The Four Winds

The Four Winds is a historical women’s fiction novel. It is authored by Kristin Hannah. She is a prolific American novelist. Her most considerable works include The Nightingale and Fly Away. The audio narration of The Four Winds is done by Julia Whelan. She gave an outstanding performance and made this audiobook worth it.

The Texas of 1921 was considered to be in a time of abundance. The Great War was over while the bounty of the land was supposed to be plentiful. America on the other hand was at the edge of an optimistic, new era. For Elsa, the future looked bleak as she was deemed too old to marry at a time when marriage was supposed to be the only option for a woman. Things changed on the night when she met Rafe and she decided to alter the direction of her life. Having her reputation ruined, there was one only possible choice for her – Marry to a man whom she hardly knew.

The world had changed a lot by 1934. Millions of people were jobless and the Great Plains got devastated by drought. The farmers were fighting hard for their livelihoods and land as the water dried up and the crops failed. Dust storms were rolling relentlessly all across the plains. Everything was just dying on the Martinelli farm.

In that uncertain and difficult time, Elsa just like many of her neighbors should make an agonizing choice – Fight hard for the land that she loved or just leave it behind and go towards California in the West where she could have a much better life for her family.

The story of The Four Winds comes with a strong setting. However, the author missed out on giving better character development. The story overall was depressing. Full marks to Julia Whelan for her narration.