The Four Winds: Using Historical Fiction as a Genealogy Resource

 

The Four Winds

Author: Kristin Hannah

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

# pages: 464

My rating: 5 stars

The four winds have blown us here, people from all across the country, to the very edge of this great land, and now, at last, we make our stand, fight for what we know to be right. We fight for our American dream, that it will be possible again. (page 426)

Why am I reviewing a novel on a family history blog? Because non-fiction gives us facts, but fiction gives us the truth. And a large part of my genealogy study is researching Mom's childhood community.

The Four Winds takes place in west Texas farmland in the 1930s. It focuses on the devastating impact of the Dust Bowl on one particular family. Mom lived on a farm in East Texas. While the Dust Bowl did not affect that part of the state, the Great Depression did. 

I'm always looking for details to help give me a sense of place at this time. What was life like on the farm during this tough financial era? Kristin Hannah gave me some insight into the futility of it all.

And Grandma and Mom? They were like all the farm wives in Lonesome Tree. They worked their fingers to the bone, rarely laughing and hardly talking. When they did talk, it was never about anything interesting. (page 74)

Brings to mind images of the American Gothic, doesn't it? Everyone is so serious. No one has time for any fun.

As in all of Hannah's novels, the protagonist, Elsa Martinelli, is a strong, capable woman who takes charge when the going gets tough. As I've shared before, I believe my grandmother was a strong independent woman who reinvented her life when she was unexpectedly widowed at the age of thirty.

While these two women are similar, they are not identical. Elsa lives with her husband's family. She is welcomed and loved like a daughter. But she cannot remain in this hopeless economic situation. She wants a better life for her daughter and son. So the three of them bid a tearful goodbye as they pursue the American dream in California.

Maida Lee Miles lived with her mother-in-law. However, when her husband died, she was (supposedly) kicked out of the house. Rather than accept the miserable status quo, she chose to pursue a new life in the big city. She put herself through secretarial school in the hopes of providing a better life for herself and her young daughter.

 The author's depiction of the bleak and desolate landscape hinted at what my ancestor's farms may have looked like. While the Dust Bowl was not much of a concern in East Texas, excessive flooding was. I recently found a newspaper article about my grandfather volunteering his land for a "terrace farming" demonstration... a government initiative to show farmers how to prevent soil from washing away. While I need to conduct more research on this topic, Hannah's explanation of one such government program illustrated the dire need of these hardworking families.

FDR cares about the farmers. He knows you've been forgotten. He has a plan. To start with, the government will buy your livestock, sixteen bucks a head. If possible, we'll use your cattle to feed the people. If not, if they're full of dirt, which I've seen out here, we'll pay you to bury them. (page 148)

My five-star rating indicates how much I enjoyed the book. I easily escaped into Elsa's world and remained fully engaged in her story until the very end. But I also took note of the painstaking research required to write such a compelling novel. Hours spent online and in libraries in order to find the one convincing detail that brings the story to life.

I have yet to decide how I will present my family narrative when the research is complete. I'm sure some elements of fiction will come into play since many of the factual stories are buried with my ancestors. And I'm grateful such talented authors like Kristin Hannah provide excellent examples of historical fiction done right.