And the Mountains Echoed in Pick-a-Shelf

May 20, 2013 Catherine Nipps rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-forever, special, made-my-heart-ache, books-i-own, amazing-reads, historical-fiction, poc-authors, the-immigrant-experience

"...hills that stand soft and a sky that stands high and blue, and the sun setting behind a windmill, and always, always, hazy strings of mountains that fall and fall away on the horizon.”
~Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

Every now and then, you read a book that grabs hold of you with such intensity that it refuses to let go of your mind and of your heart too. It might be a story you identify with or something you find completely new, but in both cases it manages to blow you away. You d "...hills that stand soft and a sky that stands high and blue, and the sun setting behind a windmill, and always, always, hazy strings of mountains that fall and fall away on the horizon.”
~Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

Every now and then, you read a book that grabs hold of you with such intensity that it refuses to let go of your mind and of your heart too. It might be a story you identify with or something you find completely new, but in both cases it manages to blow you away. You don't want the story to end so you deliberately slow down your pace, you just have to keep reading hoping it will go on forever.

Since I read his first book, I have felt this way about Khaled Hosseini's writing. An excellent storyteller, Mr. Hosseini after giving the world two astounding stories in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, manages to pull your heartstrings yet again in the heart-warming, incredible journey that was his latest offering, And the Mountains Echoed. You just don't read this novel, you feel it, you taste very bit of it.

You are transported to a small village in the 1950's Afghanistan, where one night a father tells his two young children, Abdullah and Pari, a folk tale about a div. The next day they have to leave for Kabul which starts a sequence of events that will change their lives forever and will take the readers on a journey across families, continents and history which finally comes full circle ending a decade or so into the new millennium.

The novel has been written in a slightly different style than Mr. Hosseini's previous novels. Instead of the two person narrative that he usually writes in, this time he incorporated a number of memorable characters. The novel was more like interlinked short stories and each story was from the point of view of one of the characters. Mr. Hosseini did take a risk with his new way of narrating a story in so many different voices, which may not go down well with some of the readers, but I think it paid off. The reader is taken back and forth in time, living the story of each character. You understand what's in their minds and their hearts; you see their flaws exposed, and their realization of their own weaknesses as you discover your own. You see how human they are. Though it may seem at times that the story of some of the characters are irrelevant to the main story line or a little longer than expected, as you reach the last chapter you realize the importance of their presence and you take away so much from each of their stories. Of all the skillfully crafted characters, the ones I liked the best were of the beautiful yet unstable, Nila Wahdati, and the ever loyal chauffeur, Nabi.

Also contrary to his previous books, where the story is more or less completely based in Afghanistan, this time much of the story finds itself in Europe and America, though Afghanistan, where the story so brilliantly begins, is never far away as it remains at the heart of the story and at the heart of each of its characters. The plot of the interlinked lives of the characters may sound complex, but is actually a simple, moving and poignant story which touches several aspects such as poverty, loss, war, politics, family and relationships, but what stood out for me most were the inexplicable bond between a rich man (Mr. Wahdati) and his chauffeur (Nabi) and that between the two unusual friends (Markos and Thalia).

I consider Mr. Hosseini as one of the best contemporary writers today. His style of writing touches you, makes you laugh, weep, cringe, and identify with his characters. His portrayals of a beautiful Afghanistan decades ago and what it has been forced to turn into today awake in you the most painful emotions at the unfairness of it all. The title being inspired from a phrase, "The little ones leaped & shouted & laugh'd, And all the hills echoed," in William Blake's poem, Nurse's Song, on innocence, make you wonder about the stories these mountains of Afghanistan want to whisper to you this time.

It is understandable that one would compare And the Mountains Echoed to Mr. Hosseini's previous works, which is to be expected of an author who gave the world gems like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns as his first and second novels respectively. I myself did. And I have to say my favorite still remains his second book which had a more powerful narrative in terms of the disconcerting impact it left on the reader's minds. But if one looks at this book as an individual, stand-alone book, you cannot deny its brilliance and its beauty woven out of unforgettable characters and a sad but profoundly hopeful narrative.

I highly recommend it. And for those who are not a part of the millions or so fans of Khaled Hosseini, I really hope you pick up one of his books soon. It'll change your way of thinking, at least in a small way.

"A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later."
~ Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed
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Aug 18, 2013 Alka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book

Again a beautiful interwoven story. I was initially wary of reading Hosseni, his stories are so heart-rendingly tragic but this one was surprisingly gentle. It doesnt have absolute blackness of character or paralysing despair. Life goes on despite the losses n challenges. It didnt bring Afganistan alive as his other books had done. But i was kind of relieved to have read this one n felt like chiding myself for avoiding it for so long.

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Jul 27, 2013 Anisha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I think I liked this more than his other books!

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May 30, 2013 Rosanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Good. Interesting web of stories that all come together. I wasn't enthralled, finding this the least entertaining of Mr. Hosseini's works. Still a decent read. ...more

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