BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: 2/2/2021; 9781250178602; St. Martin’s Press; 464 pages)
Audio: 2/2/2021; 9781250317247; Macmillan Audio; duration 15:08:47 (15 parts).
(Film: No).

CHARACTERS:
Elsa Wolcott-Martinelli
Raffaello (Rafe) Martinelli
Rose Martinelli
Tony Martinelli
Loreda Martinelli
Anthony Martinelli
Jean
Jake

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
This story reminded me a bit of the Grapes of Wrath, and a bit of Norma Rae, but that doesn’t tell you anything about the depth of this story—just a little about the subject matter. True to Kristin’s previous works, this story has vivid female characters, remarkable detail, tremendous heart, and unconscious strength.
There’s also an excellent interview with the author and the narrator at the end!

AUTHOR:
Kristin Hannah (9/25/1960). According to Wikibioage, “Kristin Hannah is a writer who has won numbers of awards which also include The Golden Heart, The Maggie, as well as the 1996 National Reader’s Choice Award. In addition to that, she is also a best-selling author of over 20 novels such as The Nightingale, Night Road, Winter Garden, and Firefly Lane. She is an American by nationality.”
She was born in Garden Grove, California; and now has homes in Washington state and Hawaii (I know the Garden Grove part from that wiki page, and the current part because I followed her blog when I first got interested in her writing with Firefly Lane, which morphed into a Facebook page, and I am on her newsletter list)

NARRATOR:
Julia Whelan. According to Wikipedia, “Julia May Whelan (born May 8, 1984) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the TV drama series Once and Again (1999-2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime Television movie, The Secret Life of Zoey. A noted child actor, Whelan first appeared on screen at the age of eleven, and continued to take television roles until her matriculation into Middlebury College in 2004; Whelan graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury in 2008 after spending the 2006-7 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford.[1][2] Whelan returned to film acting in November 2008 with a role in the fantasy thriller Fading of the Cries.[3]”
I loved the interview at the end of this book where Julia talks a little about being an audiobook narrator, something I’ve always thought would be fun, but am pretty sure I don’t have the talent for. She is so impressively articulate in this interview that I had to check on whether she’d ever written anything herself. She has, so I’m adding that to my want to read list. You may know her from her excellent narration of Tera Westover’s “Educated”.
GENRE: Historical fiction

LOCATIONS:
Texas, California (San Juaquin Valley)

TIME FRAME
Early 20th century, 1920’s through 1930’s

SUBJECTS:
Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Texas, farming, drought, family relations, migration, discrimination, migrant camps, strikes.

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter One
"Beside her, the mercantile opened its doors and the proprietor, Mr. Hurst, stepped out, holding a broom. He was wearing shirtsleeves rolled up to expose his beefy forearms. A nose like a fire hydrant, squat and round, dominated his ruddy face. He was one of the richest men in town. He owned the mercantile, the diner, the ice-cream counter, and the apothecary. Only the Wolcotts had been in town longer. They too, were third-generation Texans, and proud of it. Elsa's beloved grandfather, Walter, had called himself a Texas Ranger until the day he died.
'Hey, Miss Wolcott,' the storekeeper said, pushing the few strands of hair he still had away from his florid face. 'What a beautiful day it's looking to be. You headed to the library?'
'I am,' she answered. 'Where else?'
'I have some new red silk in. Tell your sisters. It would make a fine dress.'
Elsa stopped.
Red silk.
She had never worn red silk. 'Show me. Please.'
"Ah! Of course. You could surprise them with it.'
Mr. Hurst bustled her into the store. Everywhere Elsa looked, she saw color: boxes full of peas and strawberries, stacks of lavender soap, each bar wrapped in tissue paper, bags of flour and sugar, jars of pickles.
He led her past sets of china and silverware and folded multicolored tablecloths and aprons, to a stack of fabrics. He rifled through, pulled out a folded length of ruby-red silk.
Elsa took off her kid gloves, laid them aside, and reached for the silk. She had never touched anything so soft. And today was her birthday....
'With Charlotte's coloring--'
'I'll take it,' Elsa said. Had she put a slightly rude emphasis on I'll? Yes. She must have. Mr. Hurst was eyeing her strangely.
Mr. Hurst wrapped the fabric in brown paper and secured it with twine and handed it to her.
Elsa was about to leave when she saw a beaded, glittery silver headband. It was exactly the sort of thing the Countess Olenska might wear in Age of Innocence.

