And the Mountains Echoed

Book, 2013

Premise - The consequences of a decision made by a father to give up his only daughter ripples throughout decades of various lives worldwide. From Afghanistan, to Paris, to Greece, to the United States, Khaled Hosseini explores a series of loosely related characters who have all been indirectly connected to this event.

Review - To this day, The Kite Runner remains one of my favorite novels of all time. Not only was it an introduction to Khaled Hosseini, but for my love Middle Eastern literature. I have since read A Thousand Splendid Suns, but it took me shamefully long to pursue his third novel, despite it sitting on my bookshelf for years. Because of my attachment to his previous works, I knew I was going to enjoy this before I had seen a word. Hosseini has to be one of the greatest writers I have ever come across, and to think he still has the potential to write more is invigorating. While reading this novel, I also had the curiosity to research the basics of his personal life. He has an MD, and saw patients for decades while writing on the side. He now writes full time because he kept distracting his patients talking about his books. What a boss. I love him.

As soon as I started getting into the rhythm of the book, I realized it reminded me of a certain Iranian film I had seen a few years ago called Circle. Conceptually, it's very similar - you start with one character, or set of characters, and one characters' story flows into another as the film cycles through a chain of several characters. By the end of the film, we're back to square one with our original characters. This novel follows a strikingly similar format. The main difference is that Circle illogically does not move through time chronologically, ending exactly where we started in time. And The Mountains Echoed instead takes place over a vast number of years, totaling decades, to not only connect a chain of characters through a singular point in time, but through essential, lengthy life experiences. It's a way of demonstrating how interpersonal, familial relationships are at the core of life, particularly from the point of view of collectivism.

Hosseini has an incredible emotional power. I would, embarrassingly, find myself gasping, sighing, or saying, "aww" out loud to no one in particular. However, these instances were far more concentrated towards the beginning of the novel, when I first getting attached to the original characters. Generally speaking, I do truly enjoy stories that shift through various perspectives. I can't believe I'm comparing this novel to Skins, but that's an example of a television show where I live for the perspective changes, and happily explore new characters each episode. In the context of a long novel, however, this grew quite tiresome. With each new chapter I was constantly having to reorient myself to new characters and new concepts. The more indirect it became to the original characters (Abdullah and Pari) the harder it was to stay attentive. I kept thinking that this novel might be really successful as a limited tv series. A movie format would be terrible, because there is no singular plot line or story arc. With a limited television show, each episode could be one of the chapters, with its own cast and set. I think that format would be effective for appropriately organizing one's attention, knowing each mini-character study would last one hour. If I had the money and the skill I would happily direct this.

The story satisfies readers by taking itself full circle. We begin and end with Abdullah and Pari. Though a very realistic reunion took place, the sentimental part of me was disappointed. I wanted Abdullah to recognize Pari, and for Pari to remember the feathers. But neither happened. I suppose I should learn to expect tragedy with Hosseini (87/100).

Quotes - 

“I now know that some people feel unhappiness the way others love: privately, intensely, and without recourse.” 

“Soon, he would become an adult. And when he did, there would be not going back because adulthood was akin to what his father had once said about being a war hero: once you became one, you died one.” 

If you liked this book, I recommend The Kite Runner!

Written by Khaled Hosseini
Published by Riverhead Books