbreaks. Mind you; this book takes place over about only two years.

If you like historical fiction this is going to be a must-read for you.

I haven't read many books by Ms.Hannah, but I certainly will be doing so now!

*ARC supplied by the publisher and the author. Thank-you.

Have you ever read a book that is so well written and so all-encompassing that you feel terrible the whole time you read it? Because the worst stuff is happening in the book and there’s no hope and it’s just awful. But also so good that you can’t put it down? And things just keep getting worse and worse. So you keep reading because you can’t look away and it feels awful. Then, when you finish, you wish you could read the whole thing over again for the first time?

That’s The Four Winds. Elsa is dealing with a lot. And basically nothing good happens. First she’s an old maid, there’s the Dust Bowl, during The Great Depression. Then trouble with her marriage. I can’t say much, but it is so hard for Elsa to catch a break. It is painful. But in the best possible way.

The Four Winds is a richly drawn work of historical fiction that transports the reader to that moment in history. Hannah does this in a way not many authors can master and it’s breathtaking. Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

My review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on January 2, 2021.

The Four Winds : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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😭😭😭😭😭<—— I am not ok. If you’ve read a KH novel then you know to get your tissue ready because you’re 100% going cry your eyes out. This story is a reminder of what I’ve come to love about KH writing , it’s draws you in and never let’s go. She weave a story that raw , and oh so heartbreaking . A story of family, lost, love and more lost.
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In this story we meet Elsa , who’s biggest desire is to be love and accepted . In her quest for acceptance she met got caught up with a young’s man with big dreams . In an instant they’re married and building a family . Elsa life is forever changed, she must adopted to his world , but when her husband disappeared and the land is going through a season of drought Elsa must make the decision to leave everything behind to create a better life for children .
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Y’all, Elsa went through it. She’s the poster children for “ if it’s not one things, it’s another “, blows after blows she faces until the very end. My goodness , life is unfair .
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I enjoy this novel , my only regret is that we didn’t get to know more about Elsa growing up and her life as a newly Wed. And that ending , KH whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??????? What did we do to deserve this ? 😭😭😭😭I just know that I’m going to experiences book hangover . I need a few week .

I've read quite a few books by megapopular novelist Kristin Hannah, with The Nightingale being my absolute favorite. I'm always excited to pick up her books. Her latest, The Four Winds, was not her best, but fans of hers will probably still enjoy it.

The Four Winds is mostly the story of Elsa Martinelli and begins in Texas during the Dust Bowl era of the Great Depression. Elsa lives on a farm with her husband, in-laws, and two children. They all must fight every single day to survive both literally and financially. This part of the novel is completely engrossing as you root for their spirit and survival.

What is less successful, at least for me, was part two of the novel, when the Martinellis need to decide if they will stay in Texas or go west to California. I believe that the most riveting historical fiction draws the reader in to what was happening at the time without relying so much on dialogue to explain it. Part two moves the story along mostly by dialogue instead of action, which makes it less successful than part one in my opinion.

But Hannah should still be commended for her well-researched account of one of the darkest times in American history.

MY RATING - 3

I can honestly say that this book is going to stay with me longer than perhaps any other I have read in 2020. I knew Kristin Hannah was an incredibly talented writer and that this book was likely to completely shatter my heart, and I was not let down on either front. This is the story of the Martinelli family, told through the eyes of the mother Elsa and her daughter Loreda. We follow Elsa through incredibly awkward teen years to a forced marriage and the genesis of her small family, before their stable and comfortable farming life in Texas is shattered by the Dust Bowl years and the Great Depression. She leaves for California with her children and faces unimaginable hardship there. It is so fascinating to watch both her and Loreda grow up, find out what love and strength truly mean, and find their voices. It was a book I absolutely COULD NOT put down. It is obviously not an easy subject matter in the least, but you will find yourself so completely transported to this world. I will also say that I drew parallels often to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 that we are all currently living in and through which the author finished this book. Her afterword is poignant and so meaningful.

A round of applause for Hannah - another amazing work.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for my ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

I'm torn about how to rate this book! It was a beautifully written story with fascinating characters set in an interesting, if heartbreaking, historical period. I couldn't put it down. However, zero good things happened to anyone! It was page after page of misery and disappointment. I suppose that is an accurate depiction of reality, but as I reader, I do crave a bit more happiness for the characters to whom I grow so attached!

Kristin Hannah is a tremendous storyteller. The Four Winds gives us the character of Elsa who is told she is too tall, too thin, and not overly attractive daily. Living in Texas during the dust bowl she flees to California with her children for a better life and finds herself under the thumb of large farms who use the company store to keep underpaid workers always in debt. This is a story of struggle, stubbornness, the triumph of women when they work together, and how the American dream does end up being the same for everyone. I treasured the tale of Elsa and hoped for her to have the life she deserved the whole way through the book. Excellent.

Very mixed feelings on this one. I loved learning more about the Dust Bowl and California Migration and the ending elicited the feelings it intended (though I think the conclusion was in part for shock value and very abrupt). I really felt for Elsa and her children and the awful conditions in which they found themselves trying to survive. It was the repetitive descriptions of these situations and conditions though that had me slogging through more than 1/2 of the book. I think the author could have cut the number of dust storms and descriptions of the migrant camps in half and still have left the reader with a great understanding of these hardships. It got tedious to say the least.

Thank you to Net Galley and Kristin Hannah for the ARC of this book.

This is the story of Elsa born to riches but ignored by her family - she falls for the first boy who gives her any attention and finds herself with child. The family who already doesn't want her now kicks her out and husband Rafe is forced to take her home. There she meets his parents, Rose and Tony, farmers without much but they have love. They accept Elsa as their own and she finds hard work when accompanied by love is so much better than the lap of luxury with no love.

But hard work is only the beginning of her obstacles. It's 1930's in Texas. The Dust Bowl is beginning. Years without hardly any rain, high winds, burning winds, crazy conditions. Add in the stock market crash, the Great Depression and so many farmers with nothing. Many head to California with hopes of a new life and work as a migrant farm worker. Only too many go which makes things there horrific and trying to live when you are penniless with no roof over your head.

Elsa's character is a very strong woman who learns what's really important in life. The struggles endured throughout her lifetime are many but through her we learn so much.

I hadn't read much about this time in history but found it fascinating. Kristin Hannah has researched this very well and it shows. I highly recommend picking this book up! While it's not the lightest and happiest read, it is deep in content and historical fiction and beautifully written!

Wow. Just wow. Kristin Hannah has outdone herself yet again with this stunning masterpiece of hope and perseverance during one of the single the worst times in history - the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in California and the Great Plains. One of the best books I have read in a while. Beautiful, heartbreaking and rich with history, unimaginable strife, and the overwhelming power of kindness. Absolutely loved it.