It was the kind of love that, sooner or later, cornered you into a choice: either you tore free or you stayed and withstood its rigor even as it squeezed you into something smaller than yourself.” Saboor's bedtime story to his children opens the book. To what degree does this story help justify Saboor's heart-wrenching act in the next chapter? In what ways do other characters in the novel use storytelling to help justify or interpret their own actions? Think about your own experiences. In what ways do you use stories to explain your own past? With his third and most ambitious novel yet, Hosseini makes it clear that he’s not ready to rest on his Big Name. . . . While it hits all the Hosseini sweet spots—nostalgia, devastating details, triumph over the odds— And the Mountains Echoed covers more ground, both geographically and emotionally, than his previous works. It’s not until Hosseini makes the novel small again, for the poignant conclusion, that you fully appreciate what he’s accomplished.”— Entertainment Weekly (A) An Afghan immigrant who works as a doctor in the United States, Dr. Idris Bashiri is a quiet, shy, and somewhat self-righteous young man. He resents his cousin, Timur Bashiri, for being more successful…

So where did the div take the children to? To its fort, which sat atop a steep mountain. The div’s fort was very far from Maidan Sabz. Valleys, several deserts, and two mountain chains had to be cleared before you could reach it. And what sane person would, only to meet death? They said the fort was full of dungeons where cleavers hung from walls. Meat hooks dangled from ceilings. They said there were giant skewers and fire pits. They said that if it caught a trespasser, the div was known to overcome its aversion to adult meat. There is an assured, charismatic new maturity to Hosseini's voice. When he hits his stride, the results are electrifying.”— San Francico Chronicle Chapter Six concerns Pari’s relationship with Nila Wahdati, the woman she’s come to think of as her mother. At the chapter begins, Nila—now a middle-aged woman—has a poor relationship with her adopted daughter. She’s been a neglectful parent, despite building up a successful career as a poet. When Pari was a young teenager, Nila began seeing a man named Julien, for whom Pari had feelings, too. Julien and Nila’s relationship lasted only a few months. Several years later, while Pari was studying mathematics at the Sorbonne, she encountered Julien once again, and they began an affair of their own. When Pari worked up the courage to tell Nila about the affair, Nila laughed and told Pari that they were no longer mother and daughter. I thank you. The div grinned. May I ask what evil I have committed against you so as to warrant death? The beautiful writing, full of universal truths of loss and identity, makes each section a jewel . . . Hosseini’s eye for detail and emotional geography makes this a haunting read.”— Publishers WeeklyAnd the Mountains Echoed essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Khaled Hosseini’s new novel, “And the Mountains Echoed,” may have the most awkward title in his body of work, but it’s his most assured and emotionally gripping story yet, more fluent and ambitious than “The Kite Runner” (2003), more narratively complex than “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (2007). Hosseini’s] most assured and emotionally gripping story yet . . . Hosseini’s narrative gifts have deepened over the years. . . . [And the Mountains Echoed] grapples with many of the same themes that crisscross his early novels: the relationship between parents and children, and the ways the past can haunt the present. And it shares a similar penchant for mapping terrain midway between the boldly colored world of fable and the more shadowy, shaded world of realism… [W]e finish this novel with an intimate understanding of who his characters are and how they’ve defined themselves over the years through the choices they have made between duty and freedom, familial responsibilities and independence, loyalty to home and exile abroad… a deeply affecting choral work… a testament both to his intimate knowledge of their inner lives, and to his power as an old-fashioned storyteller.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

The novel begins with a tale of extraordinary sacrifice that has ramifications through generations of families. What do you think of Saboor's decision to let the adoption take place? How are Nila and Nabi implicated in Saboor's decision? What do you think of their motives? Who do you think is the most pure or best intended of the three adults? Ultimately, do you think Pari would have had a happier life if she had stayed with her birth family? In addition to all of the important family relationships in the book, there are also many nongenetic bonds between characters, some of them just as strong. Discuss some of these specific relationships and what needs they fill. What are the differences between these family and nonfamily bonds? What do you think the author is trying to say about the presence of these relationships in our lives? The narrative jumps to the story of Parwana’s youth. Her twin sister, Masoona, was so beautiful and amiable that she eclipsed her in all aspects of their lives, including their relationship with Saboor, the young man they both fell in love with. One day, as they were standing on the branch of a tree Masoona confessed her hope of marrying Saboor thus triggering her twin’s jealousy. In an act of cruelty, Parwana pushed her sister off the branch causing her to paralyse. Years later, she is the one taking care of Masoona while Saboor is a widower with two young children. Sensing the burden on her sister, Masoona insists on being left alone in the desert and gives Parwana her blessing if she wishes to marry their childhood love.

