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And the Mountains Echoed
So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one...Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled. One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand. Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, with profound wisdom, depth, insight and compassion, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, the ways in which we help our loved ones in need, how the choices we make resonate through history and how we are often surprised by the people closest to us.
404 pages, Hardcover
First published February 29, 2012
About the author
Khaled Hosseini
39 books156k followersHosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. In 1970 Hosseini and his family moved to Iran where his father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran. In 1973 Hosseini's family returned to Kabul, and Hosseini's youngest brother was born in July of that year.
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, Hosseini's father obtained a job in Paris, France, and moved the family there. They were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Saur Revolution in which the PDPA communist party seized power through a bloody coup in April 1978. Instead, a year after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1980 they sought political asylum in the United States and made their residence in San Jose, California.
Hosseini graduated from Independence High School in San Jose in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. in 1993. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1996. He practiced medicine for over ten years, until a year and a half after the release of The Kite Runner.
Hosseini is currently a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The concept for the foundation was inspired by the trip to Afghanistan that Hosseini made in 2007 with UNHCR.
He lives in Northern California with his wife, Roya, and their two children (Harris and Farah).
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, Hosseini's father obtained a job in Paris, France, and moved the family there. They were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Saur Revolution in which the PDPA communist party seized power through a bloody coup in April 1978. Instead, a year after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1980 they sought political asylum in the United States and made their residence in San Jose, California.
Hosseini graduated from Independence High School in San Jose in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. in 1993. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1996. He practiced medicine for over ten years, until a year and a half after the release of The Kite Runner.
Hosseini is currently a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The concept for the foundation was inspired by the trip to Afghanistan that Hosseini made in 2007 with UNHCR.
He lives in Northern California with his wife, Roya, and their two children (Harris and Farah).
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December 4, 2013
Date I finished this book: 06/09/2013
Date I was ready to review this book: Never
Unfortunately, I have to review it because it is due back to the library tomorrow, so here comes my completely insufficient review.
This book is by Khaled Hosseini.
Really, what more is there to say? I knew it would be wonderful.
I have to admit that the problem I ran into was that I was comparing it to his previous two books too often. And let's face it, they were amazing. And this book is incredible in its own right, too, but it's not to be compared. So, I tried to view this as its own book (which it most certainly is) and forget I had ever read the other two and that this was the first time I was experiencing Hosseini.
I'm not going to recap. It would be pretty difficult to not give anything away. There are many stories within this one story. The characters are intertwined, although many will never realize that they are. The story comes full circle, but this is Mr. Khaled Hosseini, so I didn't expect a full blown happy ending. And *SPOILER ALERT*, I didn't really get one.
None of this business going on:
Although, I will say that maybe Disney and Hosseini are of one mind. Or at least Sebastian and Hosseini:
Yes it is, Sebastian. Yes it is.
What have I learned from this book?
We (the human race) have (mostly) good intentions. But we (mostly) do not follow through. We soothe ourselves. We convince ourselves. We justify our actions. Or our lack of actions. We have an "out of sight, out of mind" way of thinking. It's a human flaw. And sometimes it has consequences that we cannot comprehend. Consequences that we may never realize because, hey, it's out of sight. Oh sure. Just like him to point out WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! Not that I'm taking it personally...
One thing anyone who has read my other reviews should know is that I frequently complain about:
1. Not making me care about the characters enough
2. Not being able to envision the surroundings - the people, the buildings, the culture, etc.
I don't experience this problem with this book. The writing is so rich that I felt like I was there. My emotions reflected the emotions of the characters. I was invested.
I am not ashamed to admit that I went back to chewing on my nails while reading this - a habit I gave up over a decade ago.
SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN!!!
You would think this was an edge-of-the-seat suspense novel. It's not. But it is heartbreaking. I bet I cried no less than ten times. Granted, I cried when they showed a bear on the local news that they rescued from a telephone pole, so I cry more than the average bear (ha. ha. ha.). But it was still really heartbreaking...over and over and over because there were so many intertwined stories.
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't love it in the same way I loved the previous two, but I loved it still. And I will give you a parting paragraph that is an example of the beautiful writing that makes me savor every word of this book:
Now and then, when she turned to tap ash into a saucer, I stole a quick glance at the red polish on her toenails, at the gold-tinged sheen of her shaved calves, the high arch of her foot, and always at her full, perfectly shaped breasts. There were men walking this earth, I marveled, who had touched those breasts and kissed them as they had made love to her. What was left to do in life once you had done that? Where did a man go next once he'd stood at the world's summit?
--------------------------
I just finished this. I am emotionally drained. Review coming soon.
--------------------------
04/18/2013
Did...did I just read that there is a giveaway for this? SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
Too much?
Ok, I'll settle for cute and hope for the best. ;)
--------------------------
WHAT?! A new book by Khaled Hosseini? I can't...I just can't....I can't even think straight right now BECAUSEOHMYGOODNESSIAMSOSOSOSOSOSOSOEXCIIIIIIIIIITED!!!!!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!
Have I mentioned how EXCITED I AM!?
I am so excited!
Date I was ready to review this book: Never
Unfortunately, I have to review it because it is due back to the library tomorrow, so here comes my completely insufficient review.
This book is by Khaled Hosseini.
Really, what more is there to say? I knew it would be wonderful.
I have to admit that the problem I ran into was that I was comparing it to his previous two books too often. And let's face it, they were amazing. And this book is incredible in its own right, too, but it's not to be compared. So, I tried to view this as its own book (which it most certainly is) and forget I had ever read the other two and that this was the first time I was experiencing Hosseini.
I'm not going to recap. It would be pretty difficult to not give anything away. There are many stories within this one story. The characters are intertwined, although many will never realize that they are. The story comes full circle, but this is Mr. Khaled Hosseini, so I didn't expect a full blown happy ending. And *SPOILER ALERT*, I didn't really get one.
None of this business going on:
Although, I will say that maybe Disney and Hosseini are of one mind. Or at least Sebastian and Hosseini:
Yes it is, Sebastian. Yes it is.
What have I learned from this book?
We (the human race) have (mostly) good intentions. But we (mostly) do not follow through. We soothe ourselves. We convince ourselves. We justify our actions. Or our lack of actions. We have an "out of sight, out of mind" way of thinking. It's a human flaw. And sometimes it has consequences that we cannot comprehend. Consequences that we may never realize because, hey, it's out of sight. Oh sure. Just like him to point out WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! Not that I'm taking it personally...
One thing anyone who has read my other reviews should know is that I frequently complain about:
1. Not making me care about the characters enough
2. Not being able to envision the surroundings - the people, the buildings, the culture, etc.
I don't experience this problem with this book. The writing is so rich that I felt like I was there. My emotions reflected the emotions of the characters. I was invested.
I am not ashamed to admit that I went back to chewing on my nails while reading this - a habit I gave up over a decade ago.
SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN!!!
You would think this was an edge-of-the-seat suspense novel. It's not. But it is heartbreaking. I bet I cried no less than ten times. Granted, I cried when they showed a bear on the local news that they rescued from a telephone pole, so I cry more than the average bear (ha. ha. ha.). But it was still really heartbreaking...over and over and over because there were so many intertwined stories.
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't love it in the same way I loved the previous two, but I loved it still. And I will give you a parting paragraph that is an example of the beautiful writing that makes me savor every word of this book:
Now and then, when she turned to tap ash into a saucer, I stole a quick glance at the red polish on her toenails, at the gold-tinged sheen of her shaved calves, the high arch of her foot, and always at her full, perfectly shaped breasts. There were men walking this earth, I marveled, who had touched those breasts and kissed them as they had made love to her. What was left to do in life once you had done that? Where did a man go next once he'd stood at the world's summit?
--------------------------
I just finished this. I am emotionally drained. Review coming soon.
--------------------------
04/18/2013
Did...did I just read that there is a giveaway for this? SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
Too much?
Ok, I'll settle for cute and hope for the best. ;)
--------------------------
WHAT?! A new book by Khaled Hosseini? I can't...I just can't....I can't even think straight right now BECAUSEOHMYGOODNESSIAMSOSOSOSOSOSOSOEXCIIIIIIIIIITED!!!!!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!
Have I mentioned how EXCITED I AM!?
I am so excited!
January 13, 2014
What did I think? I don't know exactly. Like his two other books, Hosseini is an excellent storyteller. He's great with words and produces images that flow like poetry. The story is touching, emotional and speaks of life's hardships and the difficult choices one must make. Deeper than that, it speaks of how the choices you make now may have a ripple effect- or echo- over time. If you don't happen to shed a tear at some point while reading, you're heartless. He captures your emotions from the very first page and he does this very well, as he did in his other novels. You find yourself transported to 1950's Afghanistan where you smile, cry, and feel pity right alongside the unfortunate characters in this book. But Hosseini tried something different with "And The Mountains Echoed" and that was incorporating a slew of different characters as opposed to just two, like he did in his last two books, and I don't know if it worked out too well. Some people could have been mentioned in passing, or not even at all, as opposed to dedicating whole chapters to them, such as Markos and Thalia's story. Also the Bashiri cousins seemed unnecessary. Even though these characters were unique in their own way and provided food for thought regarding their plights, I still felt like these chapters dragged on when I was more concerned about what was happening with the others. It was like Hosseini deliberately sucked us in, made us get cozy with Saboor and his family just to rip them away from us and branch off onto some completely different writing exercise. As the reader, I just couldn't reshape my feelings to feel another strong connection to these new characters. Regarding the writing style, the book spanned over several generations and then spoke in the first person from the point of view of different characters from the next generation which got confusing at first, especially as he jumps between past and present and even geographical locations. Furthermore, he squeezed in yet another subplot towards the end of the book (with Iqbal and the commander) and it came off sounding short and incomplete. I feel like the author could have dedicated more pages developing and telling the story of the characters we already got to know and love in the beginning, rather than introducing new, unnecessary ones halfway through the book. This format Hosseini used left a lot of open ends and a kind of longing, leaving the reader unsatisfied.
Not my favorite out of the three but still, somehow, an enjoyable read.
Not my favorite out of the three but still, somehow, an enjoyable read.
November 14, 2015
Why do people rate books before reading them? This skews the ratings and I wish people wouldn't do so...
This was my most anticipated book of all time. I couldn't wait to read and and naturally was a bit let down. My least favorite of his three.
I found the voice in some of the chapters a bit awkward.
The characters were interesting and well developed for the most part. I didn't like how the author chose to weave everything together.
There were some very well done parts -some moments that were very beautiful. I'm glad I read this but won't anticipate the next book nearly as much although I will definitely read the next one hoping to experience something powerful.
This was my most anticipated book of all time. I couldn't wait to read and and naturally was a bit let down. My least favorite of his three.
I found the voice in some of the chapters a bit awkward.
The characters were interesting and well developed for the most part. I didn't like how the author chose to weave everything together.
There were some very well done parts -some moments that were very beautiful. I'm glad I read this but won't anticipate the next book nearly as much although I will definitely read the next one hoping to experience something powerful.
June 1, 2013
Here's something you should know about Khaled Hosseini: All his stories have more or less, the same ingredients.
It always starts with Afghanistan in its pre-war days. The protagonists are children, guileless and innocent. Then the invasion happens. People separate, the bonds between them torn apart either by fate or by design. Many gut-wrenching chapters later, there's some kind of reunion but with a catch - there's something amiss, something unfulfilled, like a testimony to the unfairness of life.
To be honest, I'm not a fan of formulaic things. Yet, when it's Hosseini telling a story, I listen. I give in. I let his words curl around me like a blanket. I fall in love. And when it's all over, I clutch the book to my chest and weep like a child.
Because formula or no formula, Khaled Hosseini just knows how to tell a story. He knows what to say and how to say it. It's like an art he's mastered - and no matter how many times he does it, the impact of it doesn't seem to fade.
And the Mountains Echoed is an ode to siblinghood and all the joys and heartbreaks that come with it - the anguish of separation, the guilt of envy, the comfort of companionship, the burden of responsibility. Unlike his previous books, Hosseini adopts a short-story approach for this one. There are multiple narratives in multiple time-frames spread across several different countries, all connected by a common link to Afghanistan.
The writing is beautiful, as always. Sample this:
And the Mountains Echoed was one of my most anticipated books this year and it did not disappoint. That being said, it pales in comparison to his previous works - The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Maybe it was the multiple POV thing. With so many characters and so many stories, it's inevitable that some would hit harder than the rest. Personally, I found the first half more emotionally striking - Abdullah, Nabi and Parwana's stories all made me tear up. I missed Afghanistan in the later segments.
And in case it wasn't obvious enough, I just wanted to say that I love Khaled Hosseini. If it weren't for him, I would havefoolishly associated Afghanistan with just the Taliban. It's shocking how little I know about this country even though it's so close to mine.
Thank you for the culture-cum-history lessons, Mr. Hosseini. And even if your next book adheres to the formula, I'll still read it and in all likelihood, cherish it.
It always starts with Afghanistan in its pre-war days. The protagonists are children, guileless and innocent. Then the invasion happens. People separate, the bonds between them torn apart either by fate or by design. Many gut-wrenching chapters later, there's some kind of reunion but with a catch - there's something amiss, something unfulfilled, like a testimony to the unfairness of life.
To be honest, I'm not a fan of formulaic things. Yet, when it's Hosseini telling a story, I listen. I give in. I let his words curl around me like a blanket. I fall in love. And when it's all over, I clutch the book to my chest and weep like a child.
Because formula or no formula, Khaled Hosseini just knows how to tell a story. He knows what to say and how to say it. It's like an art he's mastered - and no matter how many times he does it, the impact of it doesn't seem to fade.
And the Mountains Echoed is an ode to siblinghood and all the joys and heartbreaks that come with it - the anguish of separation, the guilt of envy, the comfort of companionship, the burden of responsibility. Unlike his previous books, Hosseini adopts a short-story approach for this one. There are multiple narratives in multiple time-frames spread across several different countries, all connected by a common link to Afghanistan.
