The Four Winds: A Novel | 
pickOnce again, Kristin Hannah brings me to tears! I love her super strong female protagonists who are relatable because they also have flaws. I learned a lot about this time in history in America and appreciate the mother-daughter relationship struggle and love.
so-so#BookedInTime
American Dust Bowl. @dabbe
Oh the unrelenting misery! Hannah lays it on thick again. It‘s good, I cared about the MC but would have loved the story of how Rosa and Tony survived the dust bowl. The story of California unions/communism was interesting but could‘ve been another book.
pickThis book was so powerful. A raw, beautiful story of hardship, struggle and overall a mothers love. #pick
pickI enjoyed this historical fiction book on audiobook so much. It reminded me of stories my grandmother still tells of her family who had come over to California from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. She was born in CA—the youngest of 9. The events and people captured in this novel bring the Great Depression to life vividly.
pickIt takes a special author to write about difficult things but keep you reading.
pickElsa is a woman often denigrated by her family. She embarks on a hasty affair. When she becomes pregnant, she marries into a Texas wheat farming family. After years of plenty, the drought begins and the dust storms devastate the farm and family. Elsa drives to California with her two children, but instead of opportunity they find hardship, hunger and hatred. This was a difficult read in the best way. A powerful painful novel. A 4 ⭐️ pick.
pickWonderful! Another evocative, emotional, and moving novel from Hannah. She does such an amazing job of dropping you down in the middle of a time and a story and making you feel apart of the narrative. Her descriptions of the dirty, dusty, destructive windstorms were harrowing and not something I‘ll not soon forget. I listened on #audio (fantastic!) and read my copy to make sure I finished. BookspinBingo #blackout @TheAromaofBooks
Reposting for @Andrew65 Love a #Readathon especially one where you can choose your own goals. It is a long weekend in the US and I plan to take full advantage 😄 To join by Friday, just post your goals. Mine will be to finish books from my June #BookspinBingo board-maybe black it out?
pickThis is a tough one to review. It was easy to read, but the writing wasn‘t anything special. I loved some of the characters, but sometimes they sounded too modern for a story set in the 30s in the Dustbowl. The ending felt manipulative and like it was trying to get me to cry…which I did not. It‘s a soft pick, but I am looking forward to next week‘s book club discussion.
pickTragic from beginning to end. Elsa is a young woman on a journey to find love, or anything resembling it after growing up in a loveless home. She finds it most in her children whom she raises in the dust bowl before enduring more hardships after leaving Texas for a “better life” in California. The author admits historical timeline was manipulated a bit to fit her narrative, but I loved the story so I give it a pass.
pickLoved this book! Enjoying Kristen Hannah quite a bit, even if she does seem to write really tragic endings.
pickThis was a great book! Hannah did her homework and made many of the historical details come to life.
pickAnother great read by this author. The Dust Bowl was so awful and so were the Californians. It is so hard to see the humanity in others. Loved it.
pickThis is by far one of the best #historicalfiction novels I've read in a very long time. Set during the Great Depression, we meet a family that encounters so many hardships that your heart breaks bit by bit for them. It is through all these trials and tribulations that we see growth In each character by the end of the novel. I won't lie, the end of the novel is a tear-jerker. Well worth the hype and a read.
The library. Books held the answer to every question.
Books had always been her solace; novels gave her space to be bold, brave, beautiful, if only in her own imagination.
📖📚📖📚
pickAfter a ridiculously long reading slump, I think I might be coming out of it. ☺
⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page 237. This book wasn‘t for me. I understand the Great Depression was just that, depressing. However, I feel like Kristin Hannah took everything unfortunate thing that could happen to one person/one family and scattered the events throughout thirty-six chapters. I felt like bailing yesterday and decided I‘d finish what I started. Loreda‘s last outburst sealed the deal. There is no depth to the characters, aside from Elsa. I can‘t. I‘m out ✌🏼
pickAnother gut-wrencher from K. H. This story was very intriguing for me, especially because I didn‘t know much about the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. I had goose bumps when I finished. K. H. knows how to capture pain, suffering, survival, and grief so well. It‘s horrifying and beautiful. #bookspin
“The four winds have blown us here, people from all across the country, to the very edge of this great land, and now, at last, we make our stand, fight for what we know to be right. We fight for our American dream, that it will be possible again.”
bailedThis book sucked. I couldn‘t finish it. All the characters were pathetic.
pickI‘ve put this one off for so long because of the Dust Bowl setting. Hannah is so good at character development and this was no exception. It‘s a strong pick for me but definitely a tragedy so make sure you are in the mood for that.
pick🎧 I have conflicting feelings about this 📖. It provides a compelling historical narrative about major events in the 1930s that defined American culture. I appreciate that this book veers from the male-centric view that often accompanies traditional tellings of this time in history. It also is very atmospheric. However, the author relies on heavy emotional appeals that can feel manipulative rather than engaging or informational. So, a soft pick.
