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

he's back!!

great book. i loved how it was told from multiple points of view. must read

lovely lyrical writing, not an uplifting tale

If you have read any of his other books, you know that they are not light-hearted romps thru the clover. However. It has been years since I read A thousand splendid suns and kite runner, but i do not remember feeling so down when i finished them.
The language is exquisite, as are his other novels. Unfortunately the narration detracts from the beauty and impact of the words. There are three narrators who voice different parts of the collection. Mr Hosseini himself does a good job, and I must admit it is a breath of fresh air to hear the native pronunciations of the places and names, really the best part of the narration. Ms. Aghdashloo has such a distinctive, smokey voice, it is always a pleasure to listen to. Mr. Negahban's english is exceptional, but I had trouble understanding his narration, rewinding several times. This is my own personal opinion, and not a condemnation of Mr. Nagahban. After all, I speak no second language so have no idea how difficult it must be to master one.
All that being said, it is a wonderfully written book, and I am not disappointed in haivng read/listened to it. Nabi's letter, in particular, I enjoyed very much. The opening storyline, also, was excellent. It is a vivid portrayal of choices and consequences, luck,perseverance, good and bad deeds and finally, human nature. Worth the credit, for sure.

Great listen, but only small stretches at a time

I partly enjoyed this listening experience because of the readers who gave the narrative an authentic sound. Having said that, it was also at times difficult to fully melt into the story because listening to it required attentive listening, lest I misunderstand the *thick* speech. Definitely listen to the sample to determine if you can handle it. My husband couldn't make it through three minutes.

The story itself was beautiful, with rich depth and a lovely balance between characters. Many of the characters were touched upon from the POV of that character for one segment of the book, and then that person might appear in another chapter from someone else's POV, and this spanned some 60+ years so sometimes we would see the same character as a child, an adult, and an old person. Brilliantly written.

After finishing the book, I was left a little melancholy... a few of the loose ends were tidied in an unsatisfactory way. I'm not sure I would call this uplifting. Also, I will add that this is heavily character-driven and not a lot "happens." Sometimes I would be so totally bored I had to switch to another novel for a while. But when I came back to this one, I enjoyed it again and dove into it. I've read character novels with better pacing and I think this could have benefited from a better edit through some of the slower parts... having said that, I still recommend it. Good history, great descriptions of many landscapes and cultures in different parts of the world, excellent capturing of numerous characters.

A little lack-luster

I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but found that I had a harder time getting into this book. It wasn't awful, but I felt this book's story wasn't up to par with the previous two books. Still remain hopeful for any new books of Hosseini :D

Wonderful book!

The narrator's made this book an easy listen and helped to distinguish characters! I'd listen to it again!

Worthwhile

An interesting, engaging story, well told. I found portions of the story stronger than others, both in content and performance yet as the story progressed, understood better why the pieces were arranged as they were.
Found the ending especially worthy.

Powerful story

Hosseini moves between perspectives, giving insight through narrative into the complexities of human relationship and the larger societal and cultural landscapes within which identities are forged for better and for worse. It is heartrending and hopeful.
The narration is perfect. I read the reviews that some of the accents are difficult to understand. It is true that I had to train my ear to understand what is less familiar to me, but I was grateful for the authenticity of voice lended to the stories. I think this has become my favorite of Hosseini’s novels to date.

jumps around too much.

this was not my favorite book by kalid it's very difficult to follow and understand.

So disappointed in the narration

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

Good Story Hard listen

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

Didn't get that far in the book - gave up due to the poor narration.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I don't know why Hosseini felt the need to create an unnatural and slurred way of speaking as he read his story. His own voice or another's narration would have been much preferred. I have decided not to continue with the Audible listening and instead find a copy of the book to read. Very disappointing. I had the same problem with Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver's book ,where she read her own story - sometimes having the author read their works is just not a good idea. I wish Audible would pay more attention to this matter.

Any additional comments?

I wish I could get a refund on this purchase

He captures the time and place like a photo

Where does And the Mountains Echoed rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 10% The slow pace of telling may bug some, but it is the local way of telling a story setting the time and place and slowly developing the picture. I have been in country this is classical work.

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

I liked the kite book, and the 1000 suns were better, but all different enough.but I felt the first two more,and felt the writer was opening his own heart with the stories.

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

no savor it

Any additional comments?

This is a Doctor with great ease with language. His stories are not dressed up or slanted for pity. It is what it is. Like a photo of these times, no undue drama, but no hiding life. Everything he writes is excellent in any language. A rare writer in these times.