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OVERVIEW
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a historical novel about the Dust Bowl and subsequent westward migration by drought-stricken farmers. It was published in 2021. Hannah is the author of more than 20 novels, including the bestsellers Winter Garden, Night Road, and Firefly Lane. Her 2015 novel The Nightingale was voted a best book of the year by The Wall Street Journal, Library Journal, Buzzfeed, and The Week. The Four Winds centers on one family caught up in the epic sweep of history, and, in the process, it addresses themes of hardship, discrimination, economic inequality, and the American dream.
Plot Summary
The Four Winds tells the story of Elsa Wolcott, a young woman born and raised in Texas during the boom years of the 1920s. Elsa is 25, and her parents, wealthy members of the local social scene, consider her too old and too plain for marriage, relegating her to the status of spinster. When Elsa is swept off her feet by Rafe Martinelli, an 18-year-old son of a local farmer, their romantic affair leaves Elsa pregnant. Disowned by her parents for casting shame upon the family, Elsa marries Rafe and is taken in by Tony and Rose Martinelli, Rafe’s parents. When Elsa gives birth to Loreda, Tony and Rose love their grandchild immediately and eventually accept Elsa as the daughter they never had.
Elsa finds that the hard work of farming agrees with her, but Rafe’s dreams lie elsewhere. He fantasizes about traveling and adventure, filling Loreda’s head with similar fantasies. By 1933, Texas is in the throes of a severe drought. The Martinellis’ farm, which previously yielded plentiful supplies of wheat, dies under the scorching sun. Massive dust storms pummel the region, covering everything in layers of grit and dust and causing an epidemic of lung disease. Unhappy with farm life and his marriage, Rafe runs off in the middle of the night, leaving a distraught family behind.
As the drought worsens and the dust storms become more severe, Anthony, Elsa and Rafe’s son, becomes sick, eventually requiring hospitalization. The doctor advises Elsa to get out of Texas. At last, the choice she has struggled with for months—to stay on the farm or try her luck in California—has been made for her. They pack up the truck and head west, while Tony and Rose stay behind to salvage what they can of the farm. After a grueling journey across the Mohave Desert, Elsa finally reaches the lush fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley, and she is hopeful for the first time in months. That hope is quickly dashed when they encounter discrimination, a lack of jobs, and the reality of life in a muddy squatters’ camp.
Despite Elsa’s promise that their stay in the camp is only temporary, the scarcity of work and the meager wages force them to settle in for the long haul. There, Elsa discovers a tight community of fellow migrants, and she befriends Jean Dewey, who shares resources and survival tips.
The first day of the strike is successful despite Welty’s threats of a further pay cut, but the next day, the strikers are met with law enforcement and hired vigilantes. The police lob tear gas, and Welty’s thugs beat Jack senseless. Elsa, fearing the violence will break the strikers’ spirits, picks up Jack’s megaphone and exhorts the workers to stay united. An armed guard fires through the teargas and hits Elsa in the abdomen. Jack takes her to the hospital, but the damage is too severe. Elsa dies, surrounded by Jack, Loreda, and Anthony. The strike is broken, at least temporarily.
Embittered by their terrible luck in California, Loreda resolves to take her mother’s body back to Texas and bury her on the farm, in the land she grew to love. Jack drives them to Texas, and Elsa is buried in the family cemetery. Years later, when Loreda is 18, she bids a final farewell to Elsa and the farm as she heads back to California to attend college, the fulfillment of her mother’s most important wish.
