And the Mountains Echoed in Around the World

Feb 08, 2013 Toni rated it it was amazing

Shelves: multi-cultural, historical-fiction, afghanistan

Khaled Hosseini, in my opinion, does not disappoint. This is yet again a remarkable story that tears the cover off any preconceived notions of the Afghan culture. Each of his characters is flawed and believable and beautiful in their own right. And each is an important part of the whole and the book would be incomplete without their contribution. In spite of some initial confusion at the outset of new chapters in the book, trying to identify and reconcile the characters, Hosseini eventually brin Khaled Hosseini, in my opinion, does not disappoint. This is yet again a remarkable story that tears the cover off any preconceived notions of the Afghan culture. Each of his characters is flawed and believable and beautiful in their own right. And each is an important part of the whole and the book would be incomplete without their contribution. In spite of some initial confusion at the outset of new chapters in the book, trying to identify and reconcile the characters, Hosseini eventually brings the reader into the scene and the part each plays is just what it should be.

Sometimes when I read a particularly gifted author I wish I had a little mental file system where I could place a phrase or a few paragraphs to recall at another time, such as:

When I was a little girl, my father and I had a nightly ritual. After I'd said my twenty-one Bismillahs and he had tucked me into bed, he would sit at my side and pluck bad dreams from my head with his thumb and forefinger. His fingers would hop from my forehead to my temples, patiently searching behind my ears, at the back of my head, and he'd make a pop sound--like a bottle being uncorked--with each nightmare he purged from my brain. He stashed the dreams, one by one, into an invisible sack in his lap and pulled the drawstring tightly. He would then scour the air, looking for happy dreams to replace the ones he had sequestered away. I watched as he cocked his head slightly and frowned, his eyes roaming side to side, like he was straining to hear distant music. I held my breath, waiting for the moment when my father's face unfurled into a smile, when he sang, Ah, here is one, when he cupped his hands, let the dream land in his palms like a petal slowly twirling down from a tree. Gently, then, so very gently--my father said all good things in life were fragile and easily lost--he would raise his hands to my face, rub his palms against my brow and happiness into my head.
What am I going to dream about tonight, Baba? I asked.
Ah, tonight. Well, tonight is a special one, he always said before going on to tell me about it.

...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, historical-fiction, afghanistan, 2013, 52-around-the-world

Half way through the book, and I have mixed feeling about it! As usual is a very sad story (not one but severak sad stories)! a bit confusing and too many characters. However, I have to admit as usual Hosseini's writing is superb!
Thursday at 11:26pm ·

This is a great book, just not in the league of Khaled Hosseini's astounding last two novels. The story starts with two sibilings Pari and Abdullah and it will also end with those two. However; Hosseini introduces at least a dozen other characters ...more

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Apr 28, 2014 Barbara rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2014-library-bk-grp

I think this author is a great writer. However, I just couldn't get into the book the way I wanted to.

At the beginning I really liked it. I thought, wow, I'm going to love this book. I loved the story about the Div and then when the story went on about the dad going to find his son and the decision he had to make whether to take his son back or leave him there.

Then the story went off in another direction for me and I just couldn't get into it. I read some of it and listened to some of it on au ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Kate rated it did not like it

Shelves: e-books, bokt-boekenclubje, lectuur

I liked both his previous books (The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns), and thought this book started out OK, but after that it got pretty boring. It read more like a bunch of unrelated short stories with too many people in them. I assume there is some connection between all of them after chapter 3 or 4, because that's where I gave up and quit. I also didn't see the point of the time jumps (1940s to 2000s back to 19 something..). ...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Astrid Lim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literature, tragedy, dysfunctional-family, culture, middle-east

Another beautiful, mesmerizing and heartbreaking story by one of my most favorite authors, Khaled Hosseini. This time it's not as emotionally intense as the first two books, but still, it is very haunting, like you don't want the book to ever end. This is a more personal and warm story about the impact of war in Afghanistan - no more over dramatic slash tortured scenes, but lots of touchy parts - regrets, deaths, untold loves. ...more

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