JASMINE's THOUGHTS on And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Genre:

Adult

Contemporary Fiction

Historical Fiction

Publish Date:

February 29, 2012

Publisher:

Riverhead Books

Synopsis:

An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. 

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. 

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

And The Mountains Echoed is now available!

Amazon

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Mysterious Galaxy

Vroman's

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About the Author

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and history at a high school in Kabul. In 1976, the Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then their homeland had witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet Army. The Hosseini's sought and were granted political asylum in the United States, and in September 1980 moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high schol in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1988. The following year he entered the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, where he earned a medical degree in 1993. He completd his residency at Cedars-Sinai medical center in Los Angeles and was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004. Read more about the author, here: KhaledHosseini.com

Khaled Hosseini is one o the most widely read and beloved novelists in the world, with more than ten million copies of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns sold in the United States, and more than thirty-eight million copies sold in more than seventy other countries worldwide. Hosseini is also a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency, and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. He lives in Northern California. To learn more about his foundation, please visