“The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah was discussed by members attending the Cottonwood Book Club the evening of July 1.

It’s a 448-page book. Much of the book takes place during the depression in the 1930s. I shared with the group that the first few years of my parents’ marriage took place during this time, but as I was growing up, they never talked about it. With six children, I just think my parents had enough to do raising their family day by day. They supported our activities at school, we went to church three times a week, and as each child was older he/she could be at our father’s grain elevator helping in some way.

In this book, the person we get to know the best is Elsa Wolcott. In Chapter One she is 25 years old, and we read that the illness she had when she was a child does still affect her. The family now lives in Texas, and “books had always been her solace” (p. 15). The first book titles she eventually puts in her bag are “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Jane Eyre,” and “Wuthering Heights.”

Soon she meets an Italian man — Raffaello Martinelli. They soon are in bed together, and her parents are upset. Rafe (the name he’s called) decides to leave for California, and he does.

Elsa decides that California would be a state where they could have a better life. (She never sees Rafe there.) Many people go to that state at this time for work. It’s a tough trip for the family in the pickup Elsa drives. She eventually decides to take Route 66 to go west. Sometimes at night they sleep in a tent, and sometimes in the back of their truck. Her two children are with her — Loreda and Ant. (Years ago, my husband and I drove west on Route 66.)

When they get to California, Elsa works in the cotton fields, and tells her children they need to go to school. The teachers call these new students “Okies.”

A woman Elsa likes to spend time with is Jean. Her tough happening is giving birth to a baby who is not alive.

A man we get to know is Jack Valen, who is head of the group called

“Workers Alliance.” The police come to break up this group, because they understand they are Communists.

Volunteers from the Red Cross or the Salvation Army come to help the workers.

The photograph with this review was taken in California in the early 1950s when my husband’s family lived there. The truck was his father’s, and three of his children are sitting on the scoop. It was a multicultural setting, and Howard always had good memories of his friends. One photo I have is of him with a Mexican boy he was in school with. I couldn’t find it to submit with this review.

There’s a lot more in the book, but I think I’ve introduced enough. I want to tell you that I did find something interesting. It’s a “Books & Beyond” I wrote about for the Marshall Independent in July 2007. The book is “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books,” by Azar Nafisi.

Kristin Hannah is one of the most popular authors for Marshall-Lyon County Library and Plum Creek Library System patrons. Her most recent title, The Women, started out with nearly 200 holds on the 35 regular print copies, plus additional holds on the 10 large print copies in the system. It is rare for one of her books to be on the shelf. You can place a hold to reserve a copy at marshalllyonlibrary.org. Ask your librarian for suggestions for different titles that you might enjoy as you wait for one of Hannah’s popular books.