The Four Winds
“The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year.”–Publishers Weekly
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 and at war with itself, 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 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.
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 us as 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.
Publisher : Griffin
Publication date : March 14, 2023
Language : English
Print length : 480 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250178614
ISBN-13 : 978-1250178619
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.35 x 2 x 8.2 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books) #15 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books) #24 in Mothers & Children Fiction
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (190,698) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Original price was: $18.99.$11.48Current price is: $11.48.
“The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year.”–Publishers Weekly
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 and at war with itself, 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 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.
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 us as 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.
Publisher : Griffin
Publication date : March 14, 2023
Language : English
Print length : 480 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250178614
ISBN-13 : 978-1250178619
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.35 x 2 x 8.2 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books) #15 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books) #24 in Mothers & Children Fiction
KymmLisa –
The Great Depression Does Not Make For a Cheery Book!
And she’s done it again! Kristin Hannah has a way of taking me on a journey into the past and leaving me with feelings of shock, sadness, anger and more knowledge than I started with, but she’s also a master at taking all of that and showing there are those who, with the courage, strength and resiliency to survive, can change their stories in history, even change history itself. Lift themselves up, carry on and show the strength of the pure human spirit when everything around them is in tatters.The Four Winds is not the book for you if you’re looking for an easy read that you can just blow through (no pun intended) and say, “Yeah, that was great.” No it’s a real story of a horrible time in American history. I chose this one to read right away because it dealt with The Great Depression, it seemed especially relative to me right now. What I would call a timely book for these times. As we go through what’s being labeled as the worst economic disaster since The Great Depression, I wanted to know what went on to the marginalized people of our nation in the 1930’s. Historically it’s the underserved, poor and devastated that suffer in times of crisis, we’re seeing it happening again and I wonder will we ever learn? What’s it going to take? When is enough enough?Elsa Martinelli hasn’t had an easy life, her family shunned her, she just wasn’t pretty enough to warrant attention from them. But it’s her life after marriage that the book concentrates on. Elsa finds herself in a new town, living on a farm with her in-laws within the Great Plains of America, what will soon be called The Dust Bowl after years of drought and failing farms, hungry families, mountains of dust being blown and covering everything in it’s wake and little hope for change. She’s a farm girl now and calls the Plains her home, but after years of trying to live in a place where the dust is burying them more every year, crops will not grow without water and it’s become dangerous for her to stay, Elsa decides to migrate West to California with her daughter and son. A feat that she never dreamed she’d be able to do. They suffer greatly trying to make it across the country in an old, broken down truck, just the three of them. I would think in the 1930’s a woman alone, with only her two young children would have to have been the bravest of the brave, the determined few who would do anything to find the American dream!Once they reached the Golden State their hopes and dreams of a new home, friendly neighbors and jobs, soon becomes a real life disappointment. There are no jobs for the thousands and thousands who are like Elsa trying to escape their dire circumstances and continue with their hopes of the American dream. Soon they’ll have to settle for a spot in one of the many immigrant tent cities, where Elsa is again challenged to provide for her children as best she can. She finds a job picking cotton, but then goes through the injustice of the greedy owner. Her soul is constantly being chipped away, but she persisted! The residents of California are nothing short of mean and nasty to these immigrants and won’t even give them a chance. They are taunted with names, discriminated against at every turn, left to suffer on their own, but Elsa is not giving up. It’s so important to her to teach her children what’s important in life and try to keep them in school, education will further their dreams for a better future. This will not be an easy task for Elsa, but she’s become a tougher than nails kinda gal and doesn’t stop trying any more than she’d stop loving her children,After meeting up with an activist/communist who has a heart for the downtrodden and wants to help, she encounters the other side of greed. Someone finally understands the nightmare she and thousands of other families are living through. She’s hesitant at first to get involved, after all he is a communist, and during the 30’s that was not the label you wanted attached to your name. Elsa’s daughter has grown up to be a smart, independent thinker with ideas of her own, I loved to read that teen girls in the 1930’s were not that much different from the 1990’s when I was going through the hell of a teenage daughter with a strong independent personality who thought she knew it all. Anyway, her daughter sees things as a simple right and wrong conversation, but the realities of surviving are left to her mom, the one whose been particular about how honest she is with her for fear of scaring the kids or allowing them to think they’re less than. She’s one heck of a mom in a time when trying to care for oneself is hard enough, but to raise strong, resilient children is almost impossible.This will be another book that doesn’t leave me soon. Both my parents survived the Great Depression, but for personal reasons never talked much about it. Every once in a while when my dad would tell a story of his childhood I could detect from the settings he used that he was one of the very poor in the 1930’s. Little food, torn and outgrown clothes, no jobs, no money and hardship at every turn, but then I listen to stories my mom told and she was of the upper class and didn’t go through any of this. I’ve always wondered how can this be? They lived miles from one another as kids, both of their sets of parents were hard working and caring people, the difference was money. It angers me that those who have are always making the decisions for those who don’t . Blame it on capitalism, racism, cronyism or any other ism you can think of, to me it all boils down to a lack of humanity towards your fellow man/woman. When does kindness, caring and assisting those less fortunate come into the conversation? Are we again going to argue over ism’s and whose right or wrong, or are we going to say enough is enough and begin treating others like we’d like to be treated, you know the golden rule we all learned as kids!I love Kristin Hannah and the way she can take a story of horrible circumstances and people’s struggles and turn them into a need to read novel. Her research is always impeccable and her characters are real people with real problems and desires. Their stories need to be told, even though these are fictional characters, there are millions of everyday people who can relate to Elsa’s strength, determination and persistence in her quest to better themselves in a world that’s never on their side. The everyman/woman we all want to see make it. Through Hannah’s books we get the chance to go back in history, hear the stories and see the resiliency of the human spirit again and again. Some are saying this one is just too depressing, yes it is, but sometimes we need to be uncomfortable in our own skin to have our eyes opened. Maybe because this story is being retold all over the US right now. Greed over need, power over what’s good and just. sound bytes over action. This is a timely read and one that needs to be told. I suggest also reading Hannah’s acknowledgements in the back of the book, it gave me insight into how she decided to write this one, what her inspiration was and a bit about where she stands on this nation in pain. Yes folks she’s done it to me again, I don’t cry over books, but this really rocked me. The Four Winds will be blowing through my mind for some time to come. Happy Reading!
