Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

30 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I received a copy of this book as a gift.
"The Four Winds" follows Elsa Martinelli. Elsa has lived her entire life in Texas, and she is proud to work on the farmlands and earn a living for her family. Unfortunately, the land has been ravaged by crops, and the subsequent dust storms are becoming unbearable, especially for her youngest son. Elsa, like many people in the southern lands, must decide if she can risk staying for the land she loves, or if she must pack up and head to California in the hopes to start a better life.
This book was devastating and humbling. This history of America was not all that long ago, and it is appalling to see how quickly people turned on each other, and how greedy those with even a little bit of money were.
Elsa epitomized a strong, hard-working woman. Even when her situation felt absolutely desolate, she fought tooth and nail to provide for her children and to make the best of the situation they were in. I loved being able to read from the perspective of a woman during this time.
What stood out to me the most, and something that I think is still timely today, is the division of class. Those with money, even if it is a little bit, will do ANYTHING to keep it, even if that means mistreating their neighbors. Those at the very top will do ANYTHING to keep people in debt to them, so that people are always relaying on their "generosity". Additionally, it is so easy to lose everything, because life is unpredictable, and it is seemingly impossible odds to climb back out. Elsa finds herself unable to provide for her children, and even with meager government assistance, she is barely scrapping by. She is forced to go into insurmountable debt, or starve, and if she cannot afford to get ahead now, how will she ever get out of debt? This slippery slope is all too common today still, especially with the uncertainty that the pandemic brought.
This was my first book from Kristin Hannah, and I was blown away with how much I enjoyed it. Kristin seems to really research her novels for historical accuracy and really pours her heart and soul into the story.
I will definitely pick up more from Kristin Hannah in the future, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially more recent historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Classism, Blood, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence

samanthafrati's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Sexism, Animal death, and Police brutality

bookswithnichol's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

This has to be the most depressing book I’ve ever read..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, Bullying, and Death

annikamanika's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Four Winds. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to share my thoughts on it in a way that would meaningfully inform your decisions to read it. I just started typing this in a text to my book club, and I also figured it was appropriate here.

I was in tears within the first few chapters, and I found myself in spontaneous tears repeatedly. Some of it was the author’s intention, and some of it was how I perceived it through a sense of relating to my own life.

The book opens about 10 years before the Depression and the Dustbowl, and it centers around a young woman (Elsa) who is constantly made to feel and told outright that she is unlovable and even unlikable the way she is by her parents and her sisters. Their highest aspiration for her is to live a quiet life, alone in her parents' home. It centers around how Elsa learns to love herself, how she finds her voice, and how her childhood informs her adult choices.

I HAAATED the way it ended, but it makes sense. It is tragic and has many triggers, but it is beautiful.

I will also mention that I listened to this as an audio book which has commentary from the author as bonus material. I highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Classism, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Gun violence, Grief, Sexism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia

Minor: Police brutality and Sexual content

themdash's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Classism, Sexism, Death, Animal death, Police brutality, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry

sarahfeller's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Sexism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, Excrement, and Miscarriage

abbasaurusrex's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was my first Kristin Hannah. I saw someone describe the author’s books as the Hallmark movies of historical fiction and now, having finished this, I can confirm that is accurate. Equal parts trauma porn and pearl clutching, this book just did not strike the right chords for me. I appreciated the view into a particular place and time in history that I knew little about, but found it a bit overdone, as it seems like the author is trying to address every single hardship of the Dust Bowl farmers/migrant workers through a single family’s experience. By the end of the book I almost felt sorry for the characters, not as victims of history, but as victims of the author. I just don’t enjoy watching people get dumped on, no matter how “historically accurate” the author might claim the events to be. The character development also didn’t hit. I found all of the characters to be a bit one-note and inconsistent, and their “development” (if you can call it that) seemed forced and incomplete. It’s almost like the author said, “I wanna write about the Dust Bowl,” instead of saying “here are some themes I want to explore, and I think the Dust Bowl and this particular family is the appropriate context in which to examine those themes.” She somehow manages to do too much and too little at the same time. Finally, there is not a single person of color in the narrative. I would have appreciated a more diverse perspective for a book that tries to tackle such a massive part of US history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Xenophobia, Classism, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Violence, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy and Deportation

franklola's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, Chronic illness, Bullying, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Classism, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Animal death, and Child death

nurseann7161's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Classism, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, and Slavery

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Violence, Medical content, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Excrement, Sexism, and Police brutality

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Animal death, Violence, Classism, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment and Sexism