Khaled Hosseini

And the Mountains Echoed

So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one... Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live in the small village of Shadbagh. To Abdullah, Pari, as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named, is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their skulls touching, their limbs tangled. One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand. Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, and how the choices we make resonate through history.

Christine Kraus

I see the creative process as a necessarily thievish undertaking. Dig beneath a beautiful piece of writing… and you will find all manner of dishonor. Creating means vandalizing the lives of other people, turning them into unwilling and unwitting participants. You steal their desires, their dreams, pocket their flaws, their suffering. You take what does not belong to you. You do this knowingly.

My favourite of Hosseini's excellent line-up. I'd never cried at a book until this. I never wanted it to end.

kayla 

ella

made me cry in many parts. heartbreakingly beautiful, unpredictable, and moving.

Noor 

rakshu

Every book written by this author leaves me devastated. every. single. one. i dive into it thinking “ah this couldn’t hurt more than the previous one” and boy am i proven wrong every fucking time. this book specially- so many characters that i loved. it didn’t focus on just two main leads which hurt even more because i was here crying for EVERYONE. what a book. aaahhhhhhh now i gotta find something light to recover from this

Rohan Uddin

A sad and sorrowful tale of loss, felt by a multitude of characters in the backdrop of Afghanistan from the 50s to today. A great story.

And the mountains echoed

Nick Gracilla

Hosseini’s third novel teases apart the interlocking life stories of generations of a family, starting in a rural village in Afghanistan and extending outwards through Kabul, Paris, a small island in Greece, and San Francisco. Decades pass, wars begin and begin again, with the only constant the unpredictability of life and the random, sometimes brutal unfairness of fate. Hosseini excels at placing the reader in the center of the normalcy of life, whether that’s as the house-bound wife of a powerful drug-lord in Kabul, an agricultural worker hoping for rains, or a precious child reclaiming her life after a terrible incident. Themes of childhood promises, broken; faith and loyalty, betrayed; honor and commitment, fulfilled or not bind across the decades, the generations, and the distances.

I’m looking forward to reading Hosseini’s other novels.

Trish

i just finished reading and the mountains echoed and i think khaled hosseini has finally earned the title of my favorite contemporary (if not overall) author. having read all three of his books back to back i was surprised at how each of his books touched me in different ways. he is such a talented writer and i love how, with each book, he takes risks and tries different writing styles and explores different ways to tell the story. his use of perspectives in and the mountains echoed is refreshing and if i had to pick a favorite narrative it would probably be either nabi’s or idris’s chapters. i found myself caring deeply for each of the characters in the books, which i was skeptical of since i didn’t particularly like the alternating perspectives in a thousand splendid suns. but this book pulls it off seamlessly. 

i’m just in love, honestly. if khaled hosseini had ten more books i’d order them all right now, without a doubt.

eliz

3.5


  "What was I, Maman? A seed of hope? A ticket purchased to ferry you from the dark? A patch for that hole you carried in your heart? If so, then I wasn't enough. I was no balm to your pain, only another dead end, another burden, and you must have seen that early on."


I wish he just stopped writing at 300-page mark. even an open ending would work better than having more characters I no longer care about (coughs. the last one). this is mostly (maybe) because the brother-sister foundation was strong enough to keep me intrigued but the more the construction of respective stories of secondary characters broadens, I became less absorbed. I felt the disappointment after reading past the first half or almost 3/4 of this because I was starting to appreciate it at that point.

if you read the first two books of Hosseini, you would definitely recognize this book's his most recent one. the setting, dialogues, modernistic approach of building the mutual relationships... not bad, just a little odd. when you think of it as a finished story, it's good. but the process of reading it, I'm not quite sure what to say, a bit bland at times? when you put it down for some time, it'll feel distant, just as much as the characters does. whenever I finally get to link-up with one character, one second and the story switches up. their part gets cut off and we never get to hear them again. I can't even count how much I felt interrupted because of this.

I do think that the stories are all connected in the end and utterly shows how single decision at one point of a person's life can affect generations and a lot more individuals one can think of, regardless of the time/setting (this book spans decades and continents apart). final thoughts: I think he tried to cover way too much. that's why I'm struggling to explain it. 

excerpts:
p. 13 "When you have lived as long as I have, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same color."
p. 78 "A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later."
p. 137 "..I know now that some people feel unhappiness the way others love: privately, intensely, and without recourse."
p. 218 "'Are you pleased with any of your work?'
'...if only I could keep them apart from the creative process itself.'
'You mean separate the end from the means.'"

Kulsum Farooque

I know that I've been saying this about all the books I've read lately, but, I loved this.
Maybe it is Khaled Hosseini's way of writing, but all three of his books made we want to keep reading. The characters feel very personal, like you know every one of them. It is a great book. Pain, love and family are the main motives of this book. The separation of Abdullah and Pari form the major plot of this book. It is a great book, and I highly recommend it.

Presents a story inspired by human love, how people take care of one another, and how choices resonate through subsequent generations. Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and step-mother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Adbullah, Pari, as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named, is everything. What happens to them-and the large and small manners in which it echoes through the lives of so many other people-is proof of the moral complexity of life.

This story begins in 1952 Afghanistan with two motherless siblings and moves through complex relationships and generations to the United States, Paris, and Greece, weaving a story of commitment, love, honor, and sacrifice. The plot contains violence.

