It’s quite possible that my favorite book of the year is one that doesn’t release until next year, but I’m so excited to share this touching book with you!
As soon as I saw that Kristin Hannah had a new book coming out, I knew it was one that I wanted to read and then when I saw that it was set around the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl I wanted to read it even more.
Summary
The Four Winds is set in Texas in 1934 when millions of people are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are struggling to survive as the Dust Bowl, one of the darkest periods of the Great Depression has arrived.
Elsa Martinelli was the sheltered daughter of an upper-class family of prominence that does not accept her and quickly disowns her when she becomes pregnant. She marries Rafe Martinelli and finds acceptance and love with his parents on their farm. Eventually life becomes unbearably hard and uncertain as the farm struggles when the drought hits. Elsa is abandoned once again and eventually has to decide if she should fight for the land she loves or go west to California in search of a better life for herself and her children.
California turns out to be far from the perfect land it was promised to be. It is ripe with its own struggles, especially for migrant families looking for a better life. Elsa and her children face prejudices and injustices as they struggle to survive and eek out a meager living.
Elsa proves herself to be a loving, compassionate mother and a courageous, indomitable woman who will stop at nothing to provide for her children.
What I Loved
Honestly, I loved everything about this book!!
Most of all, I loved the characters, who are flawed, but so very strong.
I love that I learned a lot about this period of time that I didn’t know about before. Reading The Four Winds made me want to research and learn more about the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and the migration of farmers to California and how they were treated.
I love that I could see so many parallels to struggles that many people are facing today.
I loved that I connected with the story and the characters in The Four Winds on an emotional level.
I also loved reading the note from Kristen Hannah at the end of the book. It was truly touching.
Themes
The themes addressed in The Four Winds include the resilience of the human spirit, self-acceptance, inner courage and strength. It also addresses love and self-acceptance and the importance of family.
My Only Regret
My only regret is that I read The Four Winds on my kindle. This is a book that I would have loved to have held in my hands. In fact, I’ll probably re-read it when it comes out in print just so that I can do just that.
This beautiful, heartfelt book belongs on my bookshelf among my favorites!
Quote
“She’d rather reach for love and fail than never reach at all.”
Rating
I received a copy of The Four Winds through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to the talented Kristin Hannah for this opportunity.