Note: Our sidekick is an accompaniment to And the Mountains Echoed, not the novel itself. While it will greatly enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the book, it is not intended to stand in its place.
Expert Book Reviews presents a comprehensive review, analysis and plot summary of Khaled Hosseini's novel And the Mountains Echoed.
This is an epic tale set in the mold of Doctor Zhivago, in which the lives of the characters are determined by great historical circumstances and events that they are powerless to control. And the Mountains Echoed is a love story of a different kind. It tells of a little Afghan girl’s unlikely journey with her family. Pari, as she is named, is loved by her older brother beyond words. When she is torn from him and her family at the tender age of three, the stage is set for the suspense that will last as long as the story. Will they ever meet again?
As it was for Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Afghanistan is just the setting for a profound exploration of the human soul and its capacity for good and evil -- paradoxically often at the same time and by the same person. No amount of factual history can give as deep and vivid a sense of the reality of Afghanistan in the last seventy years as this story gives. Likewise, no mere reporting or film documentary can give as lucid an account of the cruel decisions forced on people living on the verge of destitution.
How does Khaled Hosseini enlighten us in And the Mountains Echoed?
• The novel unblinkingly sheds light on the glory and the tawdriness that is human nature, dissecting its varied shades of good and bad.
• It gives insight into the true nature of love and its nemesis, selfishness.
• The story engenders humility in judging any person’s motives or actions, making it more difficult to condemn or exalt reflexively.
If you liked Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, you'll love And the Mountains Echoed!
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