And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Title: And the Mountains Echoed
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Score: 8.5/10
I have read all three of Khaled Hosseini's books and as much as I loved The Kite Runner, I was as disappointed by A Thousand Splendid Suns. I felt like he used a formula to get as many readers as possible by churning out the same emotions and settings over and over again. To be completely honest, I expected this book to be similar.
I was wrong. Even though the back cover of the book more or less states that it's a story about two siblings whose lives are changed, this novel actually consists of many stories- all very loosely related. Understandably, the paths of the siblings and their family cross with many people, some of which have been explained and investigated thoroughly. The first-person narrative switches between these characters making the book very dynamic.
However, the best thing about this book was just seeing how mature of a writer Khaled Hosseini has become. There are no black and white characters. All personalities are extremely grey and human. On one hand there is Idris (who I believe is a character based on the author himself) whose willingness to help slowly disintegrates as he finds himself struggling with the usual problems at work and at home. He was one of my favourite characters because I found him to be a very honest description of many people. There are always more of us that want to help than ones that actually do help. Forgoing the stability and predictability we work our entire lives to acquire can't be easy.
Then there is Nila Wahdati, a woman overcome with the desire to be complete, without knowing what she actually needs or wants.
The relationships are as human and grey as the characters. A boy and his struggling relationship with his mother, the touching friendship of two men who live together for more than half a century, the yearning to find a long-lost sibling...
Another thing that really contrasted with the author's previous books and something that I believe is an improvement is that people from different cultural backgrounds feature into the story, adding wealth. The doctor from Greece, the many friends from France and the American neighbours all helped to enrich the book with their own little stories.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. The stories will be relatable to most readers and if not, everyone will recognise something of somebody in them. In this context, that is what makes this book a success.
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Score: 8.5/10
I was wrong. Even though the back cover of the book more or less states that it's a story about two siblings whose lives are changed, this novel actually consists of many stories- all very loosely related. Understandably, the paths of the siblings and their family cross with many people, some of which have been explained and investigated thoroughly. The first-person narrative switches between these characters making the book very dynamic.
However, the best thing about this book was just seeing how mature of a writer Khaled Hosseini has become. There are no black and white characters. All personalities are extremely grey and human. On one hand there is Idris (who I believe is a character based on the author himself) whose willingness to help slowly disintegrates as he finds himself struggling with the usual problems at work and at home. He was one of my favourite characters because I found him to be a very honest description of many people. There are always more of us that want to help than ones that actually do help. Forgoing the stability and predictability we work our entire lives to acquire can't be easy.
Then there is Nila Wahdati, a woman overcome with the desire to be complete, without knowing what she actually needs or wants.
The relationships are as human and grey as the characters. A boy and his struggling relationship with his mother, the touching friendship of two men who live together for more than half a century, the yearning to find a long-lost sibling...
Another thing that really contrasted with the author's previous books and something that I believe is an improvement is that people from different cultural backgrounds feature into the story, adding wealth. The doctor from Greece, the many friends from France and the American neighbours all helped to enrich the book with their own little stories.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. The stories will be relatable to most readers and if not, everyone will recognise something of somebody in them. In this context, that is what makes this book a success.
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