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

Compelling

Powerful. The choices made by those closest to Abdullah in selling his three-year old sister,Pari, create an emotionally complex story that becomes more powerful with the turn of each page.

Dr. Hosseini Does it Again! Yeah!

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

The story of several families, over decades, told by various members points of view.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how an ancillary character introduced in one chapter would become a narrator in subsequent chapters. I liked figuring out who was talking, their age, location and circumstances.

Any additional comments?

In "Kite Runner" Dr. Hosseini managed to interest me in a story of his homeland. In "A Thousand Splendid Suns," he impressed me with his ability to write convincing female characters. In this novel I RELISHED the variety of narrator voices, the intricacy of the story, and the profiles of humanity.

This is a good book.

It took me a little while to acclimate to this book. Have you read his other books? I had but this one was a bit different. I needed encouragement to stick it out and I am so thankful I did. This is a book for caregivers. Have you taken care of a sister, mother, father, ill child? Listen and enjoy.

I really tried to love this book

I can't help but think this would have been much better with different readers. I liked the fact that there were both male and female readers but their accents were so thick that it was a real effort to understand the words. I think this took away from my enjoyment. The story was in turn engaging and emotional then tedious and plodding. One minute I was totally engaged with a lump in my throat on the verge of tears and the next minute I was zoning out trying to figure out why there was so much mundane detail. All in all, not nearly as good as the author's other book..

My 2nd time around, and not my last.

Loved the narrators who made it all seem real. All his books are amazing. Thanks

Navid Negahban doesn't narrate well

And no it's not the accent because I'm a Persian... Sometimes a few words are said together as if they're one word... sometimes there should be a pause and he doesn't pause... Wish Khaled himself had narrated the whole book...

Reminds me of Babel

It's a collection of short stories that comprise of one big story. The main plot is the same but it is told from the different characters point of view. The plot and characters extend over generations, starting with two children in Afghanistan in the 1930's to California around the 2000-teens. The interconnected stories show how one person can affect another and change the course of their lives, seemingly by chance.

The plot also covers historical dates and shows how cultures change over time and space, which I enjoyed learning about. I appreciated the author using technical terminology in different fields of profession, i.e. medical terminology, IT computer terminology, and how a camera works.

The verb "sonder" means to see other people in your life and realize their lives are as deep and complex as your own, and to realize we are all extras in each other's personal movie. It's a bit like that. And a bit like the movie Babel, where personal events around the world affect different people, who you may not have thought would be related.

There are many human emotions and messes in the stories, from missed connections, to making realizations too late, to dealing with the feelings that come along with caring for declining parents, and the full spectrum of emotions that comes along with love, fidelity, and betrayal in family. It is beautifully written, and you can feel the ache in the characters hearts, and it makes you reflect in your own life and reflect on how you might be treating yourself and others around you.

I give four stars overall because the voices were hard for me to tune into, and did not command attention on their own, and in the beginning the interconnected short story format was hard to follow. I love this author's other two works, so maybe if I read this book instead of listening, I would have been more engaged from the beginning.

enjoyable but difficult understanding with accents

The story was good. And I appreciated the different character voices. However the accents were very heavy and extremely difficult to understand at times. I felt like I missed a lot of this story and it was not as enjoyable, simply because I had to concentrate so hard on understanding what was being said.

another moving Hosseini book

This book was different than the first two. It adds dimension to the impact Hosseini's stories had on me. It isn't as powerful as the Kite Runner, or moving as 1000 Splendid Suns, but it cements beauty and tragedy of the lives of common people. I give it 5 stars because I'm glad I read it. It was good for me.

Splendid

Enjoyed it from beginning to the end. Made me very emotional, being refugee myself.
Great book. Great narrators also.