The writing is beautiful, as always. Sample this:
"All my life, I have lived like an aquarium fish in the safety of a glass tank, behind a barrier as impenetrable as it has been transparent. I have been free to observe the glimmering world on the other side, to picture myself in it, if I like. But I have always been contained, hemmed in, by the hard, unyielding confines of the existence that Baba has constructed for me, at first knowingly, when I was young, and now guilelessly, now that he is fading day by day. I think I have grown accustomed to the glass and am terrified that when it breaks, when I am alone, I will spill out into the wide open unknown and flop around, helpless, lost, gasping for breath."
And the Mountains Echoed was one of my most anticipated books this year and it did not disappoint. That being said, it pales in comparison to his previous works - The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Maybe it was the multiple POV thing. With so many characters and so many stories, it's inevitable that some would hit harder than the rest. Personally, I found the first half more emotionally striking - Abdullah, Nabi and Parwana's stories all made me tear up. I missed Afghanistan in the later segments.
And in case it wasn't obvious enough, I just wanted to say that I love Khaled Hosseini. If it weren't for him, I would have
Thank you for the culture-cum-history lessons, Mr. Hosseini. And even if your next book adheres to the formula, I'll still read it and in all likelihood, cherish it.
June 10, 2021
The tale of how my father lost his sister was as familiar to me as the stories my mother had told me of the Prophet, tales I would learn again later when my parents would enroll me in Sunday school at a mosque in Hayward. Still, despite the familiarity, each night I asked to hear Pari’s story again, caught in the pull of its gravity. Maybe it was simply because we shared a name. Maybe that was why I sensed a connection between us, dim, enfolded in mystery, real nonetheless. But it was more than that. I felt touched by her, like I too had been marked by what had happened to her. We were interlocked, I sensed, through some unseen order in ways I couldn’t wholly understand, linked beyond our names, beyond familial ties, as if, together, we completed a puzzle. I felt certain that if I listened closely enough to her story, I would discover something revealed about myself.In the opening chapter of And the Mountains Echoed, a poor father tells his children a story. A monster ravished a town until a child was offered to appease him. In order to save the rest of his family and the town, a father sacrifices his favorite child to the monster. Years later, unable to recover from the sorrow of this decision, the father scales a mountain to reach the monster’s fortress, seeking to bring his son home. But, finding that the boy is happy, well-fed, clothed and educated, he reconsiders. In this story is the core of the tales to come. Hosseini writes of the bond between parents and children, and the sacrifices some parents make to see that their children are well looked after. Does the benefit of a more comfortable home, a richer material upbringing, outweigh the loss of that natural parent-child experience? The theme of parenting, with complications well beyond the keep-or-send-away element, permeates.
Khaled Hosseini - image from his Twitter pages
The son of a wealthy local big-shot comes to realize that his comforts come at the expense of others. A massively scarred girl is left by her mother in the care of someone who is probably better suited to raise her. A young woman sacrifices years of her life to take care of an ailing parent. A war-ravaged child is taken in by one of her caregivers.
I am forever drawn to family as a recurring central theme of my writing. My earlier novels were at heart tales of fatherhood and motherhood. My new novel is a multi-generational family story as well, this time revolving around brothers and sisters, and the ways in which they love, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for each other.There are sibling issues galore here. An ugly duckling twin gets revenge on the favored twin, but takes on a considerable burden. A brother and sister who were very close, are torn apart at an early age, and must cope with the absence, of that missing other part of themselves. Friendships that seem more like sibling-hood sprout like poppies in Helmand. A Greek boy is joined by the daughter of his mother’s best friend. She remains longer than expected. A fast, but fragile friendship forms between a rich boy in Afghanistan and the son of a poor man.
The cast here is international, as is the selection of settings. Hosseini was born in Kabul, but, as his father was an ambassador, he was exposed to the wider world. Dad was posted in Paris when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hosseini’s time in France informs the parts of the book that are set there. Eventually his family immigrated to the USA, taking up residence in California, another site in the novel. He has visited his homeland since growing up in the West, like émigrés we meet in these pages. One Afghani emigrant struggles with the tension between remaining connected to his homeland, in a very concrete way, or maintaining his separation. How much responsibility for dealing with Afghanistan’s problems lies with those who have moved away?
Hosseini, best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns returns us to a world, or rather worlds that we have seen before, a harsh Afghanistan as the emotional and table-setting core, and western locales in which are echoed the events of the old world.
…when you grow up in a Third World country, you know, poverty and affluence are juxtaposed. It's literally next door -- you don't have to go to another zip code. It's right there when you walk out in the street, and there are beggars and so on and so forth. So it becomes part of your life, and you can either not, just not reflect on it, but I must have, because I remember my stories always had to do with these things. There was always some guy who came from a very affluent background and some person who came from a much less privileged background, and their lives collided in some way, and tragedy would ensue inevitably. I mean, sort of a recurring theme in my storiesOne of the points Hosseini makes here is the commonality of East and West, despite outward differences. He mirrors many of his characters’ experiences. People sacrifice themselves to care for those in need of help in both places. Parents are no less stressed in the West than in the East in terms of struggling with decisions about their children. Pain is too much for some in both worlds. In both worlds there are characters who cannot face their futures and opt out. In both worlds young people sacrifice themselves to care for others. In both worlds there are characters who are seriously damaged physically and must cope with adapting to worlds that value beauty or at the very least normalcy. In both worlds parents give up their children. We really are the same beneath our cultures and histories.
I do not have a comparative character count here, but it was my sense that this was a larger book than his first two. Each of those focused mostly on a smaller group of actors. This time it seemed there was more of an ensemble cast, in multiple stories. The links between some of the elements were a bit tenuous, as if a short story that was lying around was modified enough to serve a purpose in this larger tale and inserted. It is a large landscape and I felt that on occasion we wandered too long away from some of the primary characters, maybe lost some parts of their lives. To compensate for this, when we get back to them, we are offered a reader’s digest condensed report of what has happened since last we checked in. This created a bit of distance.
That said, there is vast world of feeling here. Not only the agony of parents who feel they must give up their children, but the pain of other sundered familial connections as well. There are deep scars of guilt for terrible acts, and the pain of love denied. There is also joy in finding a kind of love where hope was slight, in reconnecting with those long lost, with saving and being saved. The echoes in the mountains are the sounds of tears, of both anguish and joy, universal, penetrating, human. Listen.
This review is cross-posted at Coot's Reviews
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Hosseini can be found at his site, and on FB, Twitter and Instagram
12/3/13 - And the Mountains Echoed was voted the Goodreads Choice Award winner for fiction for 2013
May 14, 2013
Every so often a book comes around that rocks you to your core. It makes you cry, laugh, think, feel and dream so intensely that when it is over you wonder where that life has gone. The characters are your friends and you realize you should probably call them because you haven't heard from them in awhile and you wonder what is going on in their lives. Then you remember that they aren't real and that seems impossible because they had a whole life that you were living for as long as you could hold off racing to the end of the book to find out what happened. As a reader I wait for books like this to come out. Sometimes its months or years before I find one. And the Mountains Echoed is one of those books. The writing is incredible, the characters are memorable and the story is woven together with extreme care. Simply amazing. I received this book as a first reads book.
August 28, 2021
And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini
And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2013.
The book's foundation is built on the relationship between ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari and their father's decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together.
The novel opens in the year 1952.
Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. Abdullah adores Pari, and helps collect various feathers for her which she loves.
Once, he sold a pair of his shoes for a peacock feather because he knew Pari would treasure it.
Ignorant of his father's plans, 10 year old Abdullah, who has raised Pari since their mother died giving birth to her, insists on following when his father departs from the village to Kabul with Pari.
After slapping and ordering him to return to the village several times, Saboor finally relents and allows Abdullah to come along on the condition that no tears be shed.
While camping out for the night, Saboor tells the children a story about another poor farmer who was forced to give up a beloved child, but the significance of the tale doesn't register with Abdullah.
It is only after they arrive at the home of the adoptive parents in Kabul and he visits a bazaar to buy things for Pari that Abdullah realizes what is happening.
He pleads and wails against Saboor's rule that he could not cry in Kabul as Ms. Wahdati tries to assure him that the arrangement is for the best and he will understand when he is older.
Abdullah keeps Pari's box of feathers safe.
Subsequent chapters expound on how the arrangement came to be: the children's stepmother, Parwana, grew up as the less-favored child to her beautiful twin sister Masooma.
One day, in a flash of jealousy because Masooma and Saboor were to be wed, she pushed Masooma out of a tree resulting in paraplegia.
Parwana subsequently spent several years caring for her sister until the latter asked her to help her commit suicide and to then marry Saboor.
At Masooma's request Parwana takes Masooma out to the middle of nowhere and leaves her there.
Their older brother, Nabi, left to work for Mr. Wahdati, a wealthy man in Kabul, and became infatuated with his wife, Nila. After Nila expressed dismay about her inability to have children, Nabi arranged for Pari to be sold to the couple, because Parwana has given birth to a son and Saboor cannot support 3 children.
After Pari is sold in Kabul, Nabi is no longer welcome in the village. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «و کوهها طنینانداز شدند»؛ «و کوه طنین انداخت»؛ «و کوهها طنین افکندند»؛ «و کوهها طنین انداختند»؛ «و کوهستان به طنین درآمد»؛ «کوه به کوه نمیرسد»؛ «ندای کوهستان»؛ «و پاسخی پژواکسان از کوهها آمد»؛ «و کوهها بازگفتند»؛ «پژواک کوهستان»؛ «و کوهها انعکاس دادند»؛ «و کوهستانها فریاد زدند»؛ «و آوا در کوهها پیچید»؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ انتشاراتیها: (بهزاد، پیکان، پارمیس؛ پرشیا شمع و مه؛ آلما، ققنوس، باغ نو، ثالث، افراز، حوض نقره، در دانش بهمن، برکه خورشید؛ ماهابه، مروارید)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز سی ام ماه ژانویه سال 2014میلادی
عنوان 01: و کوهها طنینانداز شدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: محسن عقبایی؛ تهران، بهزاد، 1392، در 528ص، شابک 9789642569847؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان افغان تبار ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
عنوان 02: و کوه طنین انداخت؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مهگونه قهرمان؛ تهران، پیکان، 1392، در 416ص، شابک 9789643288150؛
عنوان 03: و کوهها طنینانداز شدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منصوره وحدتی احمدزاده؛ تهران، پارمیس، 1392، در 384ص، شابک9786006027739؛