Philip Young

I really liked this book. I wish I had someone else to discuss it with as there are many layers to it. The writing is good and I found myself wanting to know what happened next.

It begins in 1952. Ten-year-old Abdullah and his younger sister, Pari, are everything to each other. What happens to them, at the despairing hand of their father, will test the unshakable bonds of family and irrevocably change not just their own lives, but those of multiple generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Khaled Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honour, 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.

Lauren Wightman

Absorbing and beautiful. I really love the narrative structure and the many voices we get to hear.

From the no. 1 bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns A Richard & Judy Summer Book Club pick Ten-year-old Abdullah would do anything for his younger sister. In a life of poverty and struggle, with no mother to care for them, Pari is the only person who brings Abdullah happiness. For her, he will trade his only pair of shoes to give her a feather for her treasured collection. When their father sets off with Pari across the desert to Kabul in search of work, Abdullah is determined not to be separated from her. Neither brother nor sister know what this fateful journey will bring them. And the Mountains Echoed is a deeply moving epic of heartache, hope and, above all, the unbreakable bonds of love.

Daniel Waterhouse

Beautifully intertwined stories set across 60 years.

Stefanie Sugia

"A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later. But I suppose I ought to begin this tale with the same thing that ends it."
It was 1952 when Saboor plans on going to Kabul with his three-year-old daughter, Pari. On the day of their departure, Abdullah - Pari's brother - begged his father so he could go with them. Abdullah was only a ten-year-old; but he raised Pari after their mother's death and Saboor then got married to another woman named Parwana. Abdullah and Pari arrived in Kabul and was welcomed by their step-uncle, Nabi, who works as a chauffeur for a wealthy couple: Mr. Wahdati and Nila Wahdati. They were having fun in Kabul; and only a while later did Abdullah realized that his father sold his sister to to the Wahdati couple....

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2014/1...

Caroline Mao

I should note that while I've marked this "LGBT characters," it's definitely not a book I'd recommend to anyone hoping for in-depth representation. It's not problematic; it's just not addressed or written in much detail. However, on the note of diversity, anyone who's tired of reading about nothing but heterosexual romances and white people will probably enjoy this.

I'm an avid fan of Khaled Hosseini's work after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. While I preferred ATSS, this wasn't any worse, and perhaps even better. It's not my personal preference, but it was well done. Hosseini pulls off many POV characters and styles of narration well, weaving them all together into a remarkable masterpiece, and that takes talent. He breathes life into them with such skill. I'm impressed.

Also, it's just all-around very emotional, so prepare to cry when you're reading this book.

Nathalie Wong

A well-written story by Khaled Hosseini that pulled me in right from the start. I especially loved the bond between brother and sister. However, it was heartbreaking as well. Not everything is full of roses and daisies as other family members wound and betray each other. It is interesting how all the characters interconnected and how their decisions affected one another.

I did lose some interest in certain parts as I felt that some characters' point of view was unnecessary. This is the first time I read anything by this author and I will definitely check out more from him.

For more of my review please visit my blog https://ilovereading2016.wordpress.com/

Amy Deuink

I had a little trouble getting into it and keeping the characters straight, at first, but I love the complexity of the main characters and the ways their stories are woven together.

Safiya 

I'm giving it a 4 stars because I love the survivors ! And I love their stories !
One thing though, what did Massooma wish for ?

Melody Izard

I start Hosseini's books thinking - meh - why not? Something to pass the time. But I get quickly caught in his sentences trapped by his tales, swept away by his characters. I'm zooming so fast - certainly I see flaws - but, meh, who cares? I can't call it a fun ride - there is always deep pain, but it's a ride I'm glad I took.

nisha 

Jennifer

It's been a while since I've last enjoyed an adult contemporary / historical fiction. This is the first book by Khaled Hosseini that I've read and it absolutely didn't disappoint! I found the novel deeply moving and the storytelling excellent (I'm emotionally touched by the narratives of various characters in the book). It's a wonderful and deep novel about love, loss, and separation. 

Painted with the lush cultural context across several continents: the memories & snapshots of the novel are deeply raw & authentic - the narration felt really believable. Despite the non-linear progression, flashbacks, and the slow-pacing - the emotional factor of the storytelling kept me engaged to the book. In fact, I finished a big chunk of it today within hours because I was emotionally touched by the characters and how they come in terms about different shades of love throughout the years. 

For anyone looking for a character-driven and emotionally poignant story, I highly recommend And the Mountaines Echoed!

Annelies Van Rossen

Pro: the characters, the different storylines, the writing style

Con: some unanswered questions

I loved how this book was built. We see different good developed characters and how they interact. This was the first book I read about Afghanistan; this was thus an interesting aspect. And the Mountains Echoed shows that life is complicated and how the different characters deal with this complexity. We see different stages in their life and can do nothing other than follow along their heart-breaking moments. Meanwhile we also see how the country changes through time and what consequences it has for the characters. I enjoyed this book thoroughly.

Rachel Peterson

Magdalene Lim

Magic. Housseini is a master storyteller!! He brings you through the lives of different people, switches between time zones and yet the story flows. Right from the beginning, the story within this story is captivating and the analogy is beyond apt. 

Yes, the reader may feel like he is on a rickety rickshaw, bumping and jumping around. Yes, some of the stories may not have the resolution or ending we may have hoped for or expected. But, isn't that life?Some endings are just forgotten and left in the dust.

And the Mountains Echoed

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