Khaled Hosseini rose to fame with the phenomenal success of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which depicted the war-torn terrain of a
wounded Afghanistan, and the fragile relationships between father and son, as
well as mother and daughter.
Hosseini’s third book, And
the Mountains Echoed, is another tearjerker filled with heartbreaking
emotions, and the yearning for redemption. Set in rural Afganhistan of the
1950s, Hosseini immediately engrosses the reader through the narration of a
folk tale about a farmer named Baba Ayub, whose son is kidnapped by a vicious
demon. This introductory story serves as a sort of warning or foreshadowing of disastrous
events to come.
The narrator of this story is a hardworking labourer,
Saboor, who is later forced to give away one of his children. Abdullah and Pari
are two siblings who have an inseparable bond but are torn apart as one of them
is sold to a wealthy couple in Kabul. The novel then recounts the many repercussions
of this separation and how it intertwines with, and affects the lives of future
generations across the globe.
Unlike The Kite Runner
and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which
followed the lives of a few central characters, And the Mountains Echoed is narrated by a new character in each chapter.
Although this new style of experimenting with different characters may seem a
bit complicated, Hosseini beautifully seams each chapter together into one
coherent whole.
In addition to Abdullah and Pari’s stories of love, loss, and
betrayal are many sub-stories that all echo the central themes of the novel,
which are loss and family betrayal. There is the story of Parwana and her twin
sister, filled with deep seated pathos and jealousy; the story of the
narcissistic Nila Wahdati who dares to defy traditional Afghan values and flees
off to Paris; the life of a boy Adel whose father steals the land of Abdullah’s
family; and the relationship of a social worker with a woman whose face has
been scarred brutally by a dog bite.
The different stories intersect with each other, and depict
the many strands and variations of human emotions across diverse cultures. Each
story can stand on its own, but the way Hosseini connects the different dots in
his poignant style, leaves one yearning for more. The introductory chapter is
the most powerful start to a heartrending story, and leaves the reader racing
through the pages in anticipation of how the characters will strive to achieve
redemption.
The uniqueness of the novel lies in the complexity of the
characters and how Hosseini brings them to life. The writer gives each
character depth, and one can relate to each protagonist’s heartbreaks, failures
and desire for atonement. The novel takes you on an exciting globetrotting
journey as you start from Afghanistan and explore Greece, America and Paris
through the eyes of a new and enigmatic persona. Even though most of the novel
is centered in Europe and the United States, Afghanistan plays a central role
in the hearts of all the characters. Much like his previous novels, Hosseini
portrays how a person’s ties to their home country are never completely broken.
Afghanistan keeps resonating in each person’s mind, is imprinted in their
souls, and echoes like a nostalgic yearning.
Although the book is undeniably absorbing and captivating, Hosseini seems to be sticking to the same tedious formula that aims to tug at the heartstrings of his readers, through the tale of fractured relationships and the destruction of Afghanistan. In many ways, the book explores the same themes and relationship dynamics explored in the previous bestsellers. It’s almost as if the book is designed to be made into a movie, guaranteeing commercial success. Nevertheless, it will leave you teary eyed, and longing for more. It is definitely a compelling summer read!
This review was originally published in the The Queen's Journal
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1 comment:
This has too many characters. Very difficult to correlate each other. Most of time went past in correlating the characters. Couldn't, understand what was the start and where it finished.
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