My Rating: 5 stars
As a fan of Kristin Hannah's work, it should come as no surprise that I went into her newest novel The Four Winds with a high amount of eagerness and anticipation. Having read and loved several of Hannah's previous novels, the bar was already set high and of course, Hannah did not disappoint – this book was every bit as good as I expected it to be, and then some!
Set in the rural Great Plains in Texas, the story centers around 25-year-old Elsa Wolcott, who longs for a different life other than the sheltered existence she grew up in. Her parents view her as "unattractive" due to her plain looks and looming height, which also makes her "unmarriageable" and therefore not worthy of their love and attention. One day when she goes into town, Elsa meets Rafe Martinelli, who finds her beautiful and gives her the affection she has yearned for her entire life. When Elsa becomes pregnant, her parents disown her and abandon her at the Martinelli's farm, giving Rafe no choice but to own up to his actions and marry her. Over the next 13 years, Elsa grows into her role as wife and mother, but more than that, she comes to love both the land as well as the people who cultivate it – namely, her in-laws, Tony and Rose, who see the strength and beauty in her that her own parents never did. In 1934, as years of drought devastates the land and threatens the farmers' livelihoods, the Dust Bowl arrives and further decimates the land. When the destruction gets to the point where her children's survival is at stake, Elsa must make the difficult decision to either endure and continue to fight for the land she loves or head west to California in hopes of more opportunities and a better life.
This story is not an easy one to read, as it covers one of the darkest periods of the Great Depression where there was a lot of suffering all across the country. The characters go through hardships both natural and man-made, enduring horrible circumstances so bleak and heartbreaking that it's hard not to admire the indomitable nature of the human spirit and a person's will to survive. Kristin Hannah always manages to create realistically drawn and memorable characters – flawed characters who mess up and who may not even be entirely likable, yet no matter what, you can't help rooting for them. For me though, it was more than just rooting for these characters – they ended up endearing themselves to my heart, to the point that I just didn't want to let them go. I love all the strong, courageous women in this story – from Rose to Elsa to Loreda – all of whom are fictional, yet they felt so real to me. Hannah states in her Author's note that Elsa and several of the other characters represent the thousands of brave and courageous migrants who headed west back then, bringing with them "nothing more than a will to survive and a hope for a better future."
Hannah is a masterful storyteller at the top of her game, whose beautifully immersive writing style never fails to impress me. The atmospheric way in which she describes the landscape and the characters' surroundings, along with rich historical details seamlessly woven into the narrative, combine to evoke a strong sense of time and place, which is one of the aspects of Hannah's writing that I love. I also appreciate the depth of research that went into establishing the historical context for the story – not only did I learn a lot about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era, I was also compelled to do additional reading on my own after finishing the book.
This is my first 5 star read this year and it was definitely well worth the time (though I actually surprised myself by finishing this nearly 500 page book in just 2 sittings). As I wait (impatiently) for Hannah's next book, I hope I'll have time to continue working through her backlist at some point.
Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley
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