Title: The Four Winds
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Elsa Wolcott is a shelter young woman in Texas, in 1921. She’s kept in her house because a childhood illness. One evening, Elsa goes into town and meets Rafe Martinelli. After a night of fun, Elsa learns she’s pregnant. Reluctantly, they’re married to save their reputations. Rafe is a farmer’s son and life is hard on the farm. Elsa learns to love life on the farm. But then the Depression hits and times get even harder. Rafe loses hope and leaves everyone high and dry. When Elsa’s youngest, Ant, gets sick, them and her daughter, Loreda, have no choice but to go to California. They meet just as much suffering and hardship in California as in Texas. How can the three of them survive the Depression and migrant life? Can the three of them ever catch a break? Or will they have to give up and return to Texas?
Rating: 4.0 – a sad telling about a family’s struggle to survive during the Great Depression
Opinion: This book was kind of depressing. There was no hope in this story. Every time the character’s caught a break, something worse happened not long after. I kept hoping something truly happy would happen, but it never did. It left me kind of deflated at the end. Though there was a glimmer of hope, but for the most part I was left feeling sad. For the historical part, it’s very accurate. I really enjoyed learning about a different side of the Great Depression. It was nice to hear about an ordinary family struggling to survive. I enjoyed learning of how unions started. I hadn’t known how early Communism arrived in the states. This book is great book for anyone who loves historical fiction and doesn’t mind the sadness.
A Bookworm's Book Reviews 