And the Mountains Echoed

By: Khaled Hosseini

Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Length: 14 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

On May 21, 2013, the new novel from Khaled Hosseini: an unforgettable story about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.

Khaled Hosseini, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. 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 passing minute.

©2013 Khaled Hosseini (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Another excellent book by Khaled Hosseini!

The different narrations help the reader know all the many characters on a better level! Fascinating as the characters are developed through the generations! A wonderful book by an amazing author!

Complex characters

Amazing descriptions of the actions, characters, and conversations. I found the accents of the narrators difficult sometimes, especially the woman.

Wonderful Story (But Get it in Print)

I loved this story, but for much of the time I was struggling to understand two of the narrators. There is no reason that I can think of that multiple narrators were even needed. It added nothing to the story. In fact, the difficulty that I had in understanding the heavily accented English often detracted from the story. Get this one in print and enjoy (and understand) every word.

Many characters and many stories...

...told by many narrators! You won't get bored or forget these stories anytime soon. Haunting.

Worth waiting for...

If you could sum up And the Mountains Echoed in three words, what would they be?

Three words just won't do it. Mr. Hosseini is a true treasure and this book is the epitome of the expression "anything worth having is worth waiting for." The story has lingered with me so strongly that I haven't wanted to start another book -- and I am envious of people who haven't read it because they get to read it for the first time! The reason I gave the performance 4 stars instead of 5 is that the accent of one of the narrators made him somewhat difficult for me to understand until I was able to adapt to it, which I eventually did. Thank you, Mr. Hosseini.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was so strong that I was able to completely give myself over to it and allow it to carry me along.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators facilitated a feeling of "cultural presence" that I would not have had if I had read the book.

Any additional comments?

I'm getting older - don't wait six years to publish your next book!

Buyer Beware

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I have loved all of Hosseini's previous books but this one was challenging to listen to. It involves many story lines, many points of view and jumping from present to past tense. And I'm usually ok with following along but this one was tough and the ending (when it finally came) dropped off like a cliff. And the narrators are DIFFICULT and frustrating to understand (and accents don't usually bother me).

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story itself has a good premise. Just too bogged down with jumping from characters to tenses to narrators.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

Hosseini for all characters.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Depends.

Any additional comments?

Hosseini, please make more stories like the "Kite Runner." I feel it was your best work to date!

Well Worth my time.

Its tough to get better than The Kite Runner but This book was just as unique. I loved it. I long for another book from this author.

Difficult to understand readers

What disappointed you about And the Mountains Echoed?

The story got lost in my continuous effort to understand the readers.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

l

How could the performance have been better?

Readers should not have foreign accents that make them difficult to understand

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The book was good but I didn't get to enjoy it

Any additional comments?

Pass through full chapters just to not battle the reader

Worth listening to...but not his best book

Any additional comments?

I LOVED his previous two books, so I was going to read/listen to this newest one despite any negative reviews. Hosseini IS a story teller. He is magical with words and capturing a feeling, a place, a character's insight.I enjoyed this book for the most part. I did have to really pay attention at first during some of the narration; the heave accent was difficult to wade through at first. This novel felt disjointed a little at times, and I couldn't immediately see how every person and place was connected, but eventually the story all came around.

Truthfully, if I had to do it over, I may have read the print version instead of listening to the audio. There were times I wanted to flip back and look at a certain page and refresh my memory. The names, places, and dates mixed together in head too much.

well-painted, braided story

What made the experience of listening to And the Mountains Echoed the most enjoyable?

The author and several other readers helped convey this story in a most compelling voice. Men and boys by the men readers, girls and women by the female. Because the author is himself Afghani, his authentic accent and speech helped ground the text. I don't think I would have been so affected by it, had I read it instead of listening to it.

What other book might you compare And the Mountains Echoed to and why?

Because the story was told from multiple points of view in progressive time periods, conditions of love and separation and the decisions made for us by parents are highlighted in an unforgettable way. Although other books have used multiple points of view of several characters, this book is unusually effective.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Through the device of always writing in the first person, the narrators afford us voiced glimpses of the interior thoughts and memories of many different characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I enjoyed listening in separate episodes. Wanting to make it last, I did not want to read it all in one sitting. I wanted to savor the thoughts of the different characters.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book more and more, though it left me very sad for some characters and nostalgic in my own life.