“A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. And it is a gut-wrenching illustration of the heartache that comes when even Herculean efforts fail to provide the most basic necessities. It is a moving portrait of the lengths a mother will go to protect her children. The story is also a testament to found family, and how the bonds of blood aren’t always the bonds that bend without breaking.įor me, the best part of this novel is what it says about motherhood. The shifting and complex relationship between Elsa and her teenaged daughter shows the universality of fraught mother-daughter dynamics. It is the character development that truly shines.Įlsa’s journey from a rule follower to a woman who will stop at nothing for the sake of her children is nuanced and carefully crafted. It isn’t just the effective descriptions of how the elements of nature battered the characters, or the fact that their hunger creates a pit in your stomach that make this book stand out. But for those who find value in understanding struggles far beyond any you have ever felt, this book is a treasure. This level of bleakness is why I wouldn’t recommend this book to every reader. You feel the main character’s struggles at such a visceral level. The novel is set in the Dust Bowl and Depression-era California, and Hannah’s writing makes you almost feel the dust storms stinging your eyes and filling your lungs with dirt. Considered old and bookish, Elsa decides to break bad for a moment with consequences that change the trajectory of her life. It is the story of Elsa, an independently minded woman in a time when her only option was to marry. It is brilliant and beautiful but it is not for everyone.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a book that does all of these things.
But it isn’t always a book that makes you feel good. It leaves your emotions wrung out, you don’t have a tear left to shed. Your heart is a bit battered and bruised. Sometimes a book is like a punch to the gut, and when you finish, you don’t have much air left.
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