Khaled Hosseini has set the bar high
with his first two novels, The Kite
Runner (2003) and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2009); fortunately his latest release, And the Mountains Echoed, doesn’t
disappoint and proves to be a more than worthy successor. Following the same
themes of conflict, betrayal, friendship, love, and loyalty, the novel is once
again set in Afghanistan, but feels original despite the same backdrop of war.
The story opens by a father telling his
children a fable- one that ruthlessly foreshadows the separation of brother and
sister, Abdulla and Pari, who share an unusually strong bond adoring one
another immensely. As Pari is whisked away from the small countryside village
of Shadbagh to bustling Kabul, the lives of the siblings change forever. The
initial rupture leads to a multitude of splintering circumstances that perpetuate
throughout the story that spans 60years. The story unfolds by telling of the subsequent ramifications that stem from the single line in the
fable, 'A finger had to be cut to save the hand.’
Just as things start to look up for Pari
and she settles into a new life with the wealthy Wahdati family, she finds herself relocated to Paris where she will grow
up with mysterious voids and unexplainable absences in her life.
Will the hitherto seemingly inseparable
siblings be reunited? How will their lives unfold without one another?
Hosseini is incredibly skilled in
juggling between the third and first person narrative, interconnecting the multi-faceted
short stories, and in spanning three continents; he explores these stories with
such precision, depth, and variety, whilst continually achieving a sense of unity
and coherence.
Hosseini encompasses both the political
and domestic worlds, as with his other novels, but he also explores the deeply
personal: the selfish and deceitful decisions made by one character and the consequent
ripples this will have on the whole network of characters.
Defying the established principles,
Hosseini introduces a vast multitude of different relationships and stories
that would ordinarily attract criticism, but none seem superfluous, none seem
contrived. Instead, they all appear important in demonstrating the complexities
of Afghan society. It is true that certain aspects are perhaps lingered upon,
characters developed who could be dispensed with, perhaps Hosseini is a little
too intent on incorporating his own experiences, but none of this proves
jarring. The narrative digressions allow one to become absorbed in the book, to
empathise anew for each of the characters and to create suspense throughout by forming
an atmosphere in which we are on edge, not knowing where Hosseini is ultimately
taking us.
The ending is a slight departure from
what Hosseini fans might be used to, the ends come neatly together, but we are
not indulged with the typical 'happy ending.' Nevertheless, the conclusion is
aptly bittersweet, it is touching if not so much heart-warming or fulfilling. Ultimately
it is a novel that explores unspoken feelings and regrets obliging any reader
to linger upon their own missed opportunities, fractured relationships, and reassessing
the direction their life has taken; Hosseini certainly lives up to his name of
‘master storyteller’.
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I spent just over a day and a half reading the book, one of which was spent languidly laying around without many cares, (my exams are over), soaking up Hosseini's stories and having strange nostalgic impulses of my own.
Much tea was consumed, and although I tried to slow down the reading to make the book last a little longer, my attempts weren't successful enough to give me time to clean my multitude of mugs of tea.
Have you ever read any Hosseini? Were you as gripped as I was?
