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I can't read David Sedaris on the train because people think I am insane when I laugh out loud. I can't read Khaled Hosseini coz they think I'm a lunatic for quietly weeping.
The structure of ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ isn't new to literature, but it is new to Khaled Hosseini’s published works. Each chapter is one character’s own story which contributes to one shared inter-generational, multi-country epic. Each character contributes a few more puzzle pieces to the one hundredish-year-long story. This resulted in ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ making me feel like my year 7 self, anxiously waiting to see how Friday’s Home and Away cliff-hanger would be resolved on Monday. But unlike Home and Away this story has heart, twists and turns to make your soul and brain ache. The stakes in this story make finding out whether Gypsy is a lesbian entirely inconsequential. I thoroughly enjoyed Hosseini’s last two books (as did the rest of the world, including the thousands of VCE students with The Kite Runner on their reading list). But I’d be hard pressed to recall the narrative to you today. However due to the detective work required to hunt after detail in this new book I feel confident I will be able to remember just what happened to Abdullah, Pari and Nabi for many years.Hosseini’s stories are true to life. There are no fairy-tale endings, but neither is everything 100% dire. The realities facing the characters are harsh but because nothing is unrealistically tidied away tiny joys are magnified. Tragedy after tragedy may occur yet humans press on. (How very Chekhovian).
The structure of ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ isn't new to literature, but it is new to Khaled Hosseini’s published works. Each chapter is one character’s own story which contributes to one shared inter-generational, multi-country epic. Each character contributes a few more puzzle pieces to the one hundredish-year-long story. This resulted in ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ making me feel like my year 7 self, anxiously waiting to see how Friday’s Home and Away cliff-hanger would be resolved on Monday. But unlike Home and Away this story has heart, twists and turns to make your soul and brain ache. The stakes in this story make finding out whether Gypsy is a lesbian entirely inconsequential. I thoroughly enjoyed Hosseini’s last two books (as did the rest of the world, including the thousands of VCE students with The Kite Runner on their reading list). But I’d be hard pressed to recall the narrative to you today. However due to the detective work required to hunt after detail in this new book I feel confident I will be able to remember just what happened to Abdullah, Pari and Nabi for many years.Hosseini’s stories are true to life. There are no fairy-tale endings, but neither is everything 100% dire. The realities facing the characters are harsh but because nothing is unrealistically tidied away tiny joys are magnified. Tragedy after tragedy may occur yet humans press on. (How very Chekhovian).
5 out of 5 Peacock Feathers
