The Four Winds

Synopsis: Elsa Wolcott is the oldest daughter of a well to do merchant in small town Texas. At 25, she is living life as a sheltered semi-invalid. A reckless night leads her into marriage, and a new foreign life on the farm of the Martinelli family. Years of drought ravage the farm leaving Elsa, her husband Rafe, and their children Loreda and Anthony near the point of starvation. When Rafe abandons the family, Elsa and her children must decide whether to stay and fight for the farm they love, or leave. They decide to migrate to California in search of a better life, and become part of the millions who tried desperately to flee the Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Review: Kristin Hannah has worked out a pretty good formula for literary success: strong female protagonists set in sweeping historical settings at a time of dramatic change. In The Nightingale, Hannah transported us to war torn France in WWII, examining the complex relationship between two sisters with opposing political ideologies. The Four Winds takes the same formula, but swaps sister drama for a mother-daughter relationship set in the Dust Bowl of the early 1930’s. Similar to the The Nightingale, one woman wants to be an agent of change, while fear paralyzes the other into complacency. I enjoyed getting a better picture of this slice of American history, but found this book a bit of a let down. I really really liked The Nightingale, and I merely liked The Great Alone, my next Hannah novel. I found the Four Winds could be a bit aggravating at times. There were so many one dimensional evil people in Elsa’s path, with not enough nuance to make them seem believable. Certain plot elements strained credulity. Still, it was OK.

Rating: 3/5

Recipe: Did you know that Montery County grows 80% of all the artichokes consumed in the United States? California keeps the produce aisles of our grocery stores stocked! Artichokes with a spicy lemon caper aioli is a perfect spring appetizer.

Ingredients:

2 large artichokes

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1). Cut the bottoms off the artichokes so they stand up in the steamer basket. Steam over boiling water for 30-35 minutes.

2) Mix remaining ingredients for a spice dipping sauce.

3) Enjoy!