The Four Winds
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4.3 • 480 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'Powerful and compelling, I loved it' Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing
The Four Winds is a deeply moving, powerful story about the strength and resilience of women and the bond between mother and daughter, by the multi-million copy number one bestselling author Kristin Hannah.
She will discover the best of herself in the worst of times . . .
Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she'd yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa's world is shattered to the winds.
Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?
From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship, and the ability to love again - against all odds, Elsa's incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love.
WINNER OF THE BOOK OF THE MONTH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021
PRAISE FOR THE FOUR WINDS
'Its message is galvanizing and hopeful' The New York Times
'Through one woman's survival during the harsh and haunting Dust Bowl, master storyteller, Kristin Hannah, reminds us that the human heart and our Earth are as tough, yet as fragile, as a change in the wind.' Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing
'Brutally beautiful.' Newsweek
'Epic and transporting, a stirring story of hardship and love...Majestic and absorbing.' USA Today
'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.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When Kristin Hannah witnessed the impact of The Nightingale—her bestseller about two sisters resisting tyranny in Nazi-occupied France—she realised she wanted to write a work of historical fiction that was deeply American. The result is this sweeping story—which is indeed steeped in America's past, but nonetheless feels beautifully universal—about a family’s trials and tribulations during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years. Even before she gets pregnant by a man who doesn’t truly love her, Elsa Martinelli has a harsh, sad life. But once married, Elsa finds comfort with her in-laws: Italian immigrants and Texas wheat farmers who share with her their loyalty to family and the land. But when life on the farm becomes unbearable, Elsa and her two children head to California in search of a better future. Hannah puts her heroine through the wringer, but in the process she maps Elsa’s journey to find her confidence and voice. The Four Winds is an immersive read full of cinematic historical detail, wrenching drama and moving portrayals of friendship and love. It reminds us, says Hannah, that “so many of the things we’re going through now are things that we have gone through before. It’s always the struggle between the haves and the have-nots in the world… The important thing is to remember kindness and the concept of justice.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hannah (The Great Alone) brings Dust Bowl migration to life in this riveting story of love, courage, and sacrifice. In 1934 Texas, after four years of drought, the Martinelli farm is no longer thriving, but Elsa is attached to the land and her in-laws, and she works tirelessly and cares for her children, 12-year-old Loreda and seven-year-old Anthony. Her husband, Rafe, has become distant and something of a hard drinker, and after he abandons them, Elsa reluctantly leaves with her children for California with the promise of steady work. Her dreams of a better future are interrupted by the discrimination they face in the unwelcoming town of Welty, where they are forced to live in a migrant camp and work for extremely low wages picking cotton. When Elsa's meager wages are further reduced and she has the opportunity to join striking workers, she must decide whether to face the dangers of standing up for herself and her fellow workers. Hannah combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and lyrical prose that rings brightly and true from the first line ("Hope is a coin I carry: an American penny, given to me by a man I came to love"). In Elsa, a woman who fiercely defends her principles and those she loves, Hannah brilliantly revives the ghost of Tom Joad.
Customer Reviews
Another unexpected ending
A story of a gritty woman who took a lifetime to see her own worth.
Brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant. So moving and gritty. Through talented writing the characters, the scenery and the emotion come to life. The reader becomes a bystander drawn into the story at every point. Loved the characters, loved the realism and loved the important life messages.
Captivating
Had me hooked, read it in two days and an ending that had me in tears