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

DON'T LISTEN TO OTHER REVIEWS ON NARRATION!!

So many reviews are commenting on the narration and their dislike for the accent. To say the narrator sounds like he "has a mouthful of marbles" is offensive. It's an accent not a speech impediment.
Personally I found the narration to add to the story. If you loved The Life of Pi you will enjoy this narration. Listening to an audiobook that deals with different cultures, I expect to hear those different cultures. This book would not have had the same inpact on me if it were spoken in an american accent.

A wonderful Book - Poor performance

This is a very good book by Khaled Hosseini but unfortunately the audible presentation is spoiled by the narrators Navid Negahban & Shohreh Aghdashloo who have a very heavy accent that makes it really difficult to follow what they are saying. I would recommend skipping the audible book and reading it. Mr. Hosseini should have read the whole book like he did his first two.

What is up with the narration?

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

I really can't separate the book from the poor narration, but I will give the author the benefit of the doubt based on his previous books. I will probably go buy a copy to read on my own. This version is impossible to understand. It's very frustrating to try to listen to a non-native English speaker butcher the syntax of a beautifully written book. I GET that the author is a non-native English speaker. HOWEVER, when I buy an audiobook, I expect to be able to understand the narrator's rendition. This is ridiculous. I feel like I am translating as I'm listening. I don't buy audiobooks so that I have to work this hard to understand the text!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I can't understand what the narrator is saying.

Was And the Mountains Echoed worth the listening time?

Maybe--I can't tell.

The first part is wonderful, then it bogs down.

While the narrators fit the story, it was hard to understand them at times, especially the woman. Was it "t-shirt" or "teacher, " for example. Usually the meaning is apparent, but sometimes there is confusion because you "hear" the wrong word.
The first part of the story was exquisite, but then too many characters were introduced making me wish for more about the original characters.

Hosseini's Mountains Echoed Total Disappointment!

After the power of Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns this book
left me cold. It just jumps around with little or no depth. In spots there
are glimmers of what this author is capable of but they don't last. After
the long wait this book was a waste of my time and suffering through it
has left me resentful.

Don't Listen! Read This Great Story Yourself!

It is no doubt that Khaled Hosseini is a masterful storyteller. This book was no exception. However, I had much more difficulty really getting into the story, fully immersed in the characters' experiences and feelings, than I did with his previous two books. I imagine that part of the issue was that I struggled with the accents of the three readers. Still, there were several times the individual experiences and atrocities the characters experienced and the hardships they faced made me feel physically ill with sadness. So the entire review of this book boils down to two things for me: 1) Love Khaled Hosseini? Then read this book. 2) Planning on reading this book? Read it. Pick up the print or digital copy and actually READ it, don't listen to it. Then, it's probably worth 4 stars or more.

The book is great but the reading....

I’m really struggling to understand the words because of the accents of the readers. I’m really disappointed I was very excited for this book.

3 in a row!

When this book was first released, I was a little bit slow to download it. I wasn't sure that his third book would equal the others, but I was wrong. Yet another excellent, layered story from Khalid Hussaini. The people, politics and poverty of Afghanistan spring to life in the hands of this skillful writer.

Not sure what I think.

Any additional comments?

I didn't have any trouble with the accents and Im kind of surprised a lot of other people did. The story was good but there was too much jumping around between characters and between generations for me to keep up with. I have a hard time with any book that has a lot of characters. At the end when they focused only on the two main characters and only in one time frame I really started to get interested but then soon after it was the end.

Good storytelling, annoying reading

Would you try another book from Khaled Hosseini and/or the narrators?

Yes re Hosseini, no re the narrators

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

First half was strong. Second half lost steam. No satisfying ending either -- which is ok since it was basically a set of independent stories.

How could the performance have been better?

Reading the stories in Afghan accents was annoying, but one of the narrators in particular made me want to turn off the book. It was a good book but I really disliked the reading.