عنوان 04: و کوهها طنین افکندند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منیژه شیخ جوادی؛ تهران، پرشیا شمع و مه، 1392، در 280ص، شابک9789642667703؛
عنوان 05: و کوهها طنین انداختند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مریم مفتاحی؛ تهران، آلما، 1392، در 483ص، شابک9786009373017؛
عنوان 06: و کوهستان به طنین درآمد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: نسرن ظهیری؛ تهران، ققنوس، 1392، در 488ص، شابک9786002780850؛
عنوان 07: کوه به کوه نمیرسد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: بیتا کاظمی؛ تهران، باغ نو، 1392، در 381ص، شابک 9789647425520؛
عنوان 08: ندای کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ تهران، ثالث، 1392، در 447ص، شابک 9789643809119؛
عنوان 09: و پاسخی پژواکسان از کوهها آمد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شبنم سعادت؛ تهران، افراز، 1392، در 280ص، شابک9786003260399؛
عنوان 10: و کوهها بازگفتند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: دیبا داودی؛ تهران، حوض نقره، 1392، در 399ص، شابک 9786001942167؛
عنوان 11: پژواک کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منصوره حکمی؛ تهران، نگارینه، 1392، در 396ص، شابک 9789642300426؛
عنوان 12: و کوهها انعکاس دادند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شهناز کمیلی زاده؛ کرج، در دانش بهمن، 1392، در 503ص، شابک9789641741435؛
عنوان 13: پژواک کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شهناز مجیدی؛ کرج، برکه خورشید، 1393، در 479ص، شابک9786009437375؛
عنوان 14: و کوهستانها فریاد زدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: عسل فامیلی؛ تهران، ماهابه، 1393، در 410ص، شاب��9786005205848؛
عنوان 15: و آوا در کوهها پیچید؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: پریسا سلیمان زاده؛ تهران، مروارید، 1393، در 441ص، شابک9789641912774؛
در کمتر از دو سال، از انتشار کتاب در «آمریکا»، در «ایران» تا آنجا که این فراموشکار توانست یافت، پانزده مترجم توانا، با عناوین گوناگون، این کتاب را برگردان و نشر داده اند، به نظرم این یک رکورد است، برای جناب «خالد حسینی»، امید که بیش از این ببالند؛ سومین رمان نویسنده ی «افغان-آمریکایی»، «خالد حسینی» است، که نخستین بار در سال 2013میلادی توسط انتشارات «ریورهد بوکز» منتشر شد؛ این کتاب از سبک «حسینی» در دو رمان نخستش، که تمرکز روی یک شخصیت بود، پا فراتر نهاده؛ و کتاب همانند یک مجموعه داستان نگاشته شده است؛ هر یک از نه فصل داستان، از زاویه ی دید یکی از شخصیتهاست؛ اساس داستان، براساس رابطه ی یک پسر ده ساله، به نام «عبدالله»، و خواهر سه ساله اش: «پری»؛ و تصمیم پدرشان مبنی به فروش آنها، به زوجی بدون فرزند در «کابل»، و رخدادهایی است که روایتهای گوناگون را به هم گره می��ند؛ جناب «حسینی» گفته اند: «هدفش پیچیده و از نظر اخلاقی مبهم کردن شخصیتها بوده است»؛
نویسنده در این کتاب هم، همان آشنایی خویش در دو رمان پیشین اش: «بادبادکباز»، و «یکهزار خورشیدرو»؛ را پی میگیرند؛ در کتاب: «کوهستان به طنین آمد»، ایشان روی روابط صمیمانه ی خواهر و برادر، تمرکز میکند؛ در کنار «عبدالله» و «پری»، «حسینی» دو برادر و خواهر دیگر، و روابط مشابه خواهر و برادری، روابط نامادری بچه ها: «پروانا» و خواهر معلول او «معصومه»؛ و یک دکتر «افغان آمریکایی»، به نام: «ادریس»، و پسرعمویش: «تیمور»، را هم مینگارند
نقل از کتاب و کوهستان به طنین آمد: (فصل اول. پاییز 1952م؛ خب پس؛ دلتان قصه میخواهد؛ باشد، برایتان تعریف میکنم، اما فقط یکی؛ پس بهانه نگیرید! «پری» دیروقت است؛ فردا سفری طولانی در پیش داریم؛ امشب باید خوب بخوابی؛ «عبداللّ»ه، تو هم.؛ پسرم، حالا که من و خواهرت بار و بندیل سفر را بسته ایم، دلگرمی ام فقط به تو است؛ مادرت را به تو میسپارم؛ خب، این هم از داستانمان؛ گوش کنید، هر دوتان خوب گوش کنید و میان حرفهایم نپرید.؛
یکی بود، یکی نبود، روزگاری که دیوها و غولها و اجنه در سرزمینمان پرسه میزدند، کشاورزی به نام «باباایوب» با خانواده اش در روستای کوچکی که «میدان سبز» نام داشت زندگی میکرد؛ «باباایوب» خانواده پرجمعیتی داشت، و بایستی شکمشان را سیر میکرد؛ شبها از فرط خستگی از پا میافتاد؛ هر روزِ خدا، از خروسخوان صبح تا غروب آفتاب، جان میکند؛ خاک مزرعه اش را شخم میزد و زیرورو میکرد، و به درختهای پسته بی باروبرش میرسید؛ آدم، هر لحظه که اراده میکرد، میتوانست او را در مزرعه اش پیدا کند، که کمرش خم شده و پشتش، مانند داسی که هر روز در هوا تاب میداد، قوس برداشته؛ دستانش همیشه پینه بسته و خون آلود بود، و هر شب، قبل از این که سرش به بالش برسد، خواب چشمانش را میربود
البته فقط «باباایوب» این وضع را نداشت؛ زندگی در «میدان سبز» به هیچیک از ساکنانش روی خوش نشان نمیداد؛ رو به شمال و در دل دره ها، روستاهایی هم بودند که بخت یارشان بود، و درختان میوه، انواع گل، آب و هوایی دلپذیر، و جویبارهایی از آب خنک و گوارا، نصیبشان کرده بود؛ اما «میدان سبز»، مخروبه و متروکه بود، و هیچ شباهتی به اسمش نداشت، و حتی تصور اینکه اینجا روزگاری سرزمینی سرسبز بوده، در مخیله ی کسی نمیگنجید؛ روستا در دل دشتی هموار و خاکی لم داده بود، و با رشته کوهی ناهموار، محاصره شده بود؛ باد داغ صحرا هم، که دست بردار نبود، و در چشمها غبار مینشاند؛ یافتن آب، جدالی هر روزه بود، چون حتی عمیقترین چاه های روستا هم خشکیده بود؛ ناگفته نماند رودخانه ای هم آن حوالی جاری بود، اما روستاییان مجبور بودند به هر جان کندنی شده برای رسیدن به همان آب باریکه گل آلود نصف روز زیر تیغ آفتاب راه بروند؛ حالا هم که بعد از ده سال خشکسالی همان رود گل آلود هم کم آب شده و رو به خشکیدن گذاشته بود؛ جانم برایتان بگوید که مردم «میدان سبز» بایستی دو برابر دیگران کار میکردند تا چرخ زندگیشان نصفه نیمه بچرخد
با این اوصاف، «باباایوب» هنوز هم خود را جزو آدمهای خوش اقبال به حساب میآورد، چون خانواده ای داشت که بیش از هر چیز دیگری مایه تسلی اش بودند؛ همسرش را عاشقانه دوست میداشت و تا به حال حتی صدایش را برایش بلند نکرده بود، چه رسد به دستش؛ با دل و جان به پند و اندرزهایش گوش میکرد و لذت حقیقی را در همنشینی با او مییافت؛ حالا از فرزندانش بگویم، که خدا به تعداد انگشتان یک دست به او بخشیده بود: سه پسر و دو دختر، که تک تکشان عزیزان و نور دیدگانش بودند؛ دخترانش وظیفه شناس و مهربان بودند، شخصیت و آوازه ای مثال زدنی داشتند؛ ارزش صداقت، دلاوری، دوستی و تلاش بدون گله گزاری را هم آویزه گوش پسرانش کرده بود؛ آنها هم مانند هر پسر خلف دیگری گوش به فرمانش بودند و هنگام برداشت محصول کمک حال پدرشان میشدند
با این که «باباایوب» تمام فرزندانش را دوست داشت، اما در دل به یکیشان علاقه بی مانندی حس میکرد: فرزند ته تغاری اش «قیس»، که سه سال بیشتر نداشت؛ «قیس» پسرکی کوچک با چشمان آبی تیره بود؛ کسی نبود که او را ببیند و شیفته خنده های شیطنت آمیزش نشود؛ از آن پسربچه هایی بود که از زور بنیه قوی مدام ورجه وورجه میکنند، و جانی برای دیگران باقی نمیگذارند؛ هنگامیکه پاهایش به راه رفتن باز شد، آنقدر ذوق زده شده بود که در طول روز و حتی هنگام خواب هم دست از راه رفتن برنمیداشت؛ شبها در خواب از خانه ی کاهگلی بیرون میرفت، و زیر نور مهتاب پرسه میزد؛ گفتن ندارد که مادر و پدر دلواپسش بودند؛ اگر در گودالی یا چاهی میافتاد، یا گم میشد یا، بدتر از همه، به دست موجوداتی کمین کرده در دشت میافتاد، چه میشد؟ دست به دامان هر جور علاجی شدند، اما هیچکدام افاقه نکرد؛ سرانجام، باباایوب چاره ای جست که، همچون هر راه چاره کارساز دیگر، مثل آب خوردن ساده بود: زنگوله ی کوچکی از گردن یکی از بزغاله هایش باز کرد، و دور گردن قیس بست؛ اینطوری اگر شبی، نیمه شبی «قیس» هوس راه رفتن به کله اش میزد، صدای زنگوله بقیه را بیدار میکرد؛ بعد از مدتی عادت شبگردی از سر «قیس» افتاد، اما «قیس» چنان به زنگوله دل بسته بود که دیگر حاضر نبود آن را از گردن در بیاورد؛ این چنین بود که زنگوله دیگر استفاده سابق را نداشت، اما همچنان با تکه نخی از گردن پسرک آویزان بود؛ وقتی باباایوب پس از روزی طولانی، و پرمشقت به خانه برمی گشت، قیس دوان دوان از خانه بیرون میزد و صورتش را به شکم پدر میچسباند؛ زنگوله هم با هر قدم کوچک او جرینگ جرینگ صدا میداد.؛ باباایوب هم او را در آغوش میکشید و با خود به خانه میبرد.؛ «قیس» با دقت زیاد به دست و رو شستن پدرش زل میزد، و پس از آن، موقع خوردن شام، کنار باباایوب مینشست؛ شامشان که تمام میشد، باباایوب چایش را هورت میکشید و میرفت در بحر تماشای خانواده اش.؛ روزی را تصور میکرد که تمام فرزندانش سر و سامان گرفته اند، و برای خودشان فرزندانی دارند، روزی که با افتخار رئیس و ریش سفید خاندانی بزرگ و پرجمعیت میشد
عبداللّه و «پری»، جانم برایتان بگوید دریغ و افسوس که روزگار خوشی «باباایوب» خیلی زود به پایان رسید
از قضای روزگار، دیوی به «میدان سبز» پا گذاشت؛ همانطور که از سمت کوهها به روستا نزدیک میشد، زمین زیر هر قدمش به لرزه میافتاد؛ روستایها بیل و تبرهایشان را به زمین انداختند، و پا به فرار گذاشتند؛ به خانه هایشان سرازیر شدند، و درها را پشت سرشان قفل و کلون کردند، و پشت هم پناه گرفتند؛ سر و صدای گوشخراش قدمهای «دیو» که فرو نشست، آسمان بالای «میدان سبز» یکپارچه از سایه ی «دیو»، سیاه و تاریک شد؛ مردم میگفتند دو شاخ خمیده از کله اش بیرون زده، و موهای سیاه و زمختْ شانه ها، و دم پرقدرتش را پوشانده؛ میگفتند چشمانش به قرمزی میزند، اما هیچکس، حداقل کسانیکه جان سالم به در برده، و خوراکش نشده بودند، به یقین نمیدانستند چشمانش چه رنگی است، چون دیو کسی را که جرئت میکرد و نیم نگاهی به او میانداخت بیدرنگ یک لقمه میکرد؛ روستاییان هم که از این موضوع باخبر بودند چشمانشان را به زمین میدوختند
همه از کوچک و بزرگ میدانستند که دیو چرا پا به آنجا گذاشته است؛ افسانه هایی از رویارویی او، با روستاهای دیگر شنیده بودند، و از اینکه «میدان سبز» اینهمه مدت از حمله ی دیو، در امان مانده بود، در عجب بودند؛ شاید هم جواب خودشان این بود، که زندگی فقیرانه و سختشان در «میدان سبز» در این مورد به نفعشان تمام شده، چون بچه هایشان خوراک خوبی نمیخوردند، و گوشت به استخوان نداشتند؛ اما بالاخره دوران خوشبختی و اقبال آنها هم به سر رسیده بود
لرزه بر تن تمامی اهالی «میدان سبز» افتاده و نفس در سینه ها حبس شده بود؛ خانواده ها دست به دعا شده بودند و خداخدا میکردند که دیو از کنار خانه شان عبور کند؛ آخر میدانستند اگر دیو به سقف خانه شان بکوبد، بی بروبرگرد باید یکی از بچه هایشان را نثارش کنند؛ دیو هم بچه را در توبره ای میچپاند و روی دوشش میانداخت و از راهی که آمده بود برمیگشت؛ تا ابد هم دیگر از آن بچه ی بخت برگشته خبری نمیشد؛ اگر هم اهل خانه سر باز میزدند، دیو همه بچه هایشان را بار توبره میکرد
حالا حتما میخواهید بدانید دیو بچه ها را کجا میبرد؟ به قلعه اش که روی قله کوهی شیبدار بنا شده بود؛ قلعه دیو از «میدان سبز» فاصله زیادی داشت؛ اگر میخواستی به آن برسی، بایست از چند دره و صحرا و دو رشته کوه عبور میکردی؛ آدم عاقل و بالغ هم که از جانش سیر نشده با پای خودش سراغ مرگ برود؛ گفته میشد سیاهچالهای زیادی در آن قلعه دهان باز کرده بودند، که از دیوارهایشان ساطور و گرز، و از سقفهایشان گوشت آویزان بود؛ میگفتند قلعه، پر است از سیخهای بزرگ، و حفره های آتش؛ میگفتند اگر کسی زیر بار زورش نمیرفت، دیو بیزاری اش را از گوشت بزرگسالان کنار میگذاشت و آنها را هم میبلعید
بله، به گمانم حدس زده اید ضربه وحشتناک دیو به سقف کدام خانه اصابت کرد؛ به محض شنیدن ضربه، آه از نهاد باباایوب برآمد، و همسرش غش و ضعف کرد؛ بچه ها با ترس و تاسف گریه سر دادند، چون میدانستند حالا دیگر مرگ یکی از آنها مسلم شده است؛ خانواده تا طلوع آفتاب روز بعد وقت داشت که پیشکشش را نثار دیو کند
چطور از غم و اندوهی برایتان بگویم که آن شب بر سینه «باباایوب» و همسرش سنگینی میکرد؟ خدا آن روز را نیاورد، که پدر و مادری مجبور به چنین تصمیمی شوند؛ باباایوب و همسرش طوری که بچه ها نشنوند، با هم مشغول گفتگو شدند؛ آن دو همینطور هی حرف زدند و گریستند، و باز هم حرف زدند و گریستند؛ تمام شب توی خانه از این طرف به آن طرف رفتند؛ چیزی به طلوع خورشید نمانده بود، اما هنوز هم تصمیمشان را نگرفته بودند، و این درست همان خواسته دیو بود، چون سردرگمی به دیو اجازه میداد به جای یک بچه، همه فرزندان را با خود ببرد؛ آخر سر هم باباایوب از خانه بیرون رفت، و پنج قلوه سنگ با شکلها و اندازه های یکسان پیدا کرد؛ روی هر سنگ نام یکی از فرزندانش را نوشت؛ کارش که تمام شد، همه سنگ ها را در توبره ای کرباسی انداخت؛ وقتی توبره را جلو همسرش گرفت، او طوری پا پس کشید که انگار ماری سمی در توبره چنبره زده است
رو به «باباایوب» کرد، و در حالیکه سرش را تکان میداد گفت: «از من برنمیآید؛ من یکی که نمیتوانم انتخاب کنم؛ تاب تحملش را ندارم؛ دلم آشوب است»؛
باباایوب جواب داد: «من هم همینطور.» اما نگاهش از پنجره به بیرون افتاد و دید تا لحظاتی دیگر خورشید دزدکی از تپه ماهورهای شرقی سر بر خواهد آورد؛ وقت زیادی باقی نمانده بود؛ با دیدن قیافه پنج فرزندش، غم به سینه اش چنگ میانداخت؛ بایستی برای نجات دادن دستْ یکی از انگشتان را قطع میکرد؛ چشمانش را بست و یکی از سنگها را از توبره بیرون کشید
به گمانم، این را هم حدس زده اید که «باباایوب» کدام سنگ را بیرون آورد؛ هنگامی که نام حک شده روی سنگ را دید، سرش را به سمت آسمان گرفت و فریادی بلند سر داد؛ «باباایوب» با قلبی شکسته کوچکترین پسرش را در آغوش کشید، و «قیس» هم که اطمینانی بیقید و شرط به پدر داشت با شادمانی بازوانش را دور گردن «باباایوب» حلقه کرد؛ «قیس» تازه وقتی از ماجرا خبردار شد که «باباایوب» دیگر او را به دستان زمینِ بیرون از خانه سپرده، و در را پشت سرش بسته بود؛ «باباایوب» پشت در ایستاد؛ اشک همچون جوی از دو چشم بسته اش سرازیر بود؛ پشتش را به در تکیه داده بود، و «قیس» عزیزدردانه اش با مشتهای کوچکش، بر در میکوبید، گریه کنان، از بابا میخواست بگذارد دوباره وارد خانه شود؛ «باباایوب» همانجا میخکوب شده بود؛ زیر لب زمزمه میکرد «مرا ببخش، مرا ��بخش،» که زمین دوباره زیر قدمهای سنگین دیو بنا کرد به لرزیدن؛ پسرک جیغ کشید و زمین زیر قدمهای دیو، که دیگر داشت از «میدان سبز» دور میشد، دوباره و دوباره لرزید، تا اینکه سرانجام «میدان سبز» از حضور سنگینش خالی شد، زمین آرام گرفت و سکوت بر تمام لبها مهر زد، جز لبهای «باباایوب» که همچنان گریه کنان از «قیس» طلب بخشش میکرد
عبداللّه، پسرم، خواهرت خوابش برده است؛ روی پاهایش پتو بینداز؛ بارک اللّه، خوب است؛ شاید بهتر باشد همینجا قصه را تمام کنم؛ نه؟ دلت میخواهد ادامه دهم؟ مطمئنی پسرم؟ باشد
کجا بودم؟ آهان؛ چهل شبانه روز به عزاداری و ماتم گذشت؛ هر روز همسایه ��ا برایشان خوراک آماده میکردند و با آنها به شب زنده داری مشغول میشدند؛ مردم هر آنچه از دستشان برمیآمد برایشان میآوردند: چای، نبات، نان، بادام و هر بار همدردی و دلسوزیشان را هم همراه پیشکشها نثارشان میکردند، «باباایوب» دلش به یک تشکر خشک و خالی هم رضا نمیداد؛ گوشه ای زانوی غم بغل میگرفت و میگریست؛ جویبار اشک چنان از چشم هایش جاری بود که انگار میخواست پایانی باشد بر خشکسالی ای که گریبان روستا را چسبیده بود؛ خدا این غم و عذاب را نصیب گرگ بیابان هم نکند)؛ پایان نقل
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 15/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 05/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2013.
