And The Mountains Echoed 

by Khaled Hossieni

published by Riverhead Books

2013

Summary

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page. (from Goodreads)

My Review

“It’s a funny thing… but people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really, what guides them is what they’re afraid of. What they don’t want.”

And The Mountains Echoed is the beautifully written new novel from master storyteller Khaled Hosseini.  I thought The Kite Runner was wonderful, and  that A Thousand Splendid Suns was even better.  Hosseini’s new book also takes us once again to Afghanistan before the fighting, where we are introduced to Abdullah and his baby sister Pari.  Their’s is the beginning of this story which is told from many different characters and spans several generations.  Rather than one comprehensive story, this novel is almost a compilation of interwoven stories that spans members and acquaintances of one family and their descendants.

I thought writing in this novel was just as beautiful and lyrical as one would expect from Hosseini.  He makes the people and places come alive.  What I found I did not like as much as I hoped was the actual story.  It felt a little too disjointed, the changing of narrators with each chapter.  I felt as though I was just getting to know a certain character, and then they were gone.  I would have preferred  just two or three narrator, rather than the nine the book gave us.  At certain points, I was actually a little confused as to who was who and how they connected to the other characters.  I would still recommend reading this book, as the author has once again produced a beautifully written piece of literature.  Just begin aware that it is different from his previous novels.

My favorite quote-

“But there was no forgetting.  Pari hovered, unbidden, at the edge of Abdullah’s vision everywhere he went.  She was like the dust that clung to his shirt.  She was in the silences that had become so frequent in the house, silences that welled up between their words, sometimes cold and hollow, sometimes pregnant with things that went unsaid, like a cloud filled with rain that never fell.  Some nights he dreamed he was in the dessert again, alone, surrounded by the mountains, and in the distance a single tiny glint of light flickering on, off, on, off, like a message.”

 I would love to hear from others who have read this- What did you think?

Rating

4 out of 5

in Kabul, Afghanistan