The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through itthe harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. She views her mothers love as being suffocating. Back at the camp, Jean introduces Elsa to the other women around there, Midge from Kansas and Nadine from South Carolina. Loreda goes outside to find Rafe crying. After a week-long dust storm, Ant is severely ill due to inhalation of dust. Aside from this, the month of March is The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. She gives a overly-simplistic justification of it to her mom (that she just wanted to be pretty) likely because she has probably tried to explain her desires and dreams to her mother before and knows its futile, or perhaps she hasnt fully figured out how to explain herself yet. The dust storms rage for the entire week. Despite all the progress in Loreda and Elsas relationship, Loreda reverts to her old habit of blaming her mother for everything and drawing on the anger that has been simmering inside her for so long. Trigger warnings: racism, extreme poverty, murder. She excitedly tells her about the meeting she attended, but Elsa recoils at the idea of aligning with communists and antagonizing their employers. Instead, she meets and sleeps with Rafe Martinelli. By March, Loreda is now 14, and Elsa has wracked up a considerable amount of debt. There, she also learns that the federal government has cut funding for the food line. In the back bay of the truck, they lay on quilts, watch the stars and talk about wanting more in life. At the party, Stella tells Loreda that the town bank is closing, and that her family is going to leaving, too. At the station, she recognizes the man she saw get beat up when she was waiting in the food line (Jack Valen). Elsa Wolcott and her family live through the unrelenting harshness of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression in Kristin Hannah's novel (2021). This episode hints that Loreda has a strength to her that we havent fully explored yet. Because we forgot. Sure enough, Loreda has left a note saying shes gone to look for Rafe. Elsa now has only $20 ($7 less than when theyd arrived), after these many months of labor and despite the need to save up for winter. Considering Rafe is mentioned to be 19 in season 1 when all the pogues are 16, he would've been a senior while she was a freshman. The pandemic-fueled economic . These winds, aside from being used for cardinality, were also figures important to mythology and general culture in Mesopotamia. When she attends the party, Elsa is upset at the sight of her sisters red silk clothing. Elsa is unsure if anyone will join then, but when Ike begins to move, the workers start moving and they all sit as instructed. The boss requires that they purchase Welty bags even though they have their own. It goes to show that even someone as loving and well-intentioned as Rosa can have old-fashioned thoughts and biases based on their gender. Before she dies, Elsa give Loreda the pouch containing the familys lucky penny. The Four Winds is divided up into four sections, each detailing events from (roughly) that year. Together, they block the road. After a while, Loreda is see how few people have taken the flyers they left on the table and how no one but herself signed up to help the cause. The night she meets Rafe Martinelli changes everything in more ways than she could have ever imagined. Jack encourages her close her eyes and think her thoughts and talk to her mother that way. Outside, she sees that Bruno is dead. Theyll also be paid sixteen dollars a head for livestock. Her mother asks if shes still a good girl (if shes still a virgin) and Elsa lies. When Loreda sees Elsa in bed, Rose tries to explain that Elsas heart is broken, and that Rafe was foolish and has filled Loredas head with fluff. Seeing the babys death, Loreda is upset. Then one night as they are sleeping, a flash flood hits. Elsa knows her savings are slowly being depleted. Unfortunately, Frank at the town speakeasy says her father wouldnt approve of him letting her in. Trying to re-inspire her kids, Elsa takes her them into town. Later, Elsa sees Rafe crying over how difficult life has become. Farmers like her father have profited from high demand for wheat and corn and good crops. Before she departs, Rose and Tony announce they won't be going. He takes them to a small, hustling Mexican restaurant, picks up some food, and then they head for a public park that was built by the WPA. That night, Elsa takes out the one article of clothing Rafe left behind, a blue chambray shirt. He took off his cap, twisted it in his hands. Afterwards, Mrs. Buslik leads them out. Elsa ends up doing seasonal field work for larger farms. At church, another family inquires about whether Rafe has found a job, since Tony has not told them the shameful truth that Rafe abandoned them. Though Prohibition is now repealed, not many have money for drink. They make love. Seeing her upset, Elsa decides to give Loreda Rafes shirt (the one shes been using as a scarf). She know the the card means that there was still a future. A time of abundance. Through September, the heat refuses to let up, with temperatures reaching up to 115, and the plants continue to die. Then, her parents tell her to pack a bag, and they drive to the Martinelli farm. Elsa oversleeps the next morning, waking to find the entire Martinelli family has eaten breakfast and is busy with farm chores. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman's only option, the future seems bleak. Over time, Elsa finds her place on the Martinelli farm, and the baby (name Loreda) is born. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. He tells Loreda he needs to make a stop before he drops her off. Even with the gas mask, Ant is weak, has a bad cough and is soon unable to get out of bed. They watch in horror as the flowing waters dismantle their tent and their stove is washed away. Once she knows what she needs to do, she no longer has any desire to leave her family. Doing stuff only out of responsibility and necessity is disheartening to him. In the The Age of Innocence many of the characters sacrifice their personal freedoms and what their heart desires to their detriment, and they end up full of regrets. She has a fever, and she thinks its typhoid. Aka: Rose. She becomes a farmer, has two kids, learns to survive as a single mother, and struggles with unending drought. It is bitter and raw and that's how it should be. Elsa thinks to herself that the cows will likely die after inhaling so much dirt. Learn more. One day during the summer, Elsa and Jean get together, they talk about Jack, and Jean encourages Elsa to change the way she thinks of herself. She falls asleep freshly washed and sleeping on clean sheets. Never seen or heard from again, I would have liked . The Four Winds is a rich, . Elsa thinks shes unattractive and bad with men, but Jean says shes let the way her parents and Rafe treated her dictate how she sees herself. Then, a group of masked vigilantes with weapons approach Jack. Elsa was once a dreamer and felt trapped like Loreda is now, but she was taught that life is difficult and became a survivor. Elsa, instead goes to the hospital to beg for aspirin. On the way, Loreda sees a sign for a town meeting at the theater, and she ends up going in. Elsa and Loreda decide that they will both work instead of having Loreda go to school. Rose advises Loreda to someday find a man who is reliable, but Loreda doesnt want to hear any of it. When Loreda asks if theyll see them again, Elsa finally admits to Loreda that the house theyd seen in Dalhart was her former home, but her family rejected her. Loreda reluctantly helps to make soap, which they plan to sell. Nonetheless, Loreda does her part to spread the word about a meeting on Friday. They hear a noise in the barn, which turn out to be Milo (the horse), who is dying. She chooses to water and care for it when all else is falling apart because it gives her comfort, and it shows her determination to create beauty and hope even in a dire situation. . The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through itthe harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. The novel is a sweeping, emotional story of love, family, and survival, set in Texas and California during the dark days of The Great Depression. The Martinellis are farmers in the Texas panhandle. Even better when it gets you interested in learning more . However, when she offers to pay part now and part when she gets a job, the woman suggests that she leave. At times this book feels a little too ready for Hollywood. Instead he shows her how to float in the water. Elsa delivers Jeans baby, but it is stillborn. The doctor quickly diagnoses him with a fever and severe silicosis, a lung disease where inhalation of the silica (present in the prairie dust) causes the air sacs in lungs to be torn (referred to as dust pneumonia). Loreda and Ant head toward town along with Stella and her younger sister, Sophia. So, chances are by the time she really needs it, itll come too late if she doesnt sign up now. Elsa knows they will never see the box with their money again. It could be argued that Loreda is able to be bold because her mother has protected her, whereas Elsa has gone through more disappointments that make her more uncertain and doubtful of whats to come. The family (Elsa, Rafe, Loreda, Ant) head to the auction house. At night, she finds him to tell him that she would consider leaving, but Rafe agrees that its impracticable for them all to go. Hannah describes how the newspapers talk about the concerns of the non-migrant citizens who worry about the growing migrant population. For February's Read With Jenna book club pick, Jenna Bush Hager selected "The Four Winds," by Kristin Hannah. He tells her that hes from Lonesome Tree, thirty miles away. Her unloving parents keep Elsa . That night, Elsa pens a cheery letter to Tony and Rose to let them know they made it. Its possible that the absence of her grandfather (who she says was always on her side) has made her more frustrated and restless than before, since she no longer has anyone advocating for her. T he main characters in The Four Winds include Elsa Martinelli, Loreda Martinelli, and Jack Valen. They purchase supplies from Eugene on credit. Jean names it Clea, after her mother. In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. With that, Elsa asks Loreda where to find the unionizers. She goes to the barn to get the truck, which results in their horse Bruno running into the storm. Jack offers to take them out for the night. Then, a huge flock of birds fly by, heralding a thick dust storm that ravages the land. They continue to drive west, but soon they reach a point where the Mojave Desert lays ahead. She is quick to blame her mother for everything, including her fathers unhappiness and her own. Soon, they are kissing and have sex but then he abruptly says he should get her home. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail, water dries up . In November, snow falls and people feel hopeful of rain to come. She worries of how the car engine will fare in those conditions and what they will do if it fails. Rose Martinelli (Rafes mother) protests at first, but Tony puts a stop to it and quickly decides that Rafe needs to marry Elsa. Elsa determinedly pushes the wheelbarrow for a mile until the rest of the family catches up. While the drought is the main cause of the dust bowl in the 1930s, the erosion of topsoil also greatly contributes to the swirling dust storms that marked that time period, and it stripped valuable soil from the lands which made the land less productive as well. On the way back, with her relief money, Elsa gives two dollars to Jean. Its message is galvanizing and hopeful: We are a nation of scrappy survivors. When money runs low in the winter, Elsa starts standing in the food lines for assistance. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. One day, Rafe abandons them with only a note. The librarian offers her a book on workers rights called Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed, but she cautions Loreda about being careful about what she says to other people about this topic. After the haircut, Elsa stays in her room. He has answered the countless prayers for healing of loved ones, wondering what it was about the emotion that made humans will She knows she needs to take control. Rafe thinks college is silly and is being forced to go. It's a long book that, though reads fast, is boring at times. When Elsa stops for gas, the attendant warns her of a bad element out there so she shouldnt keep her cash in her handbag. She claims to be 13, but the truck driver knows shes lying. The next morning, Elsa finds Rafe at the family cemetery in front of the headstone of their son. Instead, the farm with Tony and Rose was always her real home, and therefore yes, they would be back some day. I knew this would be a big hit for 2021 and that's why I included it in my huge must-read book club picks for 2021 list. The death of the baby is the last straw for Loreda, who hates their life there. Elsa notes that it was only possible to live without love when youd never known it. She is hurt by Loreda withdrawing and rejecting her because she recalls what it felt like to have that closeness. Similarly both Elsa and Loreda are disgusted by the camp and the people in it until they realize they will have to be exactly one of those people. At the idea that farmers will not farm crops, Tony is angry. Here begins Kristin Hannah's tale of xenophobia and Americans' fear of newcomers. 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