RATING:
5 stars. Great story wonderfully told (and narrated).

STARTED-FINISHED
2/12/21 - 2/20/21
( )

read

This book was a real eye-opener! You’d think that as a California native, I would’ve known more, but like a lot of the reviews, the “Dustbowl” was an event I’d heard about in junior high history class, but I was wholly unfamiliar with what a total disaster it really was!

I have also heard folks referred to as “Okies,” mostly by themselves, but it doesn’t carry on as a derogatory term – for them, that they still have kin in “Oklahoma” is a point of pride.

I have several friends, no doubt relatives of Midwestern Dustbowl migrants who decided to stay in California, who are now prosperous raisin and citrus farmers in the San Joaquin Central Valley – Fresno, Merced, Stockton. Others are horsemen in the high desert around Apple Valley, and of course, some are ranchers around Bakersfield. Every self-professed Okie that I know is still in the agricultural business, just as their forbearers were. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.

But I was completely unaware of the dire circumstances in the Midwest that forced those people west; nor was I aware of their California reception, the extent of their exploitation, or the depth of their despair. Likewise, I’d heard of “Hooverville’s” and “Hoover flags” but I thought they were solely products of the Great Depression and back east in New York and New Jersey, not here in California.

It was also disturbing to see the prejudice against, and treatment of, dust storm natural disaster victims and fellow Americans. Even more disturbing was the wholesale exploitation by some farmers. One good earthquake and the shoe could have very easily been on the other foot!

Usually, I review both the actual book or e-book and the audiobook. However in this case, the audiobook is so well done and the narrator so exquisite and captivating, I never felt the need or desire to actually read, vice listen to, The Four Winds. As a bonus, at the end of the audiobook, Kristin Hannah and Julia Whelan are interviewed by the audiobook producer. It’s very interesting to hear how Hannah prepares to write a book of historical fiction and to hear how Whelan approaches her role as narrator. All in all, a well-deserved five stars!

PS: Go ahead and look up some pictures of the “Dustbowl” and if you’re like me, your jaw will drop! ( )

This book was a blend of 2 Steinbeck novels..."The Grapes of Wrath" and "In Dubious Battle". So for originality, I give it 2 stars. For the writing and storyline, 4 stars. The ending was predictable* but moving nonetheless. (*Spoiler: misunderstood, strong-willed protofeminist finally finds love and amazing sex with quiet, strong, supportive male and now feels complete as a human). This was also a story element in another recently published depression-era novel, "The Giver of Stars". ( )

Although THE FOUR WINDS is marketed as a novel for adults, for me it's writing style is more young adult, which is not usually to my taste anymore. That is not to say that this is a bad book. It is just more to my 13-year-old taste, especially since many of the chapters are written from a teenager's point of view. THE FOUR WINDS reminds me of a John Jakes novel I read when I was 13.

This novel begins before the Great Depression. Elsa has grown up lonely and unloved. She later marries a younger boy and moves to his parent's farm in Texas.

Skip a few years now to the time of the Depression. Elsa has two children, and her husband has run away. She stays there on the farm with his parents and tries to fight the horrible drought and dust storms. After her son is hospitalized with dust pneumonia, Elsa and her children move to California. But their life there becomes even worse. Out of necessity, Elsa becomes involved with Communists who want to strike against the field owners, who were not paying their workers enough to feed their children or pay rent.

Prepare for a depressing read from beginning to end. Once or twice a good thing happens, such as when a security guard gives Elsa $5.

I wasn't pleased with THE FOUR WINDS, but you may be, so read other reviews. ( )