February 9, 2021
NetGalley
St Martin's Press
464 pages
ISBN: 9781529054569
5/5
fiction, arc, historical fiction
2/23-3/3/21
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St Martin's Press and Net Galley in exchange for unbiased review.
In the 1920’s during the Age of Innocence, a woman was considered a spinster of not married by age of 25. Such was the case for Elsa Wolcott but not from lack of trying to escape the enforced solitude by her parents. She had developed rheumatic fever at age 14 and became frail and weak in her parents opinion. She was also nearly 6 feet tall and just felt like she didn’t fit in which was reinforced constantly by her mother who felt her “plainly.”
Elsa lived and experienced life through her books and the short walks she was allowed to take to the library. She often found pleasure reading a scandalous story, “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure.” Having attended both her sister, Charlotte and Suzanna’s weddings she resigned her to never marrying. Instead, she began to dream about going to college in Chicago only to be refused by her parents.
Ultimately, this leads Elsa to decide to take control of her life in ways her parents were not prepared.
She cuts off her long blonde hair, makes a red silk dress and slips out one night to experience life. She meets a young man of 18, Raffaelo Martinelli when she is unable to enter a speakeasy. She agrees to go for a drive with him in his truck. Little does she realize that her nativité would change her life forever.
When she discovers that she is pregnant, her father leaves her at the Martinelli farm disowning her for bringing disgrace upon the family. Anthony and Rosalba teach her how to work, cook and clean on the farm, tasks which she was never allowed to perform. Rafe doesn’t go to college so he can marry Elsa and raise their baby while living with his parents.
It was the Texas Panhandle in a town of Dalhart, during the Great War when people were led to believe that the farmers wheat crops would save them from poverty and starvation. Unfortunately, the drought in the Great Plains would last 4 years causing devastation, illness and death. Many people tried to save themselves by migrating to CA and WA to escape the dramatic dust storms. Living under such extreme circumstances changes ones outlook on life. Elsa learns to follow the lead of Rosalba in being a strong, unemotional figure trying to hold the family together.
Families are faced with unthinkable choices during this time era. Do they “wait out” the storms which seem to be lasting for years with continued destruction and devastation? What happens when people develop the courage or desperation to move and leave their land and life behind? They are not prepared for the discrimination and continued poverty and unlivable conditions in CA. The migrants are forced into squatters land where their fear defiance to claim the freedom and liberty due to to them as Americans.
I had conflicting emotional feelings about Elsa who serves as the symbol of the atrocities of the Dust Bowl. At what point do people defy authorities and fight for justice? How long can people continue to passively follow dishonorable leaders for the sake of dignity? Although this is an extremely lengthy novel, it tells a very powerful story about the past which never be forgotten.
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