Hosseini disappoints this time !!. Review on And The Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini

It is with such a heavy heart that I rate a Khaled Hosseini book with a 2 star. He's won over my heart with just two books , The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, and by far he's one of the best-est authors I've read. How often has it happened? When an author writes a really spectacular book/books and readers start loving him so much so, the next book is often not upto the level. It has happened in movies too. The success of the first (in Hosseini's case - two) book is so overwhelming that the next book fails to create a proper impression.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR : Khaled Hosseini, born (March 4, 1965), is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician. He is a citizen of the United States where he has lived since he was fifteen years old. He has written two best-selling novels - The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

THE PLOT : I think the main letdown of the whole book is the plot itself. The book as a whole doesn't have a central plot. I know it sounds weird to you but the book is more about the individual characters and their separates stories. The book doesn't have a common plot or storyline though all the characters are related to each other in some way or the other. In some aspects, the book is a better version of a "short stories" book. Only, and I mean only, the beginning and the ending chapter of the book is connected with some kind of plot or story......in between, all is meaningless.

The plot begins with a "Bollywood movie" feel. Abdullah and Pari - siblings - living with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. To Abdullah, Pari is the apple of his eye and he even looses his only pair of shoes to add a feather to Pari's feather collection. Later on, Pari is sold to a Mr. and Mrs. Wahdati who are the employers of Abdullah and Pari's uncle.

Till here, the book is good enough. Then suddenly, I don't know what struck Hosseini but he abandons the main plot and the main characters and starts telling us different tales about the characters which have no importance to the story. Abdullah and Pari (our protagonists) hardly make an appearance throughout the entire book - just a small chapter is dedicated to Pari - and only in the very end do they shine in the spotlight again, when they are reunited.

This in all, sums up the whole book. There was basically no story and especially, if you look at the touching stories Hosseini has written in his earlier books, you'll be surprised to know that this actually is Hosseini's book.

PROS : I think the best thing about the book was the story connecting the beginning and the ending. The deep bonding, the relationship between the two siblings is portrayed so beautifully that you have tears on your eyes in the last chapter of the book. An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else - is what the back cover of the book says and oh! so true! The pain of separation, losing that part of yourself when two paths separate and the happiness of reunion - some of the really wonderful things written in the book.

Also, the act of sacrificing. The choices we make and their consequences. Pain, joy, hope, paternal love - each and every emotion is described in such a just way, it makes you feel all the more drawn to the book. The pain of sacrificing your child, in sacrificing your love for your only sister, that ray of hope which enters the life of an injured person when that someone walks in......and of course, the infinite joy of reuniting with your other half and finding that lost piece of yourself. According to me, the highlight of the book was its beautiful portrayal of human emotions.

CONS : Already stated earlier, the main disappointment of the book is the story. As much as the story looks appealing, trust me on this, all the gibberish which happens in between the beginning and ending chapters - is really senseless. I can't even find a purpose to why all the different stories about the not-that-less number of characters was included, not that they had much of an impact on the actual story.

Also, the fact that the main characters hardly make an appearance is disturbing. It makes you want to know what the hell happened to these two characters. Another letdown was the characters. There were, like really, plain. It was as if there was something missing in them.  With very less dialogues, this book more or less has a descriptive style which sometimes in some parts made it a boring read.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK :  This book lacks in story and proper plot but overcomes its shortcomings in the department of feelings and emotions. It is all about family, personal ties and the consequences of certain decisions we make in life who's impact can be felt through generations...

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Thanks for reading,

AH

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing

and rightdoing there is a field.

I'll meet you there." - Rumi