The Four Winds

Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2021
Pages: 464
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis:

Texas, 1921. A time of abudance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman's only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. 

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa's tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa - like so many of her neighbors - must make an agonizing choice; fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

Review: I first took an interest in the Dust Bowl when I read Timothy Egan's book, The Worst Hard Time. Kristin Hannah's last few books have been excellent so I was excited to see she had one set during this time period. This did not disappoint.

One of my friends commented that nothing good happens at all, ever in the book, and while that's true, there is a lot going on in this novel. Nobody writes relationships better than Hannah, and this is a believable and engrossing human experience during what was truly an awful and seemingly never-ending time of poverty in the United States.

Other Kristin Hannah Novels
Angel Falls
Summer Island
The Great Alone
The Enchantment
The Nightingale
The Women
True Colors

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics

Author: Dolly Parton and Robert K. Oermann
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Chronicle Books, LLC, 2020
Pages: 480
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend.

As told by Dolly Parton in her inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton's personal and business archives.

Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics. 

Review: When I picked this book up from the library, I immediately thought, "no way." It's huge. It weighs about 5 pounds is big (about 14 inches top to bottom). I started flipping through it and found it quite readable. With a lot of large, color photos, and blurbs about various songs and Dolly herself it was a fast read. I read the whole thing in one day. Some of the songs were unfamiliar to me so I had a good time watching and listening to them on youtube.

A Witch in Time

Author: Constance Sayers

Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy / Time Travel / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Orbit, 2020
Pages: 480
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Helen Lambert has lived several lives - a young piano virtuoso in 1890s Paris, an actress in 1930s Hollywood, a rock star in 1970s Los Angeles - only she doesn't know it. Until she meets a strange man who claims he's watched over her for centuries, bound to her from the beginning.

At first, Helen doesn't believe him. Her life is as normal as any other modern career woman's. Then she begins have vivid dreams about ill-fated love and lives cut short.

Caught in a curse, Helen will be forced to relive the same tragic events that ruined her previous lives. But with each rebirth, she's developed uncanny powers. And as the most powerful version of herself, Helen must find a way to break the curse before her time runs out. 

Review: With a bit (or a lot) of skepticism, I requested A Witch in Time from my local library at my "sister-in-law's" recommendation. At first glance this would seem like a total departure from my usual reading, but this book has a historical fiction element - travel to Paris, old Hollywood, and L.A. in the 70s in one book? Yes, please! 

Really glad I stepped out of my comfort zone for this one. 

I'm absorbed in Heartland on Netflix so I'm not reading as much, otherwise I would have finished A Witch in Time much sooner.