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The Four Winds (2021)

by Kristin Hannah

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4,6122022,631 (4.13)93
"Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli-like so many of her neighbors-must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. 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"--… (more)
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» See also 93 mentions

English (197)  German (1)  Spanish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (200)
Showing 1-5 of 197 (next | show all)
This book wrecked me. Do NOT read without tissues. ( )
  bookjockeymeg | Nov 21, 2024 |
"Love is what remains when everything else is gone."

There are not enough books about the Dust Bowl. I know very little about this time in American history and it is something that I wish I knew more about. This story is about one such family, living on land in Texas when suddenly the rain and the water.....stop.

This is not a happy story. It's a brutal, realistic, heartfelt story about family and love and what makes us strong. It puts the human spirit and sheer willpower on beautiful cruel display. It was hard to read about the treatment, the prejudice and the betrayal of those so left behind and starved. I loved it for the honesty and the hard look at human suffering at the hands of other human. Great story but be prepared, it's brutal. ( )
  Trisha_Thomas | Nov 14, 2024 |
am so glad to have read this book. This is the ideal book when you are feeling down. Yes, the dust bowl was horrible. The struggle to stay alive during dust storms, all of the topsoil flying away, even birds dropping from the sky when caught by the storms.

With no crops and food running out, cows giving brown milk, fathers deserting their families like my paternal grandfather during the Great Depression, survival is very precarious.

Unloved by her parents, Elsa, the tallest and skinnest of the daughters in the family was an avid reader and wanted love so much. She took a risk and became pregnant. Her parents drop her off at the home of the young man who was responsible. Slowly, she finds love and acceptance with her new family and the husband that she married deserts her and her child when the dust storms got tough.

The situation on the farm gets much worse, Elsa decides that she has to do something because the future is so bleak. She, her daughter and very young son make their way to California only to find more trouble.

I highly recommend this book if you are depressed. It teaches that it is best to stand up for yourself and fight even when the odd against winning are so sttong. ( )
  Carolee888 | Nov 14, 2024 |
Every country has it's ugly secrets and at some time or other, their citizens have been treated horrendously. Its only by looking back we can look forward to a time when we hope to have finally learned from our mistakes

Set during the great depression in America, the novel focuses on the strength of women and especially mother and daughter relationships. While this is historical fiction, it certainly educates and informs the reader about a time in American history when farming families were driven from their homesteads by drought, dust storms and bank foreclosures and make their way to California in the hope of a better life but find themselves living in makeshift camps , with little work to be had and what is available is badly paid and workers exploited.

Having read [b:The Grapes of Wrath|18114322|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375670575l/18114322._SY75_.jpg|2931549] I was familiar with this time in American History.
The Four Winds is an entertaining , albeit long winded story, depressing by times but well written.
I do think the book was a little repetitive. However as an historical fiction read, I think this one really does give the read an insight into plight of the migrants at the time and brings attention to a period in history that should not be forgotten.

When I finished this novel, I realised, while we are all caught up in a pandemic at the moment, where our movements and lifestyle is restricted in order to keep us safe. It pales in comparison to what our ancestors went through and makes me grateful for the times we live in. ( )
  DemFen | Oct 31, 2024 |
A depressing tale of hardship and pain, and survival. I struggled with the beginning, but the last half was intriguing and painful. Its themes are relevant, and I recommend it to anyone. ( )
  smashbasile | Oct 20, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 197 (next | show all)
Hannah brings Dust Bowl migration to life in this riveting story of love, courage, and sacrifice...combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and lyrical prose that rings brightly and true from the first line
added by Dariah | editPublishers Weekly (starred review)
 
Epic and transporting, a stirring story of hardship and love...Majestic and absorbing.
added by Dariah | editUSA Today
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hannah, KristinAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Whelan, JuliaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
To damage the earth is to damage your children.
                                             --WENDELL BERRY,
                                            FARMER AND POET
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I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. . . .  The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
                                          --FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
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We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.
                                            --CÉSAR CHÁVEZ
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One thing was left, as clear and perfect as a drop of rain---the desperate need to stand together . . . They would rise and fall and, in their falling, rise again.
                                  --SANORA BABB,
              WHOSE NAMES ARE UNKNOWN
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Dedication
Dad, this one's for you.
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First words
Hope is a coin I carry: an American penny, given to me by a man I came to love. There were times in my journey when it felt as if that penny and the hope it represented were the only things that kept me going. -Prologue
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Elsa Wolcott had spent years in enforced solitude, reading fictional adventures and imagining other lives. In her lonely bedroom, surrounded by the novels that had become her friends, she sometimes dared to dream of an adventure of her own, but not often. Her family repeatedly told her that it was the illness she'd survived in childhood that had transformed her life and left it fragile and solitary, and on good days, she believed it. -Chapter One
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Be brave, or pretend to be.  It's all the same.
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"Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli-like so many of her neighbors-must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. 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"--

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Book description
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.
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