Book Blurb:
In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.
Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.
My Review: 3 stars
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And The Mountains Echoed is a historical fiction work about family that surrounds the globe. The first third of this book was by far the best, sucking you into the story just like the fable that author Hosseini starts with. By the middle of the book, there are so many characters with different story lines that I became confused, yet I also knew they would somehow connect. Sadly the flow and commitment to these characters wasn’t there and I found myself hurrying to find out what happened to the original characters Abdullah and Pari from the first part of the book. Thankfully, he wraps up with that story but for me, this book didn’t have the heart that usually comes from this amazing author, known for his earlier work, The Kite Runner, which is one of my all time favorite books.
Quotes I liked:
I now know that some people feel unhappiness the way others love: privately, intensely, and without recourse.”
– “It blistered the eyes, beauty like hers.”
– “And there wasn’t a toy on earth that could make up for his father’s absence.”
– “J’aurais du etre plus gentille-I should have been more kind. This is something a person will never regret. You will never say to yourself when you are old, Ah, I wish I was not good to that person. You will never think like that.”
– “Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly.”
-“It’s a funny thing… but people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really, what guides them is what they’re afraid of. What they don’t want.”
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Too bad to hear that this one isn’t quite as powerful as his others. I am still interested in giving it a try, but on the whole I haven’t heard as many good things as I did with his other two.
I know… I think after a mega hit like the Kite Runner nothing he writes will compare! He’s still a poetic writer and you should still read his latest book.