The book's foundation is built on the relationship between ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari and their father's decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together.
The novel opens in the year 1952.
Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. Abdullah adores Pari, and helps collect various feathers for her which she loves.
Once, he sold a pair of his shoes for a peacock feather because he knew Pari would treasure it.
Ignorant of his father's plans, 10 year old Abdullah, who has raised Pari since their mother died giving birth to her, insists on following when his father departs from the village to Kabul with Pari.
After slapping and ordering him to return to the village several times, Saboor finally relents and allows Abdullah to come along on the condition that no tears be shed.
While camping out for the night, Saboor tells the children a story about another poor farmer who was forced to give up a beloved child, but the significance of the tale doesn't register with Abdullah.
It is only after they arrive at the home of the adoptive parents in Kabul and he visits a bazaar to buy things for Pari that Abdullah realizes what is happening.
He pleads and wails against Saboor's rule that he could not cry in Kabul as Ms. Wahdati tries to assure him that the arrangement is for the best and he will understand when he is older.
Abdullah keeps Pari's box of feathers safe.
Subsequent chapters expound on how the arrangement came to be: the children's stepmother, Parwana, grew up as the less-favored child to her beautiful twin sister Masooma.
One day, in a flash of jealousy because Masooma and Saboor were to be wed, she pushed Masooma out of a tree resulting in paraplegia.
Parwana subsequently spent several years caring for her sister until the latter asked her to help her commit suicide and to then marry Saboor.
At Masooma's request Parwana takes Masooma out to the middle of nowhere and leaves her there.
Their older brother, Nabi, left to work for Mr. Wahdati, a wealthy man in Kabul, and became infatuated with his wife, Nila. After Nila expressed dismay about her inability to have children, Nabi arranged for Pari to be sold to the couple, because Parwana has given birth to a son and Saboor cannot support 3 children.
After Pari is sold in Kabul, Nabi is no longer welcome in the village. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «و کوهها طنینانداز شدند»؛ «و کوه طنین انداخت»؛ «و کوهها طنین افکندند»؛ «و کوهها طنین انداختند»؛ «و کوهستان به طنین درآمد»؛ «کوه به کوه نمیرسد»؛ «ندای کوهستان»؛ «و پاسخی پژواکسان از کوهها آمد»؛ «و کوهها بازگفتند»؛ «پژواک کوهستان»؛ «و کوهها انعکاس دادند»؛ «و کوهستانها فریاد زدند»؛ «و آوا در کوهها پیچید»؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ انتشاراتیها: (بهزاد، پیکان، پارمیس؛ پرشیا شمع و مه؛ آلما، ققنوس، باغ نو، ثالث، افراز، حوض نقره، در دانش بهمن، برکه خورشید؛ ماهابه، مروارید)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز سی ام ماه ژانویه سال 2014میلادی
عنوان 01: و کوهها طنینانداز شدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: محسن عقبایی؛ تهران، بهزاد، 1392، در 528ص، شابک 9789642569847؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان افغان تبار ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
عنوان 02: و کوه طنین انداخت؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مهگونه قهرمان؛ تهران، پیکان، 1392، در 416ص، شابک 9789643288150؛
عنوان 03: و کوهها طنینانداز شدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منصوره وحدتی احمدزاده؛ تهران، پارمیس، 1392، در 384ص، شابک9786006027739؛
عنوان 04: و کوهها طنین افکندند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منیژه شیخ جوادی؛ تهران، پرشیا شمع و مه، 1392، در 280ص، شابک9789642667703؛
عنوان 05: و کوهها طنین انداختند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مریم مفتاحی؛ تهران، آلما، 1392، در 483ص، شابک9786009373017؛
عنوان 06: و کوهستان به طنین درآمد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: نسرن ظهیری؛ تهران، ققنوس، 1392، در 488ص، شابک9786002780850؛
عنوان 07: کوه به کوه نمیرسد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: بیتا کاظمی؛ تهران، باغ نو، 1392، در 381ص، شابک 9789647425520؛
عنوان 08: ندای کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ تهران، ثالث، 1392، در 447ص، شابک 9789643809119؛
عنوان 09: و پاسخی پژواکسان از کوهها آمد؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شبنم سعادت؛ تهران، افراز، 1392، در 280ص، شابک9786003260399؛
عنوان 10: و کوهها بازگفتند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: دیبا داودی؛ تهران، حوض نقره، 1392، در 399ص، شابک 9786001942167؛
عنوان 11: پژواک کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: منصوره حکمی؛ تهران، نگارینه، 1392، در 396ص، شابک 9789642300426؛
عنوان 12: و کوهها انعکاس دادند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شهناز کمیلی زاده؛ کرج، در دانش بهمن، 1392، در 503ص، شابک9789641741435؛
عنوان 13: پژواک کوهستان؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: شهناز مجیدی؛ کرج، برکه خورشید، 1393، در 479ص، شابک9786009437375؛
عنوان 14: و کوهستانها فریاد زدند؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: عسل فامیلی؛ تهران، ماهابه، 1393، در 410ص، شاب��9786005205848؛
عنوان 15: و آوا در کوهها پیچید؛ نویسنده: خالد حسینی؛ مترجم: پریسا سلیمان زاده؛ تهران، مروارید، 1393، در 441ص، شابک9789641912774؛
در کمتر از دو سال، از انتشار کتاب در «آمریکا»، در «ایران» تا آنجا که این فراموشکار توانست یافت، پانزده مترجم توانا، با عناوین گوناگون، این کتاب را برگردان و نشر داده اند، به نظرم این یک رکورد است، برای جناب «خالد حسینی»، امید که بیش از این ببالند؛ سومین رمان نویسنده ی «افغان-آمریکایی»، «خالد حسینی» است، که نخستین بار در سال 2013میلادی توسط انتشارات «ریورهد بوکز» منتشر شد؛ این کتاب از سبک «حسینی» در دو رمان نخستش، که تمرکز روی یک شخصیت بود، پا فراتر نهاده؛ و کتاب همانند یک مجموعه داستان نگاشته شده است؛ هر یک از نه فصل داستان، از زاویه ی دید یکی از شخصیتهاست؛ اساس داستان، براساس رابطه ی یک پسر ده ساله، به نام «عبدالله»، و خواهر سه ساله اش: «پری»؛ و تصمیم پدرشان مبنی به فروش آنها، به زوجی بدون فرزند در «کابل»، و رخدادهایی است که روایتهای گوناگون را به هم گره می��ند؛ جناب «حسینی» گفته اند: «هدفش پیچیده و از نظر اخلاقی مبهم کردن شخصیتها بوده است»؛
نویسنده در این کتاب هم، همان آشنایی خویش در دو رمان پیشین اش: «بادبادکباز»، و «یکهزار خورشیدرو»؛ را پی میگیرند؛ در کتاب: «کوهستان به طنین آمد»، ایشان روی روابط صمیمانه ی خواهر و برادر، تمرکز میکند؛ در کنار «عبدالله» و «پری»، «حسینی» دو برادر و خواهر دیگر، و روابط مشابه خواهر و برادری، روابط نامادری بچه ها: «پروانا» و خواهر معلول او «معصومه»؛ و یک دکتر «افغان آمریکایی»، به نام: «ادریس»، و پسرعمویش: «تیمور»، را هم مینگارند
نقل از کتاب و کوهستان به طنین آمد: (فصل اول. پاییز 1952م؛ خب پس؛ دلتان قصه میخواهد؛ باشد، برایتان تعریف میکنم، اما فقط یکی؛ پس بهانه نگیرید! «پری» دیروقت است؛ فردا سفری طولانی در پیش داریم؛ امشب باید خوب بخوابی؛ «عبداللّ»ه، تو هم.؛ پسرم، حالا که من و خواهرت بار و بندیل سفر را بسته ایم، دلگرمی ام فقط به تو است؛ مادرت را به تو میسپارم؛ خب، این هم از داستانمان؛ گوش کنید، هر دوتان خوب گوش کنید و میان حرفهایم نپرید.؛
یکی بود، یکی نبود، روزگاری که دیوها و غولها و اجنه در سرزمینمان پرسه میزدند، کشاورزی به نام «باباایوب» با خانواده اش در روستای کوچکی که «میدان سبز» نام داشت زندگی میکرد؛ «باباایوب» خانواده پرجمعیتی داشت، و بایستی شکمشان را سیر میکرد؛ شبها از فرط خستگی از پا میافتاد؛ هر روزِ خدا، از خروسخوان صبح تا غروب آفتاب، جان میکند؛ خاک مزرعه اش را شخم میزد و زیرورو میکرد، و به درختهای پسته بی باروبرش میرسید؛ آدم، هر لحظه که اراده میکرد، میتوانست او را در مزرعه اش پیدا کند، که کمرش خم شده و پشتش، مانند داسی که هر روز در هوا تاب میداد، قوس برداشته؛ دستانش همیشه پینه بسته و خون آلود بود، و هر شب، قبل از این که سرش به بالش برسد، خواب چشمانش را میربود
البته فقط «باباایوب» این وضع را نداشت؛ زندگی در «میدان سبز» به هیچیک از ساکنانش روی خوش نشان نمیداد؛ رو به شمال و در دل دره ها، روستاهایی هم بودند که بخت یارشان بود، و درختان میوه، انواع گل، آب و هوایی دلپذیر، و جویبارهایی از آب خنک و گوارا، نصیبشان کرده بود؛ اما «میدان سبز»، مخروبه و متروکه بود، و هیچ شباهتی به اسمش نداشت، و حتی تصور اینکه اینجا روزگاری سرزمینی سرسبز بوده، در مخیله ی کسی نمیگنجید؛ روستا در دل دشتی هموار و خاکی لم داده بود، و با رشته کوهی ناهموار، محاصره شده بود؛ باد داغ صحرا هم، که دست بردار نبود، و در چشمها غبار مینشاند؛ یافتن آب، جدالی هر روزه بود، چون حتی عمیقترین چاه های روستا هم خشکیده بود؛ ناگفته نماند رودخانه ای هم آن حوالی جاری بود، اما روستاییان مجبور بودند به هر جان کندنی شده برای رسیدن به همان آب باریکه گل آلود نصف روز زیر تیغ آفتاب راه بروند؛ حالا هم که بعد از ده سال خشکسالی همان رود گل آلود هم کم آب شده و رو به خشکیدن گذاشته بود؛ جانم برایتان بگوید که مردم «میدان سبز» بایستی دو برابر دیگران کار میکردند تا چرخ زندگیشان نصفه نیمه بچرخد
با این اوصاف، «باباایوب» هنوز هم خود را جزو آدمهای خوش اقبال به حساب میآورد، چون خانواده ای داشت که بیش از هر چیز دیگری مایه تسلی اش بودند؛ همسرش را عاشقانه دوست میداشت و تا به حال حتی صدایش را برایش بلند نکرده بود، چه رسد به دستش؛ با دل و جان به پند و اندرزهایش گوش میکرد و لذت حقیقی را در همنشینی با او مییافت؛ حالا از فرزندانش بگویم، که خدا به تعداد انگشتان یک دست به او بخشیده بود: سه پسر و دو دختر، که تک تکشان عزیزان و نور دیدگانش بودند؛ دخترانش وظیفه شناس و مهربان بودند، شخصیت و آوازه ای مثال زدنی داشتند؛ ارزش صداقت، دلاوری، دوستی و تلاش بدون گله گزاری را هم آویزه گوش پسرانش کرده بود؛ آنها هم مانند هر پسر خلف دیگری گوش به فرمانش بودند و هنگام برداشت محصول کمک حال پدرشان میشدند
با این که «باباایوب» تمام فرزندانش را دوست داشت، اما در دل به یکیشان علاقه بی مانندی حس میکرد: فرزند ته تغاری اش «قیس»، که سه سال بیشتر نداشت؛ «قیس» پسرکی کوچک با چشمان آبی تیره بود؛ کسی نبود که او را ببیند و شیفته خنده های شیطنت آمیزش نشود؛ از آن پسربچه هایی بود که از زور بنیه قوی مدام ورجه وورجه میکنند، و جانی برای دیگران باقی نمیگذارند؛ هنگامیکه پاهایش به راه رفتن باز شد، آنقدر ذوق زده شده بود که در طول روز و حتی هنگام خواب هم دست از راه رفتن برنمیداشت؛ شبها در خواب از خانه ی کاهگلی بیرون میرفت، و زیر نور مهتاب پرسه میزد؛ گفتن ندارد که مادر و پدر دلواپسش بودند؛ اگر در گودالی یا چاهی میافتاد، یا گم میشد یا، بدتر از همه، به دست موجوداتی کمین کرده در دشت میافتاد، چه میشد؟ دست به دامان هر جور علاجی شدند، اما هیچکدام افاقه نکرد؛ سرانجام، باباایوب چاره ای جست که، همچون هر راه چاره کارساز دیگر، مثل آب خوردن ساده بود: زنگوله ی کوچکی از گردن یکی از بزغاله هایش باز کرد، و دور گردن قیس بست؛ اینطوری اگر شبی، نیمه شبی «قیس» هوس راه رفتن به کله اش میزد، صدای زنگوله بقیه را بیدار میکرد؛ بعد از مدتی عادت شبگردی از سر «قیس» افتاد، اما «قیس» چنان به زنگوله دل بسته بود که دیگر حاضر نبود آن را از گردن در بیاورد؛ این چنین بود که زنگوله دیگر استفاده سابق را نداشت، اما همچنان با تکه نخی از گردن پسرک آویزان بود؛ وقتی باباایوب پس از روزی طولانی، و پرمشقت به خانه برمی گشت، قیس دوان دوان از خانه بیرون میزد و صورتش را به شکم پدر میچسباند؛ زنگوله هم با هر قدم کوچک او جرینگ جرینگ صدا میداد.؛ باباایوب هم او را در آغوش میکشید و با خود به خانه میبرد.؛ «قیس» با دقت زیاد به دست و رو شستن پدرش زل میزد، و پس از آن، موقع خوردن شام، کنار باباایوب مینشست؛ شامشان که تمام میشد، باباایوب چایش را هورت میکشید و میرفت در بحر تماشای خانواده اش.؛ روزی را تصور میکرد که تمام فرزندانش سر و سامان گرفته اند، و برای خودشان فرزندانی دارند، روزی که با افتخار رئیس و ریش سفید خاندانی بزرگ و پرجمعیت میشد
