Title: And the Mountains Echoed

Author: Khalid Hosseini

Genre: Fiction 

From the mountains of Afghanistan to the streets of Paris and finally to Newyork, And the Mountains Echoed traces the story of the siblings Abdullah and Pari.

Abdullah adores his sister Pari and almost becomes her second parent after the death of their mother. He loved to collect feathers for her and she stored it as if it was a treasure.

They are taken to Kabul by their dad where they meet their step-uncle Nabi. Nabi takes them to his boss Mr. Waldadi. Abdullah and Pari are unaware of what’s in store for them until his father hands over Pari to Ms.Nila, Waldadi’s wife.

Pari moves to Paris with her mother after the death of her father. She grows up there, completely disconnected from her past. One phone call and a few old artefacts bring back the faint memories of her so called childhood.

Khalid has cleverly touched upon some sensitive issues in this book. Though the narration is crisp in the initial parts, as the story progresses, too many new characters are introduced. If that wasn’t enough, the plot expands to give a history about the new characters, which in turn becomes a big eyesore. The reader gets confused with the thought, “When and where did I come across this character.”

The climax shows a reunion of the siblings which was expected but their interactions do leave the heart heavy.

For me, I picked up this book after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, and to be really honest, this was a pure setback.