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

Narration very difficult

The story is good. But the narrators.... Ugh!!
Someone mentioned that the male narrator sounded like he had marbles in his mouth. I agree. I know this accent, but he sort of slurred the words. I turned up the volume in an effort to understand him better. And the woman... OMG. She was easy enough to understand, but the gravelly voice was not pleasant. And she took a breath. In the middle of the sentence.
I'm still listening to this book as I am enjoying the story and the eloquent use of the English language, but before I get another of Mr. Hosseni, I will certainly listen to a sample. Please Mr. Hosseni... If you read these reviews, think twice before using these narrators again. I have over 300 audible books and this one ranks at the very bottom as far as the narration goes.

thoroughly enjoyed this one

I love the different narrators, and the challenge of understanding the different accents.

Hosseini wrote another beautiful novel. it isn't my favorite of his stories, but it is still a gem.

I wish I could give it a TEN!

Gritty and realistic, this beautiful tale is narrated masterfully. I can't say enough about this book. I really appreciated some of the reviews that led me to purchase this. I'm not going to give away the story though! I don't want to ruin it. But it is very beautifully narrated by the author and Negahban and Aghdashloo. I was transported to Afghanistan by their haunting voices. They brought the tale to life for me. From the very first words to the last sentence, I was transported to a world at once brutally realistic and yet the author paints the pictures with such beauty that I wanted to stay there longer. You will love this tale and the narration. I wish I could give it a ten!

Patience

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

Top 5%

What was one of the most memorable moments of And the Mountains Echoed?

The red wagon

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I like that Afghani narrators including the author were used. They narrated at a measured pace. Without good equipment some English words and many French words might be tough to untangle. I didn't mind. I can't imagine trying to sound out place names, character names and other Middle Eastern words in print.

If you could take any character from And the Mountains Echoed out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Abdullah

Any additional comments?

This book will lead you through some dark and bright places. It evokes strong emotions.

Inspiring & heartfelt, as always

Khaled Hosseini never fails to amaze me with his beautifully crafted stories, the depth of his characters, and the grace with which he reveals the secrets and wisdom of the human experience. I also enjoyed the narrators and their ability to bring this book to life for me.

Complex character development

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

The book is an excellent story though very complex in the development of the characters. It covers an extended period of time and illustrates the sequence of the Afghanistan history. The character development and the sense of what people did and went through to survive are very real in the book.

Not my favorite Hosseini, but very good

The story line is much more difficult to follow than in his first two novels, but his writing style and love of language is so exquisite, that it is still superb. It is worth your time.

weaker than first two books of the author

start is intriguing, first half is ok, last third is mediocre. worse than previous works.

Great story but hard to follow as an audio book

Any additional comments?

I had a hard time following the story on audio book format. After listening to the first 4 chapters on audible, I switched to a paper copy of the book and found that a lot easier to follow. Since the book switches to different vignettes with different characters in different time periods so much, it was hard to know what was happening. This is a shortcoming of the way audio books are read - there are no clues telling you that it is starting a new section or new paragraph, whereas in printed books there are gaps on the page or sometime special separator marks to signal the reader that a new scene is starting. When audio books are recorded, these clues to the reader are not verbalized.

Beautiful.

This is a wonderful story of family and love. I highly recommend this book. I loved it. You may too.