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astronautin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Suicide
Minor: Drug abuse
blau_elmo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Emotional, dark and sad, uncovering all the depressing stories nestled within Afghanistan following the war.
A novel covering the stories of the different generations of a single family, some left a more lasting impact than others, but reading it gave me a better understanding of the turmoil of the Afghan people, as well as greater insight into the geopolitical climate of the region at the time.
Hosseini never fails to deliver his poignant stories of family, love, loss and his everpresent representation of his homeland.
A novel covering the stories of the different generations of a single family, some left a more lasting impact than others, but reading it gave me a better understanding of the turmoil of the Afghan people, as well as greater insight into the geopolitical climate of the region at the time.
Hosseini never fails to deliver his poignant stories of family, love, loss and his everpresent representation of his homeland.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: War
forgetmenotsareflowers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Confusing, read when you have energy to think
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence
lesejaguar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, War, Death of parent, Dementia, and Suicide
cultbyproxy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The rope that pulls you from the flood can become a noose around your neck.
and the mountains echoed tells the story of several families, all connected by afghanistan, over a period of 50 years. it starts with a folktale which can be seen as an allegory to the ways in which the lives of our characters will unfold. from the small fictional village of shadbagh, the lives of abdullah and pari unfold and spill into the lives of those as near as pakistan and as far as france and the united states. it is a story of descent, a story of effect and consequence, and ultimately a story of family (both the one we choose and the one we don’t). steeped in culture, i felt invited into a home unlike my own and made to feel welcome. enjoying the delicacies, language and customs unaccustomed to me. as a guest, i began my education, and as a friend i concluded it.
yes, this is the story of brother and sister, of parent and child, but it is so much more. it is love, and loss, and secrets, and friendship, and the attempt to reconcile the holes in our hearts that grow wider, and deeper, with age and experience.
yes, this is the story of brother and sister, of parent and child, but it is so much more. it is love, and loss, and secrets, and friendship, and the attempt to reconcile the holes in our hearts that grow wider, and deeper, with age and experience.
the characters were slightly disjointed to me in the beginning, with an array of characters that probably required a mind map to keep up with how each one is connected to the other. the ever-changing POVs make it a little difficult to really sink into each character; however, as the chapters continue they become more established and easier to decipher.
overall, definitely something to add to my frequently forgotten favourites list.
Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
- Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th Century
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
karwc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
One of the best writers of our time. This book is poetry because of Hosseini’s beautiful style of writing. It will tear your heart in half like The Kite Runner did.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Grief, Murder, Child death, War, Terminal illness, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Death
grapefruitjuice's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism, Chronic illness, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and War
schnarlie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Dementia, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Murder, and War
Minor: Physical abuse and Cancer
stacy_es's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The moment Nabi wrote his letter this book became something completely different for me and it stayed like that till the end of it. I liked all these character lines interconnected, all these parallels between two sisters and cousins, mothers’ images, painful separation from parents, and just overall different life stories, too often hard and having sad endings. I wish I knew till the end the story of Iqbal’s son and his rich friend, and I wish I saw Pari helping him out with what she inherited. But it would definitely be too of happy end style. Anyways, it was undoubtedly good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: War, Suicide, and Alcoholism
ginbat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Hosseini's writing always has a poetic feeling to it, I would say this book is of course more "enjoyable" than The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns if only because our characters are not subject to the same amount of violence. This story is more.. Floaty? The only thing keeping it from 5 stars is that the ending feels too much like ATSS.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, Abandonment, War, Chronic illness, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Infertility
Minor: Child death
Adoption trauma