And The Mountains Echoed.

I have no idea how to start this review.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is a novel consisting of a collection of short stories in which the characters are connected. This has its advantages and disadvantages as I will talk about in a bit. The stories are beautiful, perfectly detailed and incredibly captivating with rich imagery, complex characters and gripping storylines. The stories do an amazing job of making you think and evoking emotions. There are no significant spoilers in this review.

The Storyline[s]:

Unlike Hosseini's other novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, And The Mountains Echoed consists of a mirage of interlinked stories. The novel starts out with a base story and then as the other chapters unfold we see other characters and their complexed lives and how they fit into the story. The last story offers a sort of resolve to the first one. And the chapters fit together chronologically.

The layout of this book, however, meant that with each chapter, it felt like I was reading a whole new book. This did become tiring at points because I would go through the same stages one does when starting a new book, just quickly and constantly. There are the initial phases where we are learning the characters and setting and getting a feel for the book, and then we start getting into it, then we are gripped with suspense until we absolutely can't take it anymore and want to read the last page. Then we finally get to the end and after the twist is the falling action that ties up the loose ends. Imagine this, but it is experienced for every chapter. It gets a bit tedious.

Also, there are so many stories and chapters (9). And some of them really seem irrelevant, like Markos' story, that it feels like they are filler chapters for the book. However, this is completely subjective because each person will take something different out of each story depending on their personality, experiences and personal hardships.

Luckily, Hosseini's writing is able to keep it alive.

The Writing:

The challenge of reading a new story for each chapter seems laborious and yes it is. However, Hosseini's amazing writing kept me reading. There is a lot of description but not too much to make one bored. His tales are emotional rollercoasters. He can really evoke emotion. He has the ability to create such complex characters. He challenges our thought process. And to top it off, he doesn't leave anything untied - he allows for closure. His twists are straightforward and shocking.

The Characters and The Lessons:

The main reason I would recommend this novel is because of its lessons. Its setting is Afganistan, however, it avoids directly referring to the wars, while still conveying a bit of the damages that they've caused more subtly. The war and its effects are more directly referred to in A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner.

Hosseini does an incredible job of conveying human struggles and imperfections (more like heavy, deep flaws) in a subjective manner. What I mean by this is that the stories are told from perspectives. Single perspectives. And because of this, we can tell that the story is subjective. This perfectly displays that life isn't black and white. There is no strict wrong and right, good and bad. Life - and people - are much, much more complex. The characters are all deeply flawed and have to make difficult decisions. While reading this, your way of thinking and things that you know so well, such as what is wrong vs what is right, is directly challenged. For example, when is sacrifice noble and honourable, and when is it just cruel and selfish? Do intentions matter when the right thing is being done? What responsibilities do you have for the faults of your family? How should one handle and process and react to tragedies? These are things we don't give much thought to because we have made up our minds about them. However, the novel is so subjective and complex that all that you believe is questioned.

In Closing:

I give this novel an 8/10. This is because I did get tired while reading it at points and because Hosseini's other novels are so much better. But I 100% recommend reading it. It has amazing settings, details, complex characters, magnificent storylines, and the writing is spectacular. It also makes you think and is a heavier novel so it is not necessarily something that one would read for fun and casually. Enjoy this novel and let me know how you feel about it!

- Siya