The Four Winds

I'm tempting to read everyone else's reviews before I write mine. I have to say, this book isn't what I expected. I'm attempting to read all of Kristin Hannah's books, though not in chronological order. I can see her progression as an author from some of her earlier, more fanciful works, to some of her later, more literary works, such as Nightingale.I'll have to say, [b:The Four Winds 53138081 The Four Winds Kristin Hannah https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594925043l/53138081.SY75.jpg 79888572] blew my socks off. I'm stunned. Her detailed knowledge of the Dust Bowl era surprised me. From the number of days a dust storm would last to the need to wear gloves to pump water because the handle had been out in the sun, I felt like I was in Texas during the drought of the early - mid-1930s. . . and I needed a drink of water.The main character, Elsa, ignored by her own family, has a severe inferiority complex that predicates everything she does for 3/4ths of the book. Her ill-advised affair with Rafe, sets in motion a destiny that seems out of her control. She reacts more in life than most. She believes in God, good people, and her duties as a mother above all else. The ending floored me. I don't want to give it away. What I thought would happen is that Rafe would come back into her life. That would have been a typical, early Hannah novel, but this is not your mother's Kristin Hannah. When reading this book, it wasn't hard to believe she wrote it during a pandemic. In an author's note at the end of the book, she says: “As I write this note, it is May 2020, and the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic. My husband's best friend, Tom, who was one of the earliest of our friends to encourage my writing and who was our son's godfather, caught the virus last week and has just passed away. We cannot be with his widow, Lori, and his family to mourn.”Like the Dust Bowl era, this are trying times for America. This book fits now. I grew up in Steinbeck's home town and thought I understood the trials of “Okies” who migrated to California. Hannah tells us this story from a single mother's point of view and boy, is it an eye-opener. Be prepared.