alex28 –
Stunning
It’s now 3:00AM and I’m sitting in my living room, and I’m so moved and ready to fight..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? It’s Heartbreaking that we are fighting for the same BASIC human rights as we did 90+ YEARS AGO!!!The hardships faced by Elsa are simply relentless. Kristin Hannah wrote a visceral, richly detailed and atmospheric novel that will transport us back to the Dust Bowl and to the migrant settlements in California afterward, This is such a fascinating tale filled with captivating historical detail that gets glossed over in history books, Learning about the “company store” and how American citizens were forced to be basically slaves to these large farmers was eye-opening to me and I felt the desperation and hopelessness these people must have felt because they had nowhere to go and no one to turn to.By the end of this book, I cried, I raised my fist in the air.. and I also wondered Kristin Hannah has written so many great novels that one can only ponder if she can continue on the winning streak..Her writing will break you, move you, and heal you -all at once and she offers no regrets only explanations of why, how, and when she decided to choose such subjects to tackle with the upmost of respect, dignity, and courage.Kristin Hannah began writing this novel over three years ago, before the pandemic, before the skyrocketing unemployment that would follow. And yet, this story is so relevant to our current days, the isolation, dwindling funds, people, as she says in her note at the end, frightened for their future, men in power shushing voices in order to further their own desires, wanting us to pay attention to what they say and not what they really mean or what they show by their actions. Or, as the Wizard of Oz said: ’Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.’
C. Klier –
4.5 stars – Another fantastic Kristin Hannah book, this time on the great depression within Texas.
I loved this book, but did not like the ending. The Four Winds was a powerful and emotional read. I loved the story and was completely drawn into Elsa’s journey; her strength, sacrifices, and determination as a mother during the Dust Bowl era felt raw and deeply human. Kristin Hannah does an incredible job bringing this period of history to life, and I found myself fully invested in the characters and their struggles.The story gave me a deep respect for what people endured during that time and really put into perspective how those struggles still echo in today’s world. While I truly loved the story, the ending didn’t quite land for me and felt a bit abrupt compared to the emotional build-up. That said, it didn’t take away from how impactful the journey was overall.
nicole radut –
Amazing story and beautifully written. The only thing i could criticise a bit would be the ending,it felt a bit forced and unrealistic, but overall i highly recommend.
Daniella Gurrea –
No puedo creer que me salga mas barato un libro importado! y en inglés!!!
Sylvie Sullivan –
Elsa is a young woman growing up in Texas in a well-to-do but emotionally distant family. Frail after a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, she feels unloved and unwanted, convinced she is plain and undesirable. At 25, still unmarried unlike her sisters, Elsa longs for a different life. When she meets Rafe Martinelli, a charming young man from a working-class background, she falls in love. But when she becomes pregnant out of wedlock, her parents disown her.Forced to leave her privileged life behind, Elsa moves in with Rafe’s family on their farm. Life there is tough and unrelenting, but she adapts and builds a life with Rafe, raising two children, Loreda and Ant. As the Great Depression sets in and a devastating drought destroys their land, Elsa is faced with an impossible choice: stay and endure, or flee west to California in search of a better future for her children.What follows is a gripping portrayal of Elsa’s journey as she faces poverty, discrimination, and brutal working conditions in California. Yet through every hardship, her love for her children give her strength. The Texan dust storms, once unbearable, almost seem gentler than the cruelty she encounters in the so-called land of opportunity.The Four Winds is a powerful story of maternal love, female resilience, friendship, and sacrifice. It also makes us see the inequality, work exploitation, and the myth of the American Dream, asking whether it is truly attainable for all, or just for a privileged few.Elsa is a deeply developed and compelling protagonist. However, some of the secondary characters, particularly Rafe, could have been more developed. That said, the emotional impact and historical richness of the novel more than make up for this.A thoroughly moving and unforgettable read, both heartbreaking and inspiring.
Elle –
I gave this novel a try after all the positive accolades. I wasn’t expecting much, but was hoping it would be better than the Nightgale, which was a generous 4/5 for me. This met and exceeded my expectations. It’s much better written, very gripping, with flawed characters that you want to root for. There is so much history and I loved learning what I wasn’t taught in school. The daily hardships of life at that time and in that region were brought to life in such a moving way. The struggles of a single mother were so eloquently developed and described. The dialogues felt real and human. This kind of book makes you appreciate life in the 21st century, and be grateful for all the things we take for granted.To those giving this book a low rating because of the ending: 1) grow up; 2) perhaps you should stick to the Hallmark channel; 3) what better ending than your child achieving what you wished them to be when they were born?You won’t regret reading this one.
Laura –
Another great Kristen Hannah read!