And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Title: And the Mountains Echoed


Author: Khaled Hosseini

Read by: Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, and Shohreh Aghdashloo

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours (12 CDs)

Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy – Thanks!

And the Mountains Echoed is one of the best books I have read (or listened to) period. I don’t know if any other audiobook has gotten me to tear up so much on my drives to and from work. Khaled Hosseini is a master story teller. I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but to me, I liked this ambitious novel even more. We’ve all read one hit wonders; Authors who have one spectacular book and then fizzle out soon after. With And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini shows that he is here to stay and that the quality of his novels is only increasing with time.

And the Mountains Echoed begins with a father telling a heartbreaking fable in a rural village in Afghanistan in the 1950’s. The fable was heartbreaking enough that when it ended with the first CD, I cried. It haunted me for days and I couldn’t even retell it to my husband without tearing up. The book alone is worth it for the fantastic fable. What the children don’t know is that their father is telling them this fable as a way to explain his actions the next day, selling young Pari to a wealthy childless couple. Abdullah was Pari’s older brother and he took care of her after her mother died during childbirth. Both are devastated at being torn apart and it is a loss that haunts them for the rest of their lives.

The book goes through the lives of several people that are impacted by this separation. Each tale was riveting and unique. The tales were told from female and male perspective from countries around the world. While their own stories, each inched the reader toward the final resolution of the overall story. I thought it was a masterpiece, perfectly crafted.

Some of the tales included that of Nabi, a servant who loves his mistress, the unique, talented Nila, and who suggests that she adopt his niece Pari. Parwana, Nabi’s sister that married Pari’s father after her mother’s death also has her own tale. Parwana was the “ugly” twin of her beautiful sister Masooma. Masooma had an enchanted life until one fateful day. An ex-pat Afghan returns to Kabul after 9/11 to reclaim lost family land, and finds that he no longer belongs nor understands his native land. A Greek doctor works in Kabul to try to help those devastated by war and has a landlord with an interesting tale. A young boy adores his father until he learns what it means to be a warlord, and how all of the good things his father has done, come with a price. These are snippets of what the book holds and the stories are unforgettable.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. It was wonderful. I enjoyed how there were three different narrators to give each different chapter/story a unique spin. This audiobook held my attention on my drive to work and made me wish it were just a little bit longer!

Overall, I don’t have enough good things to say about And the Mountains Echoes. You should pick it up and discover it for yourself!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns last night. It was a wonderful book - and a real page-turner. I think it only took me two days to read it (and that's mostly time outside with Kile playing!). This book is by Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, another fabulous book that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a good book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two woman in Afghanistan over the last thirty years. Mariam is a "harami" or an illegimate child of a rich man, Jali, and his maid. He built them a shack outside of town to live in and Mariam looks forward to his visits once a week. When she is 15, Mariam asks to see where Jali lives with his three wives and 11 children and also to see a movie in the cinema that he owns. Jali doesn't show up that day and she goes to town in search of him. When she finds his house, no one will let her in and she sleeps outside. Tragedy ensues and Jali's wives force Mariam into a loveless marriage with Rasheed a much older man from Kabul. Rasheed beats Mariam and is angry with her after she is unable to bear him a son.

Meanwhile while Mariam is trying to survive her marriage, Laila is born in 1979 when the Soviets have taken over Afghanistan. Laila grows up in realitive happiness, goes to school, and is in love with her best friend, Tariq. Tariq stepped on a land mine as a child and only has one leg. As different tragedies play out (too many plot spoilers), Laila is forced to marry Rasheed at age 14 when Rasheed is in his 60's!!! At this time things are really bad in Afghanistan and Laila is unable to go to school anymore or even appear outside of her home without a burqa or a male escort. Mariam and Laila become unlikely friends.

Although I figured out one major plot twist WAY before the end of the book, I still enjoyed it and it was a real page turner. Laila's story particularly hit home as she would only be one year younger than me. And what a different life we lead. I can't imagine having all of my freedoms as a woman being taken away, so much so that you can't even go to a decent hospital and have anethestics during child birth! It was very disturbing. I don't know much at all about how real everyday people live in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this book (as well as The Kite Runner) are real eye openers. It really makes me feel bad for the people and hope that the U.S. does not just abandon them. People should not have to live like this!