The Four Winds

 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Fiction

2021 Macmillan Audio

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Finished on August 27, 2022

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

To damage the earth is to damage your children. ~Wendell Berry, farmer and poet

Publisher's Blurb:

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.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression.

From Publishers Weekly:

Hannah brings Dust Bowl migration to life in this riveting story of love, courage, and sacrifice. She combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and lyrical prose that rings brightly and true from the first lines. In Elsa, a woman who fiercely defends her principles and those she loves, Hannah brilliantly revives the ghost of Tom Joad. 

The Four Winds is an evocative and captivating book. I loved it! I read The Grapes of Wrath in high school and that was the extent of my Dust Bowl knowledge until I watched the Ken Burns' miniseries about the devastation caused by dust storms in the Great Plains. When I first heard about Kristin Hannah's historical novel about this period, I knew it would be a worthwhile read since I enjoyed The Nightingale (her novel about two sisters in France during World War II) so well. Once again, Hannah's storytelling doesn't disappoint. Her characterizations and sense of place are realistic and visceral; I could hear the wind howl and taste the gritty dirt in my mouth. This timely novel not only reminds us of our history, but also our future, speaking to climate change, as well as fair wages and the mistrust of outsiders.

Photo Credit: Weather.gov

Photo Credit: PBS.org

I especially enjoyed listening to the narration by the ever-so-talented Julia Whelan. I am in awe of her ability to give each character (whether male or female) their own distinctive voice and accent, although one time I had to laugh; her voice for Jack Valen sounds very much like that of the devil's in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (another audiobook performed by Whelan). Despite that particular coincidence, Whelan's performance is outstanding. 

The tedium and loss of narrative momentum in the final chapters is my only complaint (for which I deducted a half point). Notwithstanding that minor criticism, The Four Winds is a rewarding and hopeful story about the perseverance and determination of the human spirit. I won't forget Elsa, Loreda, or Ant anytime soon. Highly recommend.

Now to reread Steinbeck's masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, which I hope to enjoy as much as I did in 1978.