That spring, the skies at last broke open over Maidan Sabz. What came down was not the soft drizzle of years past but a great, great rainfall. Fat rain fell from the sky, and the village rose thirstily to meet it. All day, water drummed upon the roofs of Maidan Sabz and drowned all other sound from the world. Heavy, swollen raindrops rolled from the tips of leaves. The wells filled and the river rose. The hills to the east turned green. Wildflowers bloomed, and for the first time in many years children played on grass and cows grazed. Everyone rejoiced.

The chapter cuts ahead to Markos’s early adulthood. He travels the world, using money that Thalia has inherited from her father, who’s recently passed away. Markos photographs buildings and natural landmarks across the world, keeping up his close friendship with Thalia the entire time. He decides to become a doctor after nearly dying in an Indian hospital and being unable to save a young boy. Although he goes on to become a plastic surgeon, and often offers Thalia the chance to repair her face, Thalia always refuses. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, / there is a field. I'll meet you there." The author chose this thirteenth-century Rumi poem as the epigraph for the book. Discuss the novel in light of this poem. What do you think he is saying about rightdoing and wrongdoing in the lives of his characters, or in the world? One day their father, Saboor, takes them on a long, arduous trip to the big city of Kabul, where their Uncle Nabi works for a wealthy couple, Suleiman and Nila Wahdati. Pari is left with them to grow up with all the privileges of wealth; her father has allowed the Wahdatis to adopt her. Think of other sacrifices that are made throughout the book. Are there certain choices that are easier than others? Is Saboor’s sacrifice when he allows Pari to be adopted easier or more difficult than Parwana’s sacrifice of her sister? How are they similar and how are they different? Who else makes sacrifices in the book? What do you think the author is saying about the nature of the decisions we make in our lives and the ways in which they affect others? Hensher, Philip (May 23, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – review". The Guardian . Retrieved September 5, 2013.

Abdullah and his sister Pari go to sleep listening to this story and knowing that the next day they will have to say goodbye as well. Their father found a job in Kabul and decided to take the girl with him while leaving his son to take care of Parwana, their step mother, and Iqbal, their half-brother. However, so was the bond between the two siblings that Abdullah insisted on tagging along on the journey through the desert, towards the capital city. Once they arrived in Kabul, they are introduced to the Wahdati family, the wealthy employers of their step uncle, Nabi. Naila Wahdati takes great interest in them and in the end it is revealed that Pari was to be adopted by her and her husband thus separating her from her brother. The book raises many deep questions about the wavering line between right and wrong, and whether it is possible to be purely "good"—or purely "bad." What do you think after reading the novel: Are good intentions enough to create good deeds? Can positive actions come from selfish motivations? Can bad come from positive intent? How do you think this novel would define a good person? How would you define one? I learned that the world didn't see the inside of you, that it didn't care a whit about the hopes and dreams, and sorrows, that lay masked by skin and bone. It was as simple, as absurd, and as cruel as that.” By the time Hosseini finally gets round to the reunion, via a Greek aid official living in the house in Kabul where Pari was adopted, he has compressed a dozen life stories into his novel and unified them through an irresistible substance of yearning. His end is not quite the expected coming together but, instead, a trigger for memory.

An unnamed character, and one of the antagonists of Chapter Seven of And the Mountains Echoed, The Commander is a powerful, intimidating leader, about whom we know very little, since he’s seen entirely from… In And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini presents a multitude of windows into the souls affected by these events. The novel's rich kaleidoscope of images coalesces around one theme: the powerful and often excruciating legacy of family ties within the maelstrom of history.”— Shelf Awareness Martin Wrenn, Jill (June 24, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini on parenthood and political asylum". CNN . Retrieved September 5, 2013. a b c d Jain, Saudamini (May 26, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini and his new book And The Mountains Echoed". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013 . Retrieved August 25, 2013.Al-Shawaf, Rayyan (May 17, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini examines generations connected by a Kabul villa in 'And the Mountains Echoed' ". Miami Herald . Retrieved November 2, 2013. A character in the story Saboor tells his children, Baba Ayub is a simple farmer forced to make an impossible choice: he must sacrifice one of his own children to appease an evil creature, the… a b c Brown, Helen (May 23, 2013). "And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved November 2, 2013. The loud, charismatic, and somewhat obnoxious cousin of Dr. Idris Bashiri, Timur Bashiri is an ambiguous character, since he’s seen entirely through the eyes of his cousin. Idris deeply dislikes Timur, so it’s not…