عبداللّه و «پری»، جانم برایتان بگوید دریغ و افسوس که روزگار خوشی «باباایوب» خیلی زود به پایان رسید
از قضای روزگار، دیوی به «میدان سبز» پا گذاشت؛ همانطور که از سمت کوهها به روستا نزدیک میشد، زمین زیر هر قدمش به لرزه میافتاد؛ روستایها بیل و تبرهایشان را به زمین انداختند، و پا به فرار گذاشتند؛ به خانه هایشان سرازیر شدند، و درها را پشت سرشان قفل و کلون کردند، و پشت هم پناه گرفتند؛ سر و صدای گوشخراش قدمهای «دیو» که فرو نشست، آسمان بالای «میدان سبز» یکپارچه از سایه ی «دیو»، سیاه و تاریک شد؛ مردم میگفتند دو شاخ خمیده از کله اش بیرون زده، و موهای سیاه و زمختْ شانه ها، و دم پرقدرتش را پوشانده؛ میگفتند چشمانش به قرمزی میزند، اما هیچکس، حداقل کسانیکه جان سالم به در برده، و خوراکش نشده بودند، به یقین نمیدانستند چشمانش چه رنگی است، چون دیو کسی را که جرئت میکرد و نیم نگاهی به او میانداخت بیدرنگ یک لقمه میکرد؛ روستاییان هم که از این موضوع باخبر بودند چشمانشان را به زمین میدوختند
همه از کوچک و بزرگ میدانستند که دیو چرا پا به آنجا گذاشته است؛ افسانه هایی از رویارویی او، با روستاهای دیگر شنیده بودند، و از اینکه «میدان سبز» اینهمه مدت از حمله ی دیو، در امان مانده بود، در عجب بودند؛ شاید هم جواب خودشان این بود، که زندگی فقیرانه و سختشان در «میدان سبز» در این مورد به نفعشان تمام شده، چون بچه هایشان خوراک خوبی نمیخوردند، و گوشت به استخوان نداشتند؛ اما بالاخره دوران خوشبختی و اقبال آنها هم به سر رسیده بود
لرزه بر تن تمامی اهالی «میدان سبز» افتاده و نفس در سینه ها حبس شده بود؛ خانواده ها دست به دعا شده بودند و خداخدا میکردند که دیو از کنار خانه شان عبور کند؛ آخر میدانستند اگر دیو به سقف خانه شان بکوبد، بی بروبرگرد باید یکی از بچه هایشان را نثارش کنند؛ دیو هم بچه را در توبره ای میچپاند و روی دوشش میانداخت و از راهی که آمده بود برمیگشت؛ تا ابد هم دیگر از آن بچه ی بخت برگشته خبری نمیشد؛ اگر هم اهل خانه سر باز میزدند، دیو همه بچه هایشان را بار توبره میکرد
حالا حتما میخواهید بدانید دیو بچه ها را کجا میبرد؟ به قلعه اش که روی قله کوهی شیبدار بنا شده بود؛ قلعه دیو از «میدان سبز» فاصله زیادی داشت؛ اگر میخواستی به آن برسی، بایست از چند دره و صحرا و دو رشته کوه عبور میکردی؛ آدم عاقل و بالغ هم که از جانش سیر نشده با پای خودش سراغ مرگ برود؛ گفته میشد سیاهچالهای زیادی در آن قلعه دهان باز کرده بودند، که از دیوارهایشان ساطور و گرز، و از سقفهایشان گوشت آویزان بود؛ میگفتند قلعه، پر است از سیخهای بزرگ، و حفره های آتش؛ میگفتند اگر کسی زیر بار زورش نمیرفت، دیو بیزاری اش را از گوشت بزرگسالان کنار میگذاشت و آنها را هم میبلعید
بله، به گمانم حدس زده اید ضربه وحشتناک دیو به سقف کدام خانه اصابت کرد؛ به محض شنیدن ضربه، آه از نهاد باباایوب برآمد، و همسرش غش و ضعف کرد؛ بچه ها با ترس و تاسف گریه سر دادند، چون میدانستند حالا دیگر مرگ یکی از آنها مسلم شده است؛ خانواده تا طلوع آفتاب روز بعد وقت داشت که پیشکشش را نثار دیو کند
چطور از غم و اندوهی برایتان بگویم که آن شب بر سینه «باباایوب» و همسرش سنگینی میکرد؟ خدا آن روز را نیاورد، که پدر و مادری مجبور به چنین تصمیمی شوند؛ باباایوب و همسرش طوری که بچه ها نشنوند، با هم مشغول گفتگو شدند؛ آن دو همینطور هی حرف زدند و گریستند، و باز هم حرف زدند و گریستند؛ تمام شب توی خانه از این طرف به آن طرف رفتند؛ چیزی به طلوع خورشید نمانده بود، اما هنوز هم تصمیمشان را نگرفته بودند، و این درست همان خواسته دیو بود، چون سردرگمی به دیو اجازه میداد به جای یک بچه، همه فرزندان را با خود ببرد؛ آخر سر هم باباایوب از خانه بیرون رفت، و پنج قلوه سنگ با شکلها و اندازه های یکسان پیدا کرد؛ روی هر سنگ نام یکی از فرزندانش را نوشت؛ کارش که تمام شد، همه سنگ ها را در توبره ای کرباسی انداخت؛ وقتی توبره را جلو همسرش گرفت، او طوری پا پس کشید که انگار ماری سمی در توبره چنبره زده است
رو به «باباایوب» کرد، و در حالیکه سرش را تکان میداد گفت: «از من برنمیآید؛ من یکی که نمیتوانم انتخاب کنم؛ تاب تحملش را ندارم؛ دلم آشوب است»؛
باباایوب جواب داد: «من هم همینطور.» اما نگاهش از پنجره به بیرون افتاد و دید تا لحظاتی دیگر خورشید دزدکی از تپه ماهورهای شرقی سر بر خواهد آورد؛ وقت زیادی باقی نمانده بود؛ با دیدن قیافه پنج فرزندش، غم به سینه اش چنگ میانداخت؛ بایستی برای نجات دادن دستْ یکی از انگشتان را قطع میکرد؛ چشمانش را بست و یکی از سنگها را از توبره بیرون کشید
به گمانم، این را هم حدس زده اید که «باباایوب» کدام سنگ را بیرون آورد؛ هنگامی که نام حک شده روی سنگ را دید، سرش را به سمت آسمان گرفت و فریادی بلند سر داد؛ «باباایوب» با قلبی شکسته کوچکترین پسرش را در آغوش کشید، و «قیس» هم که اطمینانی بیقید و شرط به پدر داشت با شادمانی بازوانش را دور گردن «باباایوب» حلقه کرد؛ «قیس» تازه وقتی از ماجرا خبردار شد که «باباایوب» دیگر او را به دستان زمینِ بیرون از خانه سپرده، و در را پشت سرش بسته بود؛ «باباایوب» پشت در ایستاد؛ اشک همچون جوی از دو چشم بسته اش سرازیر بود؛ پشتش را به در تکیه داده بود، و «قیس» عزیزدردانه اش با مشتهای کوچکش، بر در میکوبید، گریه کنان، از بابا میخواست بگذارد دوباره وارد خانه شود؛ «باباایوب» همانجا میخکوب شده بود؛ زیر لب زمزمه میکرد «مرا ببخش، مرا ��بخش،» که زمین دوباره زیر قدمهای سنگین دیو بنا کرد به لرزیدن؛ پسرک جیغ کشید و زمین زیر قدمهای دیو، که دیگر داشت از «میدان سبز» دور میشد، دوباره و دوباره لرزید، تا اینکه سرانجام «میدان سبز» از حضور سنگینش خالی شد، زمین آرام گرفت و سکوت بر تمام لبها مهر زد، جز لبهای «باباایوب» که همچنان گریه کنان از «قیس» طلب بخشش میکرد
عبداللّه، پسرم، خواهرت خوابش برده است؛ روی پاهایش پتو بینداز؛ بارک اللّه، خوب است؛ شاید بهتر باشد همینجا قصه را تمام کنم؛ نه؟ دلت میخواهد ادامه دهم؟ مطمئنی پسرم؟ باشد
کجا بودم؟ آهان؛ چهل شبانه روز به عزاداری و ماتم گذشت؛ هر روز همسایه ��ا برایشان خوراک آماده میکردند و با آنها به شب زنده داری مشغول میشدند؛ مردم هر آنچه از دستشان برمیآمد برایشان میآوردند: چای، نبات، نان، بادام و هر بار همدردی و دلسوزیشان را هم همراه پیشکشها نثارشان میکردند، «باباایوب» دلش به یک تشکر خشک و خالی هم رضا نمیداد؛ گوشه ای زانوی غم بغل میگرفت و میگریست؛ جویبار اشک چنان از چشم هایش جاری بود که انگار میخواست پایانی باشد بر خشکسالی ای که گریبان روستا را چسبیده بود؛ خدا این غم و عذاب را نصیب گرگ بیابان هم نکند)؛ پایان نقل
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 15/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 05/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
December 4, 2013
Blown like leaves in the wind…
‘A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later.’
Within the first few pages of this book, the reader knows s/he’s in the hands of a master storyteller. In a village in rural Afghanistan, mid 1940s, a father tells a folk tale to his two young children. On the next day, they will travel to Kabul and start a chain of events that will take the reader on a journey across the world and through the decades.
The novel is made up of a series of linked and interlinked stories about members of this one family, their descendants and people whose lives they touch. Hosseini takes us back and forwards in time but each episode tells a whole story of one of the characters. This made the book feel in some ways like a collection of short stories rather than a novel, but Hosseini brings us round in a perfect circle and the last few chapters bring all these disparate episodes into one immensely moving whole.
The beauty of the writing is only matched by the humanity of the characters. Hosseini takes us inside their minds and their hearts and we see them laid bare, essentially good people but with their flaws and weaknesses exposed, to us and to themselves. Although much of the book takes place in Europe and America, Afghanistan remains at the heart of it because it remains in the hearts of the characters, even though they may have become part of the war- and poverty-driven diaspora.
A beautiful and very moving book that brought me to tears on several occasions, this isn’t fundamentally about politics or war; it is about the unforgettable people who populate its pages – about humanity. And though there is sadness and sorrow here, there is also love and joy and a deep sense of hope. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
‘A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later.’
Within the first few pages of this book, the reader knows s/he’s in the hands of a master storyteller. In a village in rural Afghanistan, mid 1940s, a father tells a folk tale to his two young children. On the next day, they will travel to Kabul and start a chain of events that will take the reader on a journey across the world and through the decades.
The novel is made up of a series of linked and interlinked stories about members of this one family, their descendants and people whose lives they touch. Hosseini takes us back and forwards in time but each episode tells a whole story of one of the characters. This made the book feel in some ways like a collection of short stories rather than a novel, but Hosseini brings us round in a perfect circle and the last few chapters bring all these disparate episodes into one immensely moving whole.
The beauty of the writing is only matched by the humanity of the characters. Hosseini takes us inside their minds and their hearts and we see them laid bare, essentially good people but with their flaws and weaknesses exposed, to us and to themselves. Although much of the book takes place in Europe and America, Afghanistan remains at the heart of it because it remains in the hearts of the characters, even though they may have become part of the war- and poverty-driven diaspora.
A beautiful and very moving book that brought me to tears on several occasions, this isn’t fundamentally about politics or war; it is about the unforgettable people who populate its pages – about humanity. And though there is sadness and sorrow here, there is also love and joy and a deep sense of hope. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
December 4, 2013
2.5 Stars
Oh that felt like blasphemy to type, but I’ve gotta be honest here. I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but Hosseini just missed the mark with this one.
