Book Review of
The Four Winds
Lynn's Review
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction story about the Great Depression. It is the story that so many from Texas and Oklahoma actually lived. This book has been in my to-be-read stack for over a year. I knew that I wanted to read it, but I knew that I would have to be in the right mood to read a Great Depression book.
I grew up in Oregon, but have lived in Oklahoma for almost thirty years. My husband is from Oklahoma. His dad, grandparents, and great grandparents though were all from Texas. In many ways, the story of The Four Winds is the story of my husband’s family.
My husband has many family members who left west Texas during the 1930s and 1940s for a “better” life in California. Better is often relative.
Over the years I have heard many stories of what Texas was like during the depression and what life in California was really like for those that moved there. I have listened to what it was like to live in those tent camps where people were just trying to survive.
I have read mixed reviews about the book The Four Winds. The most common one was that it was sad, depressing, and lacked hope. My response to that is it was the Great Depression. There was not a lot of hope for those that lived through it.
I have also read reviews that it glorified communism. My response to that is if you think it glorified communism then you probably don’t know the history of the Great Depression and of California during that time period, because an accurate portrayal of the California migrant workers during this time has to include the influence of communism. Yes, the book did focus on it a lot, maybe more than necessary, but I think it gave a fairly accurate portrayal of the time period. You might not agree with what happened, but it is part of the history of California and the Great Depression.
Overall, I loved this book, at least I loved it in the way you can love a heart-wrenching story of a family that lost so much.
I love it because in so many ways this is the story of my husband’s family and so many others.
Last year I read Grapes of Wrath for the first time and I will say that I loved this way more than the Grapes of Wrath.
I will say that I am glad I waited until I was in the mood for just a serious historical fiction read.
It is PG-13 in some parts and I know I have some readers that like to know that ahead of time.