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

I love all of his books! Great Listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Most of the narrators fit the story and did a great job. I love when he reads his own books. While I don't feel this was as powerful as the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (Kite Runner my all time fav) This never left me wanting. I Love this author and this book.

Poor narrators

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book/story is worthy of read. The audio version offered by Audible is intolerable. Monotone, poor diction..I abandoned it after a few hours and went for a printed version

Another masterpiece!

Khaled Hosseini, is a wonderful story teller... beautiful story, I wish it had been longer

WARNING:Read this book instead of listening to it!

Would you listen to And the Mountains Echoed again? Why?

Absolutely not. The heavily accented voices of Mr. Negahban and Ms. Aghdashloo make it very difficult to follow the story. I have enjoy listening to Mr. Hosseini read his books in the past, and I wish that he had narrated the entire book this time as well, instead of just one chapter. I almost gave up about halfway through.

Wonderful!

Any additional comments?

I am not sure I have ever read a book that is told in such a way that each chapter follows a different character. The rotating voices and their respective excellent performances in this audiobook helped bring that to life.

Typical of Hosseini, the characters are engaging, and the plot is complex and fully fleshed out -- you just can't see the full picture until you're done.

Another wonderful book. I can't wait to see what he writes next!

Great book! Great Listen!

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

Any additional comments?

What a treat to hear this story through Khaled Hosseini's own voice. This book follows the same great writing style and character development that I have come to love in Hosseini's other works. I am sad it is over and am already missing the characters.

A challenging, enthralling read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you enjoyed The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns or even Three Cups of Tea this book is for you. Great additional insight and understanding into the struggles for generations of one family in Afghanistan. The conditions and circumstances they must endure. The great lengths and sacrifices they must go through to educate and keep their children safe in a country that is going to shreds.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Parris.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't think so. But I enjoyed all of the narrators for this production. Their accents and english pronunciations made the book credible.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

From the writer who brought you The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns comes And The Mountains Echoed. The incredible multi-generational story of two Afghanistan siblings separated at an early age who, having been thrust into very different paths in life, trust that they will somehow reunite.

And The Mountains Echoed - in theaters soon!

The Story Echoes

Khaled Hosseini has a special talent for writing stories that ring horribly true, yet despite the subject matter that might seem too sad or immoral to bear, the beauty of his narrative and the wonderful building of each character produce something beautiful and satisfying. So it was with Kite Runner and in my opinion, even more so in And the Mountains Echoed.

Afghanistan is a country that calls up bleak images to my mind, but in this book the author manages to provide the reader with a different set of images and more vivid colors for this part of the world. This is a story of a family first torn apart and then mended to some extent. The end does not try to justify anything, but it does allow one some measure of hope.

I am positive that everyone will enjoy this book. It's appeal is universal.

Performance by Mr Negahban was dismal

What did you like best about And the Mountains Echoed? What did you like least?

I love how each story he tells is an echo of the fairy tale told at the begining of the book.

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

Ms Agdashlou was so so. I know she can do a better job than what she did on the audio. I've seen her perform in roles where she spoke English and she is an Oscar nominated actress. Her tolerable performance compounded with Mr Neghaban's awful reading of the story (at times I felt he doesn't even understand what he is reading - it is just awful) so I think that it was most likely the director who didn't do their job. Btw, Mr. Hosseini is a wonderful narrator! I enjoyed the parts where he read the book.

Beautiful story-narration mediocre

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I am not sure that I would recommend this book in audiobook format. Each of the collection of stories is narrated by a different narrator. Mr. Hosseini and Ms. Aghdashloo were easy to listen to and although they both have an accent, their telling of the story was not intrusive to the story. This was not the case with Mr. Negahban. Heavy accent combined with odd cadence and inflection made for difficult listening. I bought the book in Kindle format so I could read his parts.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were memorable; tragic and sympathetic at once.

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

No. There was too much to absorb.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Hosseini's command of the English language is impressive. He is a true wordsmith, much of which is lost in this format. I'm glad I listened to this book, but now I will read it in Kindle format.