The story begins with a father telling his children a fable of an evil div (monster) who roamed various villages and would choose a home at random. Said home would have to sacrifice one of their children, or the div would kill as many as he pleased. The father in the story is beside himself with the idea of offering one of his children to be slaughtered. That tale seems so fitting, because I can picture Hosseini at the editing table going through the same process. However, rather than opting to cull one (or a few) of the massive amounts of characters/stories in this book that were barely connected – he opted to keep them all. Unfortunately, that meant the ultimate sacrifice was my enjoyment. Too many characters – many with stories not long enough to actually to get invested in their lives.
I’m sad that I had to type that.
June 15, 2013
I finished reading this book on May 24, but did not write a review because I didn't want to taint the experience for many of my friends who had not yet read the book. Since then I've seen several people post where they've finished the book and how much they loved it. Unfortunately I did not love it. I was highly disappointed in this book, it was not at all what I expected. I wanted the richness of the culture, I wanted to immerse myself in the feelings and experiences of the people who live a life so totally different from anything I've experienced. But I just did not get that feeling from this book. I loved the first one third, I loved the ending, but most of the middle of the book just didn't grab me. There was way too much jumping around with the characters, and everything just moved too fast-forward in time. All the characters got old too quickly.
Perhaps because I had read his other 2 books and loved them so much, I was expecting something more similar to those. I wanted the entire story to be about Pari and Abdullah and their families, to me they ARE the story, way too much time was spent with what I considered unimportant characters and their lives. Doesn't Hosseini know his stories shouldn't be about internet, television, and airplanes?? He does so well with the culture of his country, and the traditions that form it, that's what I wanted from this book but it just wasn't there.
The ending was wonderful, I had a lump in my throat when I read that. I just wish he had taken me on a better route getting there.
Perhaps because I had read his other 2 books and loved them so much, I was expecting something more similar to those. I wanted the entire story to be about Pari and Abdullah and their families, to me they ARE the story, way too much time was spent with what I considered unimportant characters and their lives. Doesn't Hosseini know his stories shouldn't be about internet, television, and airplanes?? He does so well with the culture of his country, and the traditions that form it, that's what I wanted from this book but it just wasn't there.
The ending was wonderful, I had a lump in my throat when I read that. I just wish he had taken me on a better route getting there.
January 31, 2022
هناك
وراء الأفكار .. عن الحق والباطل .
ثمة حقل
فيه سألتقيك
-جلال الدين الرومي
يمكنني القول ان هذا الكتاب يختلف عن أسلوب الحسيني في عداء الطائرة الورقية ويمكنني القول انني افضل اسلوبه في عداء الطائرة الورقية على ورددت الجبال الصدى ,اختار الحسيني تجنب التركيز على أي شخصية بعينها. بل كتب الكتاب بأسلوب شبيه بمجموعة من القصص القصيرة حيث ترى ان اغلب الفصول مروية من وجهة نظر شخصية مختلفة.
بني الكتاب على أساس العلاقة بين "عبد الله" ذي الأعوام العشرة وشقيقته "باري" ذات الأعوام الثلاثة والقرار الذي اتخذه والدهما وفرقهما عن بعض ، هذا هو الحدث الذي يربط القصص المختلفة معاً. يقول الحسيني أن نواياه كانت جعل الشخصيات أكثر تعقيداً وغموضاً من الناحية الأخلاقية.
والحسين�� ركز في هذا الكتاب على العلاقة بين الأشقاء. فبالإضافة لعبدالله وباري، قدم الحسيني علاقات أخوية أخرى كعلاقة زوجة الأب باراوانا وشقيقتها المعاقة معصومة وطبيب أمريكي-أفغاني اسمه إدريس وابن عمه تيمور
كانت باري الشخص الوحيد في العالم الذي لن يؤذيه ولن يستطيع ان يؤذيه ابدًا ,ف بعض الأيام. كان عبد الله يشعر أنها عائلته الحقيقية الوحيدة وليس سواها.
إبتسم عبد الله في نفسه:
-حسنًا لا بأس
-ستكون قريبًا مني؟
-نعم
- حتى نصبح كبارًا ؟
-كبارًا جدًا
-إلى الأبد
-نعم الى الأبد
-وعد يا أبولله ؟
- إلى الأبد وحتى آخر العمر
يقسم حسيني روايته إلى تسعة فصول يروي كلاً منها أحد الأبطال أو يُروى عنه ليكون هو محور أحداثه ونتعرف إلى سائر الشخصيات من خلال العلاقات التي تربطهم به. يتنقل الكاتب بسلاسة بين أزمنة وأمكنة مختلفة، إذ تدور أحداث الرواية على مدى عقود طويلة في بلدان متنوعة، منها أفغانستان وأميركا وفرنسا واليونان.
ولكن هذا الأمر , أعني تعدد القصص والتنوع في البلدان جلب لي الصداع وافقدني تركيزي , وتصوير أفغانستان على أنها جحيم وتصويره لبعض الشخصيات جلب لي النفور بصراحة فلا يمكنني القول انني احببت اي شخصية او تعاطفت معها ويظهر ايضًا في هذا الكتاب التناقض بين الشخصيات
ومع خيبة الأمل التي شعرت بها في النهاية إلا انه وبصراحة كان هناك بعض المتعة التي شعرت بها
أقسم إنني مذ رأيت وجهك
صار العالم كله خدعة وخيالًا
تحير البستان فما بات يعرف الورقة من الزهرة
وتشوشت الطيور فما عادت تفرق بين البذور ... وشراك الصياد
- جلال الدين الرومي
وراء الأفكار .. عن الحق والباطل .
ثمة حقل
فيه سألتقيك
-جلال الدين الرومي
يمكنني القول ان هذا الكتاب يختلف عن أسلوب الحسيني في عداء الطائرة الورقية ويمكنني القول انني افضل اسلوبه في عداء الطائرة الورقية على ورددت الجبال الصدى ,اختار الحسيني تجنب التركيز على أي شخصية بعينها. بل كتب الكتاب بأسلوب شبيه بمجموعة من القصص القصيرة حيث ترى ان اغلب الفصول مروية من وجهة نظر شخصية مختلفة.
بني الكتاب على أساس العلاقة بين "عبد الله" ذي الأعوام العشرة وشقيقته "باري" ذات الأعوام الثلاثة والقرار الذي اتخذه والدهما وفرقهما عن بعض ، هذا هو الحدث الذي يربط القصص المختلفة معاً. يقول الحسيني أن نواياه كانت جعل الشخصيات أكثر تعقيداً وغموضاً من الناحية الأخلاقية.
والحسين�� ركز في هذا الكتاب على العلاقة بين الأشقاء. فبالإضافة لعبدالله وباري، قدم الحسيني علاقات أخوية أخرى كعلاقة زوجة الأب باراوانا وشقيقتها المعاقة معصومة وطبيب أمريكي-أفغاني اسمه إدريس وابن عمه تيمور
كانت باري الشخص الوحيد في العالم الذي لن يؤذيه ولن يستطيع ان يؤذيه ابدًا ,ف بعض الأيام. كان عبد الله يشعر أنها عائلته الحقيقية الوحيدة وليس سواها.
إبتسم عبد الله في نفسه:
-حسنًا لا بأس
-ستكون قريبًا مني؟
-نعم
- حتى نصبح كبارًا ؟
-كبارًا جدًا
-إلى الأبد
-نعم الى الأبد
-وعد يا أبولله ؟
- إلى الأبد وحتى آخر العمر
يقسم حسيني روايته إلى تسعة فصول يروي كلاً منها أحد الأبطال أو يُروى عنه ليكون هو محور أحداثه ونتعرف إلى سائر الشخصيات من خلال العلاقات التي تربطهم به. يتنقل الكاتب بسلاسة بين أزمنة وأمكنة مختلفة، إذ تدور أحداث الرواية على مدى عقود طويلة في بلدان متنوعة، منها أفغانستان وأميركا وفرنسا واليونان.
ولكن هذا الأمر , أعني تعدد القصص والتنوع في البلدان جلب لي الصداع وافقدني تركيزي , وتصوير أفغانستان على أنها جحيم وتصويره لبعض الشخصيات جلب لي النفور بصراحة فلا يمكنني القول انني احببت اي شخصية او تعاطفت معها ويظهر ايضًا في هذا الكتاب التناقض بين الشخصيات
ومع خيبة الأمل التي شعرت بها في النهاية إلا انه وبصراحة كان هناك بعض المتعة التي شعرت بها
أقسم إنني مذ رأيت وجهك
صار العالم كله خدعة وخيالًا
تحير البستان فما بات يعرف الورقة من الزهرة
وتشوشت الطيور فما عادت تفرق بين البذور ... وشراك الصياد
- جلال الدين الرومي
January 9, 2021
well, this is definitely my least favourite KH book. its desperately lacking that magical quality that made his first two books so spectacular.
it starts off so promising. i love the atmosphere that was created and the emotional set-up for such a wonderful bond between a brother and sister. but then the story takes a completely unexpected turn - it becomes less about a brother and sister finding their way back to each other and more about the lives of secondary characters who are very distantly related to the story (in a nonlinear fashion). its just a super odd and disappointing narrative choice. the story does eventually make its way back to the brother and sister at the very end but, by that point, their importance is drastically diminished.
there are some moments of beauty in this, but its not enough for me to feel like this story lived up to its full potential.
↠ 2.5 stars
it starts off so promising. i love the atmosphere that was created and the emotional set-up for such a wonderful bond between a brother and sister. but then the story takes a completely unexpected turn - it becomes less about a brother and sister finding their way back to each other and more about the lives of secondary characters who are very distantly related to the story (in a nonlinear fashion). its just a super odd and disappointing narrative choice. the story does eventually make its way back to the brother and sister at the very end but, by that point, their importance is drastically diminished.
there are some moments of beauty in this, but its not enough for me to feel like this story lived up to its full potential.
↠ 2.5 stars
Want to read
June 16, 2021The author has already broke my heart twice (The Kite Runner and The Thousand Splendid Suns) so I might as well go for more...
May 31, 2013
And The Mountains Echoed (ATME) is a brilliant stand-alone book, however, it's not up to the mark that Khaled Hosseini set for himself with his earlier two fantastic novels. Starting with the negatives, the narration style simply didn't work out. Though Mr. Hosseini deserves a pat on the back for trying out something different this time and not sticking to a tried and tested formula by going beyond a two-person narration as in A Thousand Splendid Suns (ATSS), but this time it just somehow looks rusty in places. The editing was not up to the mark too, some parts could've been easily cut out, personally, the part of Markos and Thalia's sibling hood goes on for way too long. Along with that, ATME doesn't move you as much as the first two books did. However, coming to positives, the story is extremely beautiful. The way it places emphasis on relations between siblings or sibling-likes is refreshing and delightful. The characters are well sketched out and the imagery, as Mr. Hosseini is massively talented in, works too. Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives, however, Mr. Hosseini must keep the negatives in mind before we see a fourth one from him. He has been my all-time favourite author, and this is a great book, just not in the league of his astounding ATSS and The Kite Runner. 4/5
November 29, 2022
4 stars for a book I loved and an author I would highly recommend.
The book opens with a ‘let me tell you a story’ which sets the scene through a dark fairy tale of some hardships, traumas and separations to come in the lives of the many people in the book. A story first and foremost about relationships, the endurance of love, loyalty and the unbreakable bonds between family and friends.
For this I give the book an enormous 5 stars as we are immersed into the relationships, particularly of the two children. Their aspirations, pains, trials, loves and losses, set against a backdrop of war, surviving devastation and with a tyrannical ruler, the Taliban, which made this another incredibly thought-provoking story.
If I compare this to the authors other two books; The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, this one was not as impactful and didn’t possess the dramatic and gripping turn of events that its predecessors did, which left me a little disappointed. The book dragged a little in places and there were too many switches between the people, locations and timeframes.
Nevertheless, this was still an excellent book by an excellent author and storyteller who has certainly played his part in exposing the treatment of people and particularly women in the Middle East, and in this story of Afghanistan. We are presented with a very credible view and deep insight into the lives of so many people we know to have had similar experiences to the people in the story. I love that Hosseini tells the story and exposes the troubled lives without being too judgmental. Instead, he leaves the reader to piece together the whole picture which I feel is much more effective and impactful.
“It was the kind of love that, sooner or later, cornered you into a choice: either you tore free or you stayed and withstood its rigor even as it squeezed you into something smaller than yourself.”
Travelling - will add the plot later in the week.
4.5 rounding down because it didn’t quite hit the mark the other two books did.
The book opens with a ‘let me tell you a story’ which sets the scene through a dark fairy tale of some hardships, traumas and separations to come in the lives of the many people in the book. A story first and foremost about relationships, the endurance of love, loyalty and the unbreakable bonds between family and friends.
For this I give the book an enormous 5 stars as we are immersed into the relationships, particularly of the two children. Their aspirations, pains, trials, loves and losses, set against a backdrop of war, surviving devastation and with a tyrannical ruler, the Taliban, which made this another incredibly thought-provoking story.
If I compare this to the authors other two books; The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, this one was not as impactful and didn’t possess the dramatic and gripping turn of events that its predecessors did, which left me a little disappointed. The book dragged a little in places and there were too many switches between the people, locations and timeframes.
Nevertheless, this was still an excellent book by an excellent author and storyteller who has certainly played his part in exposing the treatment of people and particularly women in the Middle East, and in this story of Afghanistan. We are presented with a very credible view and deep insight into the lives of so many people we know to have had similar experiences to the people in the story. I love that Hosseini tells the story and exposes the troubled lives without being too judgmental. Instead, he leaves the reader to piece together the whole picture which I feel is much more effective and impactful.
“It was the kind of love that, sooner or later, cornered you into a choice: either you tore free or you stayed and withstood its rigor even as it squeezed you into something smaller than yourself.”
Travelling - will add the plot later in the week.
4.5 rounding down because it didn’t quite hit the mark the other two books did.
