The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Book Review!

Hi Readers! After 23 long days which weren’t as long as the story, I finished Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Four Winds’! Released in February this year, this book was the one book I had a lot of hopes pinned on. Many of you know that Kristin Hannah is one of my favourite authors. I have read 3 of her books before this one & on some level or other, I enjoyed those – The Nightingale, The Great Alone & Firefly Lane. Because of her incredible story writing, I was looking forward to reading the Four Winds, because the genre was again historical fiction set during the Great Depression. Also, the blurb sounded incredibly miserable which is the kind of writing in which Hannah thrives. Unfortunately, in The Four Winds, it is only misery & no wow factor to turn the whole thing around.

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

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.

~~CHARACTERS~~

Elsa Martinelli is the heroine we did not ask for & did not deserve. This story is inspired by real events which were tragic, life-wrecking, soul-crushing & inhumane. In addition to this, we have our main character Elsa who is a soul-less mush of a person with no hope or dreams. This combination of tragic circumstance & lifeless characters is what made the story very difficult to read. For the entirety of the story, Elsa is showed as someone who lives by the day, from one problem to the next. Be it the dust bowl in Texas or the ditch-bank living in California or the Welty Farms. There is absolutely no improvement in her character. It stays the exact same from page 1 to page 400. The only rebellion we see is in the last 48 pages.

The other protagonist is Elsa’s daughter Loreda Martinelli, who is naturally the opposite of Elsa. Loreda is the colourful & full of life daughter who has dreams & aspirations. Her practical approach to tragedy frictions with Elsa’s dull optimism. Loreda’s character also does not have a lot of growth, but it definitely spikes higher than Elsa’s.

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

~~CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT~~

Rigid & unlovable characters for an outstretched & tormenting story did not sit well with me. I understand the kind of appalling situations that the farmers faced during the dust bowl & the Great Depression. A thing like that can take the life out of you leaving you bereft of emotions & purpose. This pandemic is an example of that. We are all entirely helpless, many of our dear ones have lost their lives & there seems no end in sight. But, we are still living & most of us are probably doing it better than Elsa Martinelli in this book. In a novel, if you want to keep the readers engaged, you must create some sort of semblance. If it is all depressing & miserable, why would I read it, in a pandemic no less? Because there wasn’t a balance of happy-sad, good-bad & so on, it felt like the story was dragged too much. The major aspect was absolutely no character development for any of the characters. Also, all the characters were too stuck up with closed minds & no imagination. This dull lifeless portrayal of characters was my main problem with The Four Winds.

~~STORY PROGRESSION~~

I wouldn’t say there was no story progression, but I can also say that I can write the entire story in less than 10 sentences. The first part set in 1921, is about Elsa & how she was unloved in her own home & rejected by her family every day. She decided to be a rebel for one night to end up pregnant by her one-night stand. The second part set in 1934 is Elsa’s life on the land of the Martinellis. We see the loveless life between Elsa & Rafe. We see a dreamer in 12-year-old Loreda & some fun in the toddler Anthony. We also see Rafe’s parents’ rigidity to staying on their dying land dying with it, which drives Rafe insane till he up & leaves them after which follows the dust bowl era. The third part set in 1936, we finally see Elsa moving to California with her kids & them living in a stinky unhygienic dump. So yes, the story has minor progression in terms of places, geographically. But it has no progression whatsoever in terms of the characters’ mental & emotional places.

~~THE ENDING~~

On 400/448 page, we finally see a fire in Elsa when she decides to join the Workers Alliance to fight for fair wages. I guess since the change was so late, I should not have built up any hopes in terms of a satisfying ending. I won’t reveal the ending, because no matter how ruinous the whole novel is, I need to stick to a reader’s vow. As mind-numbing the entire story was, the ending was ten times worse. I’d say it was realistic, but if I wanted realistic, I would have picked up a memoir, not fiction. So, yes, overall, the whole book was a big disappointment.

 

~~MOMENTS THAT WON~~

As I mentioned before, there needed to be more of a balance between the good & the bad. So, yes, there were moments where it was gut-wrenching, emotional & miserable – but in a good way.

The bonding phases between Elsa & Loreda. The friendship in adversity between Jean & Elsa. The innocence of Ant. The heartbreak they all felt when Rafe left. The time it rained only to be followed by black ash. The humane moments shared between Elsa & Loreda with their cows who they have known so long, all dying together. The mother-daughter moments between Rose & Elsa. The time I felt Loreda’s youth slip away in just one moment when she started doing chores in the ditch-bank. The time Loreda saved Elsa when they were on the road.

Even though I did not form a connection with these characters, there were some moments which just broke me in their raw, humane & natural ways. The subtle victorious story line which won my heart was the warrior motherhood story. Only for these moments, I have rated The Four Winds at 1.5/5 stars!

Until next time,