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A review by samanthajanecates
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
4.0
Giving a Khaled Hosseini book anything less than 5 stars seems criminal in my mind. And yet I was debating if And the Mountains Echoed was even worthy of 4 stars.
Here's the thing. This was a good book. I cried from time to time and gasped at some revelations as my slow brain connected the dots. Hosseini is an amazing storyteller, but I couldn't help but think this story had too many moving parts.
From the beginning, Hosseini has us readers forming a bond with characters Pari and Abdullah. And then we are ripped away from them to hear stories of Parwana and Mosooma, the Wahdatis, Dr. Markos and Thalia, and the Bashiri cousins, to name a few. While some of these storylines are pertinent to the plot, I wanted more of the original characters. I found it hard to stay engaged in the book, as I felt it lacked a strong plot, and simply shared stories of slightly connected individuals.
Why the 4 stars then? Because if you can tough it out and get through the slow parts, there are lessons to be learned in every chapter. Hosseini digs deep to describe humanity in a way that we can all relate to (this is his superpower as an author). This is evident in just a few of the book's famous quotes:
“I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.”
“The rope that pulls you from the flood can become a noose around your neck.”
“Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. And if you were poor, suffering was your currency.”
And the Mountains Echoed is worth the read if you give yourself the patience to see it through.
Here's the thing. This was a good book. I cried from time to time and gasped at some revelations as my slow brain connected the dots. Hosseini is an amazing storyteller, but I couldn't help but think this story had too many moving parts.
From the beginning, Hosseini has us readers forming a bond with characters Pari and Abdullah. And then we are ripped away from them to hear stories of Parwana and Mosooma, the Wahdatis, Dr. Markos and Thalia, and the Bashiri cousins, to name a few. While some of these storylines are pertinent to the plot, I wanted more of the original characters. I found it hard to stay engaged in the book, as I felt it lacked a strong plot, and simply shared stories of slightly connected individuals.
Why the 4 stars then? Because if you can tough it out and get through the slow parts, there are lessons to be learned in every chapter. Hosseini digs deep to describe humanity in a way that we can all relate to (this is his superpower as an author). This is evident in just a few of the book's famous quotes:
“I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.”
“The rope that pulls you from the flood can become a noose around your neck.”
“Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. And if you were poor, suffering was your currency.”
And the Mountains Echoed is worth the read if you give yourself the patience to see it through.