December 4, 2013
You know how you hate when a good book ends? You know you have to keep reading, reading, reading because you just can't stop and yet you are ever so mad when the book does just that? You know how you feel like wow! how can I find another like this, a book as good, a book as well written, a book that has touched you in so many places? This is one of those books. Mr Hosseini has written a brilliant novel which is about family, its importance, its closeness even though one is continents away, and its ability to love through the years and separation.
AS I was nearing the end, I had to think how this could have been anyone's story. Separated because of poverty, uprooted because of conflict, this family beset by many tragedies pushes forward. They reconnect and reunite in a future that looks to be bright and loving every bit as loving as that love which transpired between a brother and a sister so very long ago.
This author has definitely a kindred mind with the human spirit. He speaks so well of people, making the reader get to know his characters on so many levels. He is a gifted storyteller and one who makes the pages fly as the thoughts of things held dear become a focus of one's life. He is able to see and portray so well that one's past can and often does have repercussions long after the incidents of life have intruded and that perhaps in reality it is through one's family that you can go home again even though Thomas Wolfe might disagree.
This book can't come more highly recommended by this reader. It presents us all with the concept that no matter what country, nationality, heritage you may bring with you, the family and its core of love is ultimately the greatest equalizer to humanity.
AS I was nearing the end, I had to think how this could have been anyone's story. Separated because of poverty, uprooted because of conflict, this family beset by many tragedies pushes forward. They reconnect and reunite in a future that looks to be bright and loving every bit as loving as that love which transpired between a brother and a sister so very long ago.
This author has definitely a kindred mind with the human spirit. He speaks so well of people, making the reader get to know his characters on so many levels. He is a gifted storyteller and one who makes the pages fly as the thoughts of things held dear become a focus of one's life. He is able to see and portray so well that one's past can and often does have repercussions long after the incidents of life have intruded and that perhaps in reality it is through one's family that you can go home again even though Thomas Wolfe might disagree.
This book can't come more highly recommended by this reader. It presents us all with the concept that no matter what country, nationality, heritage you may bring with you, the family and its core of love is ultimately the greatest equalizer to humanity.
December 4, 2013
A pebble thrown in a pool of water creates ripples; never just one, but countless of them. This is what this story is all about. An uncle’s suggestion led to a father’s decision, and there was no stopping what happened afterwards. The ripples were so vast it looked almost impossible to trace back to the central plop that the pebble created; but secrets are meant to be revealed, truths are meant to be uncovered. The story played out through many decades in at least five countries among a myriad of characters, and yet not once did I feel lost or confused while reading it. I feel for Abdullah and Pari, and I am glad that somehow there was redemption for them at the end, even if one can say that it was not too complete because of Abdullah’s condition.
Another masterpiece from Mr. Hosseini, and may I say that in this third novel, he put the notch for himself much higher that it should be an exciting wait for the next one.
Another masterpiece from Mr. Hosseini, and may I say that in this third novel, he put the notch for himself much higher that it should be an exciting wait for the next one.
March 29, 2022
In a small village in remote Afghanistan in the 1950s a family makes a sacrifice that echoes across the mountains from Kabul, through to Paris, London, Greece and Northern California over the next seven decades, this is the story of those echoes. And, just wow, what stories! Centred around the remote village and a house in Kabul, Hossseini tells the personal stories in first person of an eclectic cast made of the village family members and their descendants, the Kabul house owners, the later residents and other people whose live were impacted by the echo of that original sacrifice. A pot pourri of characters that uncover the past and then the ensuing decades. And. This. Book. Is. Genius.
The weird thing was that after reading The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns I had no other choice but to expect genius from this book, so ha very high expectations; the startling thing was that after reading the heart rending first chapter set in the village from a child's viewpoint I was already completely sold! Hosseini says that his characters write themselves and reading this wondrous saga underlines his feelings!
What could have easily been a work looking at the changes in Afghanistan over a century is anything but; this is an amazingly detailed and authentic feeling characters' (plural) study of family, sacrifice, self awareness, survival and most of all identity as soon through the eyes of people connected by the ripple effect, the echoes of a momentous sacrifice made in Kabul in 1957. This. Book. Is. Genius. 10 out of 12.
2022 read
The weird thing was that after reading The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns I had no other choice but to expect genius from this book, so ha very high expectations; the startling thing was that after reading the heart rending first chapter set in the village from a child's viewpoint I was already completely sold! Hosseini says that his characters write themselves and reading this wondrous saga underlines his feelings!
What could have easily been a work looking at the changes in Afghanistan over a century is anything but; this is an amazingly detailed and authentic feeling characters' (plural) study of family, sacrifice, self awareness, survival and most of all identity as soon through the eyes of people connected by the ripple effect, the echoes of a momentous sacrifice made in Kabul in 1957. This. Book. Is. Genius. 10 out of 12.
2022 read
December 18, 2019
One terrific novel. Great to know: the page-turning literary novel is alive & well in the 2010s!
The intersecting stories are all pearls of a deep maudlin color mauve. Blue, frozen stories which, because of their humanity, resound like the echoes in mountains. (An interesting motif regarding the immobility of singular fates, &/or the full circle reconciliation with the past.)
Wholeheartedly recommended to me by my pal Segen, & I in turn also wanna do the same.
The intersecting stories are all pearls of a deep maudlin color mauve. Blue, frozen stories which, because of their humanity, resound like the echoes in mountains. (An interesting motif regarding the immobility of singular fates, &/or the full circle reconciliation with the past.)
Wholeheartedly recommended to me by my pal Segen, & I in turn also wanna do the same.
May 26, 2020
Abdullah 10, is very close to his little sister Pari 3, his poor family living inside a mud house, in Shadbagh , a small village of Afghanistan, days walk from Kabul the capital, but the boy's whole life is taking care of this precious girl child, washing her, keeping the sister clean, playing and giving the baby things, reciting poems, taking the tiny female on rambles, doesn't matter, just content to be together, they are like twins...His kind mother has died and the stepmother Parawana , is indifferent to their needs, besides she has a child of her own a male... to occupy her time , the surviving proud, strict parent Saboor ignores the two, too busy scratching out an existence , providing for his family's survival in the farm fields, just another laborer during the early 1950's trying to prevent starvation to his dependents . However an unbelievable event happens Pari is sold to a rich, childless couple, Suleiman Wahdati, a very private man even a recluse, and his sophisticated, beautiful, fun loving wife Nila, half French, she likes to have drinking parties, where everyone smokes in this traditional muslim society, at home, still feeling uncomfortable in such an intensely conservative country...though in Kabul, an unhappy marriage obviously ; the "adoption" arranged by Abdulla's stepmother's brother, "Uncle" Nabi... He, all his life regrets the idea, ( a big mistake that cripples his ambitions) to buy this pretty, talented girl, the chauffeur who works for them, the wealthy pair, in the large, frightening, cosmopolitan city of ever expanding Kabul...Abdullah howls in anguish ...the only person he loves has been taken cruelly away...it will change the destiny of many in the future. This third novel by Khaled Hosseini can't match the previous others, about the lives of scattered families and friends , in Afghanistan, France, Greece, and the United States... resembles more a bunch of short stories loosely connected , than a real novel, he is like an intense juggler with too many toys in the air, his thoughts divided, unfocused, uneasy , only so long can he keep these objects floating above, before they come crashing down to the floor causing havoc...it is a shame. If the writer had stayed with Abdullah and Pari as the main characters this would have been a great book... bored authors like to do different things, experiment, change their style , hoping to surprise readers but instead hurt the product not fatally here, it is still quite good, yet a slow puncture wound proves costly and the victim is us ...taking a long time to recover, nevertheless it hurts...people including writers are resilient, the future can be bright. Another day arriving and optimism coming with it...
August 5, 2013
This is a difficult book to review. Hosseini is a good storyteller, but I have the same complaint about this book as I did with The Kite Runner, which is that they are too precious. As in, roll-your-eyes, on-the-nose precious.
But before I focus on the negative, let me share the positive: This is an impressive story that spans generations and continents. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, and each section builds on the events that have come before, and by the end we have covered more than 60 years of a family's story.
The book opens with a legend about a giant who would go to a village and demand a child be sacrificed to him. A father was forced to give up his favorite son, and he was so heartbroken and upset that he later left the village to try and retrieve him from the giant. But when he arrived at the giant's house after many days of walking, he saw that his son was happy and was living a better life than he could have provided. The giant takes pity on the father and gives him a potion to help him forget his son. But did the father ever really forget?
The meaning of this legend is soon made evident when we meet a boy, Abdullah, who is forced to say goodbye to his beloved sister, Pari, who is being sent to Kabul to be adopted. In the next chapter we meet the woman who will become Abdullah's stepmother, then we meet Abdullah's uncle, then we meet some cousins who used to be neighbors of the uncle... and so on, and so on.
There are many good moments in the book, such as when a character recognizes their selfishness and vows to do better. Or when relatives have been reunited after a long separation because of the war. And as the story unfolds, we must ask if Pari was better off being adopted, or should she have stayed with her family in the village?
A minor complaint of mine is I think Hosseini skimped on details of the wars in Afghanistan and on the clashes with the Taliban. True, he covered this in previous books, and in this book one of the characters wrote in a letter that the wars have been well-documented elsewhere, so there's no point in describing it. But I disagree, because I think it was a bit of laziness on the author's part. This is a story about an Afghanistan family from the 1950s to present day. The war violently disrupted the country and the family, and yet here it only surfaces as background noise. (For readers who want to know more about Afghanistan during this time period, I recommend the memoir The Favored Daughter by Fawzia Koofi.)
For most of the book I was prepared to give it four stars, but about three-fourths of the way through I grew weary of the too precious dialogue, the characters who were just too earnest and understanding, and the seemingly endless exposition. (What pushed me over the edge was the extended section in Greece, which I think could have been cut entirely.) I think Hosseini is a big bestselling author because he tells good stories -- and for most people, that is enough. But when I compare him to my other favorite novelists, his books leave me wanting something more.
But before I focus on the negative, let me share the positive: This is an impressive story that spans generations and continents. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, and each section builds on the events that have come before, and by the end we have covered more than 60 years of a family's story.
The book opens with a legend about a giant who would go to a village and demand a child be sacrificed to him. A father was forced to give up his favorite son, and he was so heartbroken and upset that he later left the village to try and retrieve him from the giant. But when he arrived at the giant's house after many days of walking, he saw that his son was happy and was living a better life than he could have provided. The giant takes pity on the father and gives him a potion to help him forget his son. But did the father ever really forget?
The meaning of this legend is soon made evident when we meet a boy, Abdullah, who is forced to say goodbye to his beloved sister, Pari, who is being sent to Kabul to be adopted. In the next chapter we meet the woman who will become Abdullah's stepmother, then we meet Abdullah's uncle, then we meet some cousins who used to be neighbors of the uncle... and so on, and so on.
There are many good moments in the book, such as when a character recognizes their selfishness and vows to do better. Or when relatives have been reunited after a long separation because of the war. And as the story unfolds, we must ask if Pari was better off being adopted, or should she have stayed with her family in the village?
A minor complaint of mine is I think Hosseini skimped on details of the wars in Afghanistan and on the clashes with the Taliban. True, he covered this in previous books, and in this book one of the characters wrote in a letter that the wars have been well-documented elsewhere, so there's no point in describing it. But I disagree, because I think it was a bit of laziness on the author's part. This is a story about an Afghanistan family from the 1950s to present day. The war violently disrupted the country and the family, and yet here it only surfaces as background noise. (For readers who want to know more about Afghanistan during this time period, I recommend the memoir The Favored Daughter by Fawzia Koofi.)
For most of the book I was prepared to give it four stars, but about three-fourths of the way through I grew weary of the too precious dialogue, the characters who were just too earnest and understanding, and the seemingly endless exposition. (What pushed me over the edge was the extended section in Greece, which I think could have been cut entirely.) I think Hosseini is a big bestselling author because he tells good stories -- and for most people, that is enough. But when I compare him to my other favorite novelists, his books leave me wanting something more.
August 6, 2013
This is my biggest disappointment with a book of all time, purely because Khaled Hosseini is one of my favourite authors. I loved his two previous books, “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” but somehow I couldn’t get interested in the same way I did with his previous books. They both had so much depth. I think the fact that I lived in Saudi Arabia for many years possibly helped in that I could relate to them the way I did.
But this book, well I found it to be “long winded” and not to my satisfaction at all and consequently I did skim read to my shame.
The first chapter was excellent about Baba Ayub and the div. The choice that he had to make seemed to form the basis for the rest of the book.
Abdullah and his sister Pari were really interesting but then I began to get lost in the book and rapidly my interest waned. Sad…
The hardback looked the part but something was missing from this book. In my mind, it had no soul. I will, of course, read his next book but I wonder whether in fact he “has been there, done Afghanistan” and needs to move on to fresh pastures? He is a wonderful storyteller and perhaps pressures from the publishing world caused him to write in this particular convoluted way? I don’t know but nevertheless I look forward to reading his next book.
But this book, well I found it to be “long winded” and not to my satisfaction at all and consequently I did skim read to my shame.
The first chapter was excellent about Baba Ayub and the div. The choice that he had to make seemed to form the basis for the rest of the book.
Abdullah and his sister Pari were really interesting but then I began to get lost in the book and rapidly my interest waned. Sad…
The hardback looked the part but something was missing from this book. In my mind, it had no soul. I will, of course, read his next book but I wonder whether in fact he “has been there, done Afghanistan” and needs to move on to fresh pastures? He is a wonderful storyteller and perhaps pressures from the publishing world caused him to write in this particular convoluted way? I don’t know but nevertheless I look forward to reading his next book.
March 18, 2022
*top 10 favourite ever*
*top 10 memorable book ever*
*Need to reread
The most underrated book of all times 🗣️🗣️🗣️
*top 10 memorable book ever*
*Need to reread
The most underrated book of all times 🗣️🗣️🗣️
February 9, 2024
In 1952 a poor Afghan family - Saboor, his second wife Parwana, his son Abdullah, 10, and daughter Pari, 3 are in dire straits in the town of Shadbagh, Afghanistan.
