An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and … 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.
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I liked The Kite Runner and I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns, but Hosseini’s third book, And the Mountains Echoed, is his best yet. Hosseini is a natural storyteller and his writing just keeps getting better and better. To quote the NYTimes, this is Hosseini’s “most assured and emotionally gripping story yet.” That was exactly my experience. Readers know when they are in the hands of a master and it makes the experience of starting a new book so much more pleasurable. It saves that awkward first 100 pages of being led into unknown territory wondering all the while whether you’re willing to go there (and whether you’ll like it). With Hosseini, you know from the beginning that he’s someone you can trust. Told as a series of vignettes, it is sometimes hard to keep track of the characters, but each turn in the plot is foreshadowed and each loose end is woven in so plausibly that by the end, the whole story is laid out for the reader to admire like a laboriously constructed jigsaw puzzle.
A very unconventional way of story telling, each character has a unique story – and the build up is so heart touching…. It is really so emotional.
I finally got around to reading this book, since I enjoyed Hosseini’s The Kite Runner so much. The setting of this book is unique–Afghanistan–and the opening sections in the desert are beautifully written. Sometimes, though, I felt that Hosseini hiccupped between long sections focused on one character, and then breathless paragraphs that sped through another character’s life. Outside of the sometimes jerky narrative, though, I did appreciate how interesting the characters were and the chance to see a part of the world I knew nothing about.
This is a story of several families in Afghanistan whose lives intertwine of the course of 50 years. It starts with a father telling a story to his two children. Little do the children know that this story he tells about an ogre that comes and takes children away would become a reality. The family is very poor, and the children’s mother has died, and the father has remarried. They cannot afford to take care of all the children, and the father knows of a family in Kabul that is childless. They agree to take the little girl, much to the dismay of her older brother. What follows are stories that branch out from these two young children told through many different viewpoints and across many years. It shows how one decision can affect his descendents and even his acquaintances for years to come.
Khaled Hosseini has become my favorite author over the last few years. His writing is absolutely amazing, and his stories draw you in. You cannot book the book down. Most of his stories are full of heartache, and this one was no exception. I was two chapters in and already very sad. But I couldn’t stop. I had to know what happened to the little girl who was taken away from the only family she knew at the age of 4. And what happened to her brother who was her most cherished one.
Run to get this book. Run to get any of Hosseini’s books. He is exceptional.
Khaled Hosseini was the plenary speaker at a conference I attended this past weekend. That sentence does not convey how excited I was to hear him speak about his latest book, And the Mountains Echoed, which I happened to be reading over the weekend. (I’ve been on the library’s waiting list for months. It really was pure coincidence.)
He opened his talk by describing the plot in a single sentence: “the course of a life is altered and there are so many unforeseen consequences.” It goes without saying, I think, that some of the consequences are positive and some are negative. At its heart, And the Mountains Echoed is the story of the separation of two siblings and the ways in which their lives diverge from the point of that separation. It is told in so many rich voices, not only of the siblings, but of so many other individuals whose paths they cross and whose lives are impacted, directly and indirectly and in ways both large and small. Speaking of his characters, Hosseini told his audience “I derived a lot of satisfaction and pleasure from creating these characters” and his love for them, even when they are not lovable, comes through in the writing. Yet, if there is a weakness, I would argue that it is the array of characters – that is, I rarely felt that a character’s story was as fully fleshed out as I would have liked.
Although the subject matter is heavy – the reader knows from the first pages, if not simply from the name on the cover – that this will be a heartbreaking book at times, it is a pleasure to read. And the Mountains Echoed relies on many modes of storytelling – a fable at the beginning, an interview in a literary magazine, a letter written to a friend – that make for an engaging read. Hosseini said that these devices were partly out of necessity, as a way of spanning decades efficiently, “I had to find ways to advance the story that didn’t feel laborious,” and as such he labeled some of these devices tricks. Whatever you call them, they are the reader’s friend.
Hosseini said that And the Mountains Echoed is the book he is proudest of, that he worked harder on it than on the previous two. I certainly found it the best. As I read, I found myself flipping back, re-reading chapters or pieces of chapters, pausing to think about the characters and, certainly, about chance and choice and the many ways in which the course of a life is altered, one path taken and another forgone, and how the consequences of such divergences cascade down through the decades, gently shaping sop many lives along the way.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2013/07/and-mountains-echoed.html)
so good I am going to read it again
H
Hate & love are so close to each other.
Very good read.
Cleverly crafted,
As moving as The Kite Runner.
You won’t be disappointed!
Another must read!
One of my favorite books! Interesting culturally as well as a bevy of unique, fascinating characters. I very moving story.
I have three older brothers in their 40’s. I am 33 at the moment. when I turned 30 I finally reunited with all three of my brothers after 22 years of being separated migration and reuniting is grueling and the process of reunification through sponsorship in the USA, once someone is over the age of 21, is even more difficult.
It was the best birthday present. I gifted them all this book. And it sparks so many conversations and how unpredictable this world can really be. We all hail from a third world country so the tragic events in this book are really not that far fetched as it may seem to the average American. I highly highly recommend this book! especially if you have a brother or sister. It will make you cry and hug them even harder each and every single time. Over and Over again for tomorrow is never promised to anyone.
Amazing story that was so well written it was difficult to put down!
A superb, haunting novel that will stay with you for a long time. The writing, characters & pace are exceptional. A must read.
This is an incredible read. Hosseini is so gifted at nailing down the most intricate of details, whether cultural, historical, geographical, scientific, or psychological. The way he intertwines story lines is beyond compare. Always sympathetic towards the suffering of others, but at the same time leaving the reader with a sense of finality and optimism, as if things work out the way they should.
At this time in history, when lives are terribly vulnerable and we have to rely on the reliability of others….staying home if you’re sick, checking on the elderly in the neighborhood, caring for kids whose parents have to work….this books hits all the right notes about how we live , impact not just family and friends but people we don’t know. in ways we can’t begin to imagine. The book emphasis how interconnected life is and how precious.
I love his writing!
The book was interesting; but I enjoyed The Kite Runner and Ten Thousand Splendid Suns much more. This story had a lot of ‘dangling participles’ and had a very abrupt ending.
This is the third book I’ve read by this author. His writing is lyrical, his stories both tragic and uplifting. One of this century’s finest writers.
I’m never disappointed in this author.