Kristin Hannah is an author whose books I always intend to read, but barely do. I’ve read two of hr novels in the past, The Ninthingale and Firefly Lane. However, The four Winds has been on my TBR for a good while now and it was only now that I picked it up. I’ve listened to the audiobook, narrated by Julia Whelan.

About the book

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Published by St. Martin’s Press on February 2, 2021
Pages: 454
ISBN: 9781250178602
Genres: Adult, General fiction, Historical fiction

An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

From 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, 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 was 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 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.

I didn’t know what to expect of this book. The reviews are quite mixed, which always leaves me a little hesitant. However, after reading the synopsis I was convinced I would like it. It’s a story about the great depression, and the dustbowl in the southern American states, such as Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas. I’ve had American history in school, but I am not sure that this particular topic has been covered. So this was really new to me.

This book follows Elsa, who hasn’t known love in her childhood. As a kid, she got seriously ill and therefore her family believes she is no marriage material anymore. Therefore, they really restrict her, they are afraid that Elsa roaming around freely might cause a scandal and the family name is defiled. It’s 1921 in the conservative state of Texas after all. One night she is fed up with her situation and sneaks out of the house. Then, she meets Rafe, a young man who actually makes her believe she is worth of being loved. The two meet and make out numerous times, which has consequences later on. They have to marry each other, and Elsa moves in with him and his family on their farm. She learns what love feels like for the first time ever, and she becomes to love farmers life. However, the great depression hits, as well ad years of drought and poverty. Everything, literally everything, dies. She eventually decides to leave Texass for California, in hopes of giving herself and her children a better future. But life in California proves to be hard, because the citizens are not eager in welcoming immigrants from the south. Despite all of the heartship Elsa and her children face, they still find a way of Finding hope in every little thing as much as they can.

As Elsa is portrayed to be our main character, we shouldn’t forget her daughter Loreda. At first I was wondering why she gets her own POV since she’s 13 years old, but it will get clear when we move forward into the book. As young as she is, Loreda tries to set lots in motion and actually acts really wise for her age. Elsa keeps treating her like a child nevetheless and she believes she knows nothing, but she actually knows much more than she realizes. Her son Anthony is indeed too young, but also, he knows more than Elsa thinks. In my opinion, the biggest growth here is for Elsa because of this realization. We only have to wait till nearly the end of the book for this too happen. It seems like Elsa is too afraid because of what she endured in her childhood. She is afraid to raise her voice and fight for what’s right. Her children already have this fierceness at a young age. This sometimes made me mad at Elsa because I so clearly saw that she had to step up.

This book is really character driven. There is a plot centered around historical events. However, The Four Winds is a book of finding hope in the toughest of times. I enjoyed Hannah’s storytelling, it sucked me in from start to finish. However, it felt like I was missing something and therefore I can’t rate it 4 stars. But I can’t point out what I’m missing because I don’t really know.

Overall, I thought The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a very decent read with great audiobook narration. I struggled a bit with the Southern dialect in the dialogues at first, but once I got used to it it was fine for me. The characters were elaborated well and so are this books’themes. I was juss missing something, although I don’t know what exactly.