Book Report: And the Mountains Echoed

Being somewhat shallow, I have avoided the previous two books by Khaled Hosseini,The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Somehow, the settings of the books – in Afghanistan – turned me off. I guess I was thinking of war and didn’t want to get involved. Well, as frequently is the case, I was wrong.

I just finished reading And the Mountains Echoed for my book/movie/Bible study group at First Methodist. I absolutely loved it. Here’s how much I loved it…I finished the last 50 pages sitting in a bar, watching the pre-season Cowboys vs. Dolphins game (remember, we don’t have a tv here in Fort Worth, and our son was in from Los Angeles – he’s a real Cowboy fan).

We will be discussing the book for the next three Book Club sessions – reading about 1/3 each week. Well, I couldn’t stop at the 1/3 mark.

This book, too, is set in Afghanistan. and uses that tumultuous history to underscore the choices made by Hosseini’s rich, interesting characters. Family relationships, duty, loyalty, loss, and the relationships between siblings are at the crux of this story.

I devoured this book, and will now need to go back to reread it, “book-club-style,” so that I can discuss (somewhat) intelligently with the group. I highly recommend this delicious read.