Kristin Hannah's relatively new book (2021) centers on one family experiencing the Dust Bowl in Texas. The years of relentless drought and wind destroy not only the land, but also the lives attached to it. "In 1921, Elsa Wolcott is a tall, bookish woman of 25 whose soul is stifled by her superficial parents. By 1934, after marrying Rafe Martinelli, a young Italian Catholic who was the first man to show her affection, Elsa is a mother of two who has found a home on her beloved in-laws' farm (Booklist)." "...the Martinelli farm is no longer thriving, but Elsa is attached to the land and her in-laws, and she works tirelessly and cares for her children, 12-year-old Loreda and seven-year-old Anthony. Her husband, Rafe, has become distant and something of a hard drinker, and ...he abandons them (Publishers Weekly). When Anthony develeops silicosis (dust pneumonia), Elsa is forced to leave her beloved inlaws and save her children by migrating to California. What awaits them is almost worse. Migrants have flooded west and resentful residents call them Okies, no matter where they came from. Employers are quick to cheat and exploit them. They are treated with condescension and scorn, forced to live in squalor, and paid pennies an hour for back-breaking work. Harper "convincingly portrays Elsa's coming of age from sheltered recluse to workers' rights champion (Library Journal). So many of the issues still resonate today. Hannah is an accomplished writer who lets you feel all the pain and sadness. I loved her first book, The Nightingale, and this book also features an incredibly strong, resilient woman; Kirkus says of her, "Elsa displays an iron core of character and courage..." But they also accurately note that this is "a saga of almost unrelieved woe."
Sunday, August 20, 2023
The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah's relatively new book (2021) centers on one family experiencing the Dust Bowl in Texas. The years of relentless drought and wind destroy not only the land, but also the lives attached to it. "In 1921, Elsa Wolcott is a tall, bookish woman of 25 whose soul is stifled by her superficial parents. By 1934, after marrying Rafe Martinelli, a young Italian Catholic who was the first man to show her affection, Elsa is a mother of two who has found a home on her beloved in-laws' farm (Booklist)." "...the Martinelli farm is no longer thriving, but Elsa is attached to the land and her in-laws, and she works tirelessly and cares for her children, 12-year-old Loreda and seven-year-old Anthony. Her husband, Rafe, has become distant and something of a hard drinker, and ...he abandons them (Publishers Weekly). When Anthony develeops silicosis (dust pneumonia), Elsa is forced to leave her beloved inlaws and save her children by migrating to California. What awaits them is almost worse. Migrants have flooded west and resentful residents call them Okies, no matter where they came from. Employers are quick to cheat and exploit them. They are treated with condescension and scorn, forced to live in squalor, and paid pennies an hour for back-breaking work. Harper "convincingly portrays Elsa's coming of age from sheltered recluse to workers' rights champion (Library Journal). So many of the issues still resonate today. Hannah is an accomplished writer who lets you feel all the pain and sadness. I loved her first book, The Nightingale, and this book also features an incredibly strong, resilient woman; Kirkus says of her, "Elsa displays an iron core of character and courage..." But they also accurately note that this is "a saga of almost unrelieved woe."
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