Khaled Hosseini can do no wrong by me. I have eagerly devoured each of his novels, feeling completely satisfied (if not emotionally drained) at their conclusions. His latest work, AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED, surpassed all of my expectations and quickly moved up to become my favorite book of his works, and one of my favorite books of all time.
I get emotional over books, television and movies disturbingly easily (see: crying over any episode of Grey’s Anatomy, the end of Forrest Gump and sometimes The Parent Trap...if I’m in the right mood). I was in tears by page ten. The story begins with ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari being separated when Pari is sold as a surrogate child to a family in Kabul, and Abdullah and his father return to their rural village of Shadbagh. The novel then spans various decades and countries to give brief accounts from a number of different characters whose lives all have connections that can be traced back to Abdullah and Pari. Out of Hosseini’s three novels, this one includes the fewest details of the horrors of war and violence in Afghanistan. Instead of ruminating on past or present political turmoil, he delves deeper into the relationships and histories of the characters he introduces, delivering with each story a startlingly insightful example of human motives and emotions. He articulates specific feelings and experiences in such a way that you find yourself nodding your head, and agreeing that you too have felt the same things that his characters have: the shame of a childhood mistake, the reluctance to accept responsibility and the loneliness of growing older. Even the culmination of the novel, which finally sees the reunion of the two lost siblings, rings true and sincere. It is not the perfect Disney ending we’ve grown up to expect (Abdullah and Pari in a slow-motion embrace as violins play in the background), but it is realistic and emotional. It feels right. Tears were shed.
While THE KITE RUNNER and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS had more concrete plot lines and fewer characters, AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED makes up for a lack of structure with the depth and the wide spectrum of emotions he explores in each chapter. Khaled Hosseini’s latest work makes clear what his previous works had only hinted at --- that he has a unique gift for illustrating simple details and complex relationships. In this novel, he somehow manages to pin down, with precision and skill, the elusive truth of what it means to be human.
