The Four Winds: A Novel

Kristin Hannah

Feb 2021 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, 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.

Ratings and reviews

The book was great! Loved the beginning a lot. I really enjoyed the story line about the Dust Bowl. I had no idea the struggles of some American people back in the 1930's. I didn't agree too much with the ideas on Communism. It pushed the view point and romanticized it. It also painted capitalism as the villian of the poor and migrant. That is why I took one star off. But, overall, I enjoyed the read and thought it was well written. I think the author has talent but should keep her political views out of her writing if she doesn't want to lose readers.

I was very disappointed in this much-hyped book. I speculate that the author read “Grapes of Wrath”, then donned a headset and dictated her own version, printed it, handed it in. Did anyone proof-read or edit it?

Kristin Hannah does such a good job taking you back to different times of history and putting you right in the middle of it. I never really learned much about the great depression, and just to read a story about the lives of the people in that era is heartbreaking. I didn't think I would care about the characters at first, but at the end, I was bawling like a baby. Great read!

About the author

KRISTIN HANNAH is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Nightingale and The Great Alone. A former lawyer turned writer, she lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest.