Book Review: 'AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED', by Khaled Hosseini.
After the phenomenal success of 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', selling 38 million copies worldwide, Khaled Hosseini returns with his third book. And just like his first two stories, 'And The Mountains Echoed' is a beautifully written epic, partially set against the backdrop of the last 60-years of the land of the author's birth, but additionally also in cities around the world as the narrative expands.
The story presents an interlocking series of events that span generations, about people trapped in the circumstances of their lives, who make life-changing decisions not because they want to, but, ultimately, because they feel they have to, but who do not grasp the grave consequences of these decisions until afterwards. Its characters are linked by blood, coincidence and by the way their lives seem parallel.
The book opens with the 10-year-old Abdullah joining his sister, 3-year-old Pari, and his father, Saboor, on a journey across the desert to Kabul. It becomes apparent that brother and sister are inseparable, and that Abdullah's deep love and sense of responsibility for his sister transcends time and space. It is also clear the family have known hardship their entire lives. The mother of the two siblings had passed away giving birth to Pari. They, along with their step-mother and baby half-brother, are supported by Saboor, who takes work where he can find it, often having to be away for days on end. However, job opportunities are scarce. The sheer financial burden they experience have led to this journey, along with the prospect of further impending struggles to come (another infant on the way, along with the harsh winter which had already claimed the life of Abdullah's and Pari's first half-brother two winters ago). Saboor has made a fateful decision. He must make a sacrifice to save the family. It is a decision that will 'echo' through time, generations, continents.
From this point, the author weaves a multi-layered narrative away from the siblings' plight through to characters you initially assume are merely foils, but whose own individual tales become key components of the book in their own right. Themes emerge: the separation of siblings, betrayal by fathers and mothers and sisters, the grief and resentments of children, the failure of early promise, the way all plans and ambitions can be undermined by sudden and astonishing events.
Hosseini seems to be fascinated by the accidental nature of life, by the way that whole decades of our lives can be shaped by events we do not understand or even know about, about how sometimes these multiple threads can be traced back to one cataclysmic moment in the past, one singular event, one momentous decision.
After two critically-acclaimed and financially successful book releases, it's safe to assume the author probably felt the weight of expectation on him when constructing this third book. However, Hosseini meets these expectations head-on. A terrific book from an author justifiably increasing in reputation as a great storyteller.
"An epic tale that transcends time, generations and continents. A top read!!! 4.5/5" 9 out of 10
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