Kristin Hannah has done it again. Her novel, The Four Winds (published 2025) captures a unique era of America history within a loveable story about strong a strong woman overcoming hardship. The Four Winds is a primarily a novel of the Dust Bowl, and how one family sought for their own American dream in the midst of the Great Depression. I listened to the audiobook of the novel and the narration was so well done, I felt I knew the characters. I felt like I was watching a movie of the events. The book was so powerful in its message of sacrifice, family, and survival.
I was a little concerned as I began the novel. In the first section, 1921, Elsa is bored after reading Edith Wharton, and so manages to wander the streets at night, meet a young man, and get herself pregnant. But then, the scene jumps forward to the dust bowl, and her real story begins. The novel follows Elsa and her two children as they navigate the dust storms of Texas, travel to California, face work discrimination, and get involved in worker’s strike arguments. I make a list of these subjects, but each of them is well fleshed out and intense.
Elsa’s story is intertwined with that of her daughter, Loreda, who shares third person narration with Elsa. It’s not just Elsa’s story but Loreda as she becomes a young woman in the midst of these trials. How will she react? I love that the daughter was also a key part of the American Dream exploration, for it is the next generation who must deal with the aftermath of the present.
I did not like the end of the book, but it says something about the book that I still really enjoyed it. The characterization is so fantastic, the storylines so intense and real, and the evocative descriptions so heart-warming and heart-wrenching that I enjoyed the book even though I did not enjoy the ultimate resolution. The Nightingale is still my favorite Kristin Hannah (I never reviewed it yet), but The Four Winds one is very strong on its own.
Get The Four Winds from Amazon.com