It turned out that a parent‘s disapproval was a powerful lingering voice that shaped and defined one‘s self image.
“It still amazed her that a person could go to a store, pick our an automobile, and drive it home the same day.”
Funny. Hannah meant this to show how different things were in the 1920s. But 100 years later, we‘ve been shopping for a new car and there is NOTHING on the lots. Dealers can‘t get cars. Even ordering one is difficult. We had to put a significant amount down to buy one that‘s estimated to arrive in March.
I‘d be amazed too!
“The library. Books held the answer to every question.”
I‘ve barely started this book, but love this quote! 📖 ❤️
I‘m really looking forward to this book being finished. Trauma after trauma - overuse of pathos. Levity would be lovely. Typically, I‘d abandon it but it‘s my Libro.fm pick for January so I keep trudging along. 🚶♀️🤨
so-soThis was PURE #MiseryPorn 🥺Just relentless nonstop trauma after trauma. I did learn a lot about early US Western history. Julia Whelan, while a stellar reader, has a very distinct tone and sadly all her books/characters sound exactly the same. So while she‘s Elsa in this book, I was still hearing the voices of Poppy & Alex from People We Meet on Vacation. The author‘s note was interesting, comparing Dust Bowl to Covid & idea of resilience.
pickI love this book!!! It was great!!! It had all of my emotions going!! The story and characters were great!!!
Elsa looked at her friend. “Do you ever get tired of being strong?”
“Oh, honey, of course.”
pickThe Four Winds is an epic story of one woman‘s life during the Dust Bowl in Texas and heading west to California to search for a better life. Heartbreaking and unforgettable.
2022 off to a good start - reading wise. I have time to read because I am home sick. So that‘s no fun.
I really enjoyed this book. Some Amazon reviews decided to focus on the small amount of Communist ideology in the story. Yes, there is involvement with the Community 'party', but that was also the history of the time. The book hardly 'sells' it, the focus is more on workers' rights / revealing humanity. The story itself was moving, tragic, hopeful. I definitely recommend it!
Borrowed this from the library. Amazon had a lot of great reviews, but it‘s being described as a romance version of Grapes of Wrath (one of my fav books), so I‘m sold! Once I‘m finished with it, I‘ll comment on the reviews that it‘s pushing “political” views (communism?).
pickWhat a great book this was. I put off reading this book due to all the negative reviews on Amazon. Readers have said it was awful writing and nothing but a political book. However, I read it with an open mind and fell in love with the story of Elsa and the hardship she went through with her children during the Great Depression and Dust Storms. Elsa proved that a mother‘s love will win against any fight. I most definitely recommend this book.
pickThe story is heartbreaking with strong woman character. The delicate strands of mother-daughter relationship is beautifully portrayed. This story tells us the lessons we have to learn from the history about the environmental crisis, hard times, when to stand up, when to escape and to hold on. It‘s all about the dreams, love friendship, family, heart aches struggle and hope. One of my fav reads of 2021 4.5🌟
#wintergames2021 14hrs #bookspinbingo
I just started this and I can already tell I‘m going to love it and give my copy to my mom and then recommend it to every person who will listen to me.
My fav time of year!
so-soWhile I adored The Nightingale and The Great Alone, this one felt me feeling let down a bit.. Loose ends that could have been wrapped up, I didn't fall in love with the characters like I usually do in her books. The teenager daughter was annoying, words and phrases became too repetitive for me to enjoy. I enjoyed it till they set out for California. I rated it a 4 on goodreads but was very tempted to only give it a 3
pickThis book made me shed some tears. Based on the three books written by Kristin Hannah I have read, I have to say that she knows how to write the complicate connections between mothers and daughters. However, this is not my favorite of her books I have read. 4 out of 5 stars.
No surprise at all here!! I fully expected this one to be in the Goodreads Choice Awards lineup!
What beautiful imagery; you cannot help getting irritated with Elsa's unwavering optimism even as you root for her every step of the way.
pickKristin Hannah has a talent for inducing tears, and this is no exception. Have tissues handy. And I learned a lot about the dust bowl and California labor movement. You‘ll fall in love with the characters. And for more about the labor movement, read The Last Ballad, which is based on a true story.
