And the Mountains Echoed: Reviews by 2014 Reading Challengers

[Kathryn]

I finished this last night (staying up past when I had intended because I didn't want to go to bed with one chapter still to go!!). I gave this one 5 stars because I didn't want to put it down.

My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lynn]

I agree that it was excellent. It's filled with beautiful language and images. It made me cry more than once...I put it down then to prevent loud wailing.

[Jodi]

I truly enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, this author is a beautiful storyteller who really makes the characters and situations come to life. Second, the way he intertwines the events/people to weave them into an intricate tapestry is brilliant. Finally, I was worried that with so many characters I wouldn't feel connected to any of them....but instead I felt connected to most. Wonderful read.

[Kathryn]

Jennifer wrote: "I enjoyed the book Such poetry in his descriptions it feels that you are there If I am too be honest I preferred his first two books,there were less characters in them I feel that I had a hard tim..."

It's true there are a lot of characters, and I did feel at one point as if I should draw a map to show how each of them were interconnected with the others (I didn't!), but I did think a list of characters in the front might have been helpful.

I love reading stories from different people's points of view, but I did find that when I read someone's description of a place or person or event which someone else had already mentioned, I did have to go back to find the first reference to it to refresh my memory of their point of view!

[L]

I really enjoyed this novel. The pages flew by as I sunk into the story. Unexpectedly, I found myself relating to a few of the characters who struggled with taking on a role as caregiver. The grand scope of the story sometimes imparts a feeling that this is a tale that happens to other people, not people I know. Yet, every family I know is addressing issues related to being a caregiver for aging parents, for children with disabilities, etc. We all will face a decision like this at some point.

While carefully trying to avoid a spoiler, I will finish by saying I loved the redeeming relationship forged between the two pairs of women at the end of the book. Each pair differently answered the thorny questions raised by the div at the very beginning: what does it take for a child to really be better off?

[Samantha]

Such an amazing book. I flew through it. It will be interesting to hear everyone else's thoughts about the story

[Valerie]

The descriptions were so vivid that i often felt like i was watching a movie. I loved some of the complex relationships in this book too.

[Chloé]

I just finished it! It was really good. Bad things keeps happening, and it is a heavy book to read and I was longing for some hope, but when I didn't expect it anymore, we finaly get a ray of sun through the clouds. I liked it all along, but the way I got to love some characters in a chapter and than there's a cut in his/her story annoyed me by moment, because I kind of lacked a closure or something, especially because everything happening to them was mostly always so sad. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't looking for a Disney happy ending for all of them, but yeah I felt like you feel when you broke up a relationship and you don't have the chance for closure. Though, I'm happy I stuck to it.

[Laura]

I thought this was a beautiful book. The characters were so well drawn, not clichéd or predictable but acted in many different, sometimes unexpected, ways. As others have said, the intertwining stories worked well and I thought the ending was about right - satisfactory but not overly sweet. Grim reading at times though - makes you appreciate what you have.

[Merja]

Finished the book today. I really enjoyed it and I also cried few times while reading. I don't know what else to say here because I have told everything in other posts.

[Dominique]

I really did like this book. All the characters had a connection to the two main charcters was a nice touch. I shows you that nobody has a perfect life. The ending was sad but was well done.

[Reija]

This was really amazing. I haven't read any of his work before, only saw Kite Runner movie which didn't work for me very well but now I am gonna check them too. The book was beautifully written, I liked different characters points of views and how time went different chapters and how writing styles changed (letters, interviews) and so. Ok, somehow characters have same kind of situations but they made different choices. My favorite scene was (view spoiler)[when Pari got featers at the end and didn't remember those but that Abe has saved those all years meant her so much. I remember read something same Neil Gaiman's comic (some Death story I guess) and because another part didn't remember that it kind of broke their releationship (hide spoiler)]

So beautiful book, it really has some magic I haven't seen awile and I'm so happy I read this.

[Tessa]

This book not only met, but surpassed my expectations. I have recently read a few novels in which each chapter changed focus to a different character and storyline- such Cloud Atlas and A Visit from the Goon Squad- and I honestly thought it was a little tired and played out. But Hosseini was able to keep my attention throughout the book, as each storyline was compelling enough to draw me in, while also keeping me interested in relationships to characters I had already met. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an engaging read.

[Teresa]

It was an okay read for me. I enjoyed the beginning much more than the rest of the book. By far, Hosseini's best book is The Kite Runner imo. With this novel, I wasn't drawn into the characters or within the story as a whole.

[Dominique]

I loved this book. When it came out, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read it. I love the way all the stories intertwined with each other. It was well written that sometimes I felt I was there. It really makes you think about when you make a decision what impact it makes to all the people around you.

[Ingrid]

Joining this group only this week, I found out about the January group read on Monday, and in order to to finish this one before the end of the month, I dropped my current reads and grabbed this novel. I am glad I did, because I really loved this book, even if I became quite emotional at the ending (view spoiler)[ when Pari opened up the box with feathers and didn't understand what it was about, except that gut feeling that told her it was a token of the years her brother had been thinking about her (hide spoiler)] and had a few weird looks from my significant other when I started sniffing on the couch. Thanks for putting this book on the group read or I would have missed it.

For those interested, you can check out my review over here

[Megan]

Finished just in time:) I love this author and the beautiful characters, descriptions, and story really shine. However, the overall story was a bit more disjointed than Hosseini's other books. Still an thoroughly enjoyable read! Definitely worth reading! 4 stars

[Nadine]

I finished, And the Mountains Echoed, a few weeks ago. I like the book because it was well written, but it was too sad for me. I read for fun, not to sit in my car and cry myself into more sadness. [SPOILER ALERT] The early scenes when Abdullah sacrifices his shoes to give Pari a feather. .....heart wrenching. The father lets the kids walk through the desert for days when he was selling Pari. Abdullah thinks his father abandoned he and his sister in the vast lonely desert. I was sure that was the case too. Some characters served no purpose to me. Timur and his brother? Why? I gave it 3 stars.

[LyndiLea]

I normally wouldn't have read this book and even put it off till the beginning of February. Once I read the first few pages I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I finished it in less than 24 hours. I loved how all of the stories entwined around a single family tree but told each members unique story. It makes you think about your heritage and the story that makes up us all.