Having recently lost a baby to the frigid Afghan winter Saboor decides to sell Pari to the Wahdatis - a wealthy childless couple in Kabul - to provide a better life for his family.
This sets up the baseline for the story that reverberates down through multiple characters and generations.....which the author relates almost as series of short stories.
In one story line we learn that Parwana's brother Nabi, chauffeur and houseman to the Wahdatis, brokered the sale of Pari, a deed that haunts him for the rest of his life.
His motive, apparently, is his infatuation with Nila (Mrs. Wahdati) - who is unable to have children. Soon enough Mr. Wahdati becomes ill and Nila takes off for France with Pari.
Nabi, an indispensable aide to Mr. Wahdati, is left to take care of his employer and eventually friend.
In another section the author tells the story of Nila and a grown up Pari living in Paris. Nila is a poet whose writing scandalizes traditonal Afghans, and Pari is a talented student studying advanced mathematics. The relationship between Nali and Pari, as can happen with mothers and daughters, is sometimes difficult - and romance only adds to the tension.
I was especially struck by this story line, musing that Pari's life was exponentially different (and better in my opinion) than it would have been with her birth family. Does this justify selling a child? Probably room for debate there.
Other chapters are equally engaging. We find out that Saboor's second wife Parwana has a terrible secret of her own and that Saboor and Parwana's grandchildren become refugees when Shadbagh is taken over by Afghani war criminals.
We also discover that a grown-up Abdullah eventually emigrates to America with his wife and daughter, also named Pari.
Especially poignant are two separate stories of young girls with disfigured faces, one due to a dog bite, the other caused by a horrendous family tragedy. Both girls profoundly affect the people in their lives.
All these stories, and a number of others, are illuminating and engaging; they also provide a glimpse of Afghan culture that many people are not familiar with.
The book comes full circle when Pari, who has no memory of the event, learns of the circumstances of her adoption - and realizes why she has always felt that something was missing in her life.
This is a wonderfully written book, well-worth reading. Highly recommended.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
August 25, 2013
OMG..! OMG..!
OMG..! OMG..! OMG..!
OMG..! OMG..! OMG..! OMG..!
Oh-MY-GOD..!
(that pretty much Explains my reaction after seeing that a new book by Khaled Hosseini Is coming..!)
....................................................................................
Seeing this review and 66 likes makes me smile..
After all the excitements and waiting, I practically ruined this book by trying to read it when I was not fit for reading.
OH well, I can add another thing to my ever growing long list of regrets and things that I could have done "not Wrong'.
Review to come..! This book deserves some words from me.
OMG..! OMG..! OMG..!
OMG..! OMG..! OMG..! OMG..!
Oh-MY-GOD..!
(that pretty much Explains my reaction after seeing that a new book by Khaled Hosseini Is coming..!)
....................................................................................
Seeing this review and 66 likes makes me smile..
After all the excitements and waiting, I practically ruined this book by trying to read it when I was not fit for reading.
OH well, I can add another thing to my ever growing long list of regrets and things that I could have done "not Wrong'.
Review to come..! This book deserves some words from me.
April 8, 2013
Khaled Hosseini kills me. His writing seems to wound me as I'm reading his books. I remember when I read the Kite Runner I had to stop for a week or so to psyche myself up to finish it because it made me so sad. (I think I must be getting soft in my old age.) His writing rides a raw edge between nostalgia and pain: you don't want bad things to happen to his characters because they are already deeply wounded by circumstance. But then another part of me gets inspired to write when I read his work. I love how he gently handles these flawed, vulnerable creatures. They are pummeled and worked over again and again, but at the same time they are also luminescent with authenticity.
It's excellent.
It's excellent.
November 19, 2017
حكواتي فطري، وبارع.. كالعادة.
December 4, 2013
Damn, And the Mountains Echoed made me cry. I just finished it. Gosh, why did it upset me so much?! And will others react as I have? Is it just stupid me? I can point at a million things that are wrong with the book....and yet, it has done something right since it has undeniably moved me. Rarely do books make me cry.
OK, here is what I think is going on, in my head and in my heart:
I will start with what is simple, but very important. This is the first book I have listened to where I would advise very strongly that you read the paper book rather than listen to the audio version. There are three narrators: the author (Khaled Hosseini), a woman (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and a second male narrator (Navid Negahban). The latter two slur English words to such an extent that you must decipher what is being said by the context of the words. Cheek sounds like chick; swim sounds like "sweem"; breeze sounds like bees; words sounds like wards; shut sounds like shot; launches sounds like lunches. Must I go on? The woman's voice is so muted that you must increase the volume. I liked Hosseini's reading of the introductory fairy tale, but then later he enunciates every darn letter. Quite simply, the narration is unprofessional. Furthermore, why in the world have they even bothered to use three different narrators? The book shifts to different locations around the world - France, Greece and the US. I would have preferred three narrators: one fluent in French, one in Greek and one in American, or just one narrator that speaks fluent English. They all spoke what I think was meant to be English with an Afghan accent; let's just say poor English. Some of the characters lived in France since their early youth. The narration is so poor that it detracts from one's appreciation of the author's words. Read the paper book!
This book is about an Afghan family, starting at the end of the 40s and ending a decade into the 21st Century. It is about the how the 20th Century has split families. It isn't unusual today to find members of one family spread all over the world. What does this do to us? And what is the essence of family....if we do not live near each other and if we do not have daily contact, hands on contact. Are we still bound to each other? Does family remain family?
The book begins with a bedtime story, which is as I originally thought the central message of the entire book. So pay attention. The beginning is also the best part of the book, because there in the beginning you most intimately rub shoulders with the main characters. These characters will have children and grandchildren and spouses and friends and you never really come to know them as you do the first ones. The central theme of the book IS based on the choices that are made by the first characters we meet. Later chapters deal with one family and then another family or friend. They can almost be seen as separate stories, but yes they do all come together at the end. The problem is that the book does not succeed in bringing all of these diverse stories to life. Neither are all the different places brought to life. Afghanistan was well portrayed, but not Paris, not California, not Greece! The book tries to do too much. Or is it that Hosseini has best captured that which he knows best? I will credit him in his attempt to show what happens to "family" in today's globalized world.
But none of the above is really what brought the tears to my eyes. We love someone, and even if we try our hardest to make the best choices, even if we sacrifice our own personal needs, still one can be left with such emptiness. Sometimes that emptiness simply cannot be filled. Sometimes we try our best, but so much is misunderstood. Life is damn messy. There can be a wonderful blessing in forgetting. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. The book explains this better than I have.
OK, here is what I think is going on, in my head and in my heart:
I will start with what is simple, but very important. This is the first book I have listened to where I would advise very strongly that you read the paper book rather than listen to the audio version. There are three narrators: the author (Khaled Hosseini), a woman (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and a second male narrator (Navid Negahban). The latter two slur English words to such an extent that you must decipher what is being said by the context of the words. Cheek sounds like chick; swim sounds like "sweem"; breeze sounds like bees; words sounds like wards; shut sounds like shot; launches sounds like lunches. Must I go on? The woman's voice is so muted that you must increase the volume. I liked Hosseini's reading of the introductory fairy tale, but then later he enunciates every darn letter. Quite simply, the narration is unprofessional. Furthermore, why in the world have they even bothered to use three different narrators? The book shifts to different locations around the world - France, Greece and the US. I would have preferred three narrators: one fluent in French, one in Greek and one in American, or just one narrator that speaks fluent English. They all spoke what I think was meant to be English with an Afghan accent; let's just say poor English. Some of the characters lived in France since their early youth. The narration is so poor that it detracts from one's appreciation of the author's words. Read the paper book!
This book is about an Afghan family, starting at the end of the 40s and ending a decade into the 21st Century. It is about the how the 20th Century has split families. It isn't unusual today to find members of one family spread all over the world. What does this do to us? And what is the essence of family....if we do not live near each other and if we do not have daily contact, hands on contact. Are we still bound to each other? Does family remain family?
The book begins with a bedtime story, which is as I originally thought the central message of the entire book. So pay attention. The beginning is also the best part of the book, because there in the beginning you most intimately rub shoulders with the main characters. These characters will have children and grandchildren and spouses and friends and you never really come to know them as you do the first ones. The central theme of the book IS based on the choices that are made by the first characters we meet. Later chapters deal with one family and then another family or friend. They can almost be seen as separate stories, but yes they do all come together at the end. The problem is that the book does not succeed in bringing all of these diverse stories to life. Neither are all the different places brought to life. Afghanistan was well portrayed, but not Paris, not California, not Greece! The book tries to do too much. Or is it that Hosseini has best captured that which he knows best? I will credit him in his attempt to show what happens to "family" in today's globalized world.
But none of the above is really what brought the tears to my eyes. We love someone, and even if we try our hardest to make the best choices, even if we sacrifice our own personal needs, still one can be left with such emptiness. Sometimes that emptiness simply cannot be filled. Sometimes we try our best, but so much is misunderstood. Life is damn messy. There can be a wonderful blessing in forgetting. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. The book explains this better than I have.
March 30, 2014
Speechless ✓
Swollen eyes ✓
Messed up mind ✓
Bitter sweet feeling ✓
Craving for more time to spend with the characters ✓
Here is what I have been trying to do for the last one hour (before helplessly falling asleep)-
Aim: To write a review of the book.
Result: Several crumpled pages.
Reason: Mind full of emotions but out of words.
Conclusion: I will be left like this each and every time I read a book written by Khaled Hosseini.
Swollen eyes ✓
Messed up mind ✓
Bitter sweet feeling ✓
Craving for more time to spend with the characters ✓
Here is what I have been trying to do for the last one hour (before helplessly falling asleep)-
Aim: To write a review of the book.
Result: Several crumpled pages.
Reason: Mind full of emotions but out of words.
Conclusion: I will be left like this each and every time I read a book written by Khaled Hosseini.
Hosseini is a 'magician' who captures your mind with the simple tricks of powerful words and leaves you weeping silently but gifts you with a beautiful yet sad feeling. This time he has come up with an intriguing story of the siblings, Pari and Abdullah. The story may not be so special as The Kite Runner but the love the brother and the little sister share is unique.
All I want to do now is thank Mr. Hosseini for giving me the character of Abdullah with whom I can share so many feelings. The bitter-sweet longings I felt years ago when my sister left home for college, all came rushing back when Pari was taken away from poor little Abdullah.
March 25, 2013
This has probably been my most anticipated new release for a very long time. Like many people, I was totally awestruck by Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner. His second; A Thousand Splendid Suns is up there in my Top Five Books, I was astounded by the story. Bearing this in mind, and despite my delight at acquiring a pre-publication copy of And The Mountains Echoed, I was a little nervous that I may be a little disappointed.
Khaled Hosseini's fans do have to wait a long time between books, its been five years since A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can truthfully say that this is certainly worth that very very long wait.
This is a story that spans generations, yet starts and finishes with the same characters. In 1952 a father and his two young children are travelling across Afghanistan, father has been promised some much needed work. The children; Abdullah and his little sister Pari are happy to be together, they adore each other and Abdullah has become more of a parent than a brother to Pari. When their mother died just after giving birth to Pari and then their father re-married and new half-siblings joined the family, Abdullah took on the protection and care of Pari. Neither of them can know that this journey will be the beginning of heartbreak that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
With heart-breaking realism, Hosseini tells the tale of a family split apart by poverty and desperation. From the small rural villages to the large bustling cities of Afghanistan, the writing transports the reader into the heart of the story, experiencing the sounds, the smells and the changing political landscapes. From immense poverty, to the greatest riches. From the modest and humble, to the arrogant and the proud, the cast of characters are a triumph.
That one event in Kabul in 1952 leads on to many others, including characters and settings from Paris, to the Greek Islands and back to Afghanistan. Characters who appear, on the face of it, to be so different and so diverse are all connected in one way or another to the day that a loving father told his two small children the story of farmer Baba Ayub - it is this story, and its meaning that is threaded through the whole novel and which eventually turns from a fable to the truth.
Whilst And The Mountains Echoed does not have the shock-factor of Hosseini's two previous novels, it is still a very important epic story that will leave a mark on anyone who reads it. The cast of characters is huge and the narrative often slips back and forward, which can at times, appear a little disjointed. However, this really does not detract from the story, or from the wonderfully evocative writing.
Once again, Khaled Hosseini has produced a story that will break hearts and leave his fans, new and old, gasping for more.
Khaled Hosseini's fans do have to wait a long time between books, its been five years since A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can truthfully say that this is certainly worth that very very long wait.
This is a story that spans generations, yet starts and finishes with the same characters. In 1952 a father and his two young children are travelling across Afghanistan, father has been promised some much needed work. The children; Abdullah and his little sister Pari are happy to be together, they adore each other and Abdullah has become more of a parent than a brother to Pari. When their mother died just after giving birth to Pari and then their father re-married and new half-siblings joined the family, Abdullah took on the protection and care of Pari. Neither of them can know that this journey will be the beginning of heartbreak that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
With heart-breaking realism, Hosseini tells the tale of a family split apart by poverty and desperation. From the small rural villages to the large bustling cities of Afghanistan, the writing transports the reader into the heart of the story, experiencing the sounds, the smells and the changing political landscapes. From immense poverty, to the greatest riches. From the modest and humble, to the arrogant and the proud, the cast of characters are a triumph.
That one event in Kabul in 1952 leads on to many others, including characters and settings from Paris, to the Greek Islands and back to Afghanistan. Characters who appear, on the face of it, to be so different and so diverse are all connected in one way or another to the day that a loving father told his two small children the story of farmer Baba Ayub - it is this story, and its meaning that is threaded through the whole novel and which eventually turns from a fable to the truth.
Whilst And The Mountains Echoed does not have the shock-factor of Hosseini's two previous novels, it is still a very important epic story that will leave a mark on anyone who reads it. The cast of characters is huge and the narrative often slips back and forward, which can at times, appear a little disjointed. However, this really does not detract from the story, or from the wonderfully evocative writing.
Once again, Khaled Hosseini has produced a story that will break hearts and leave his fans, new and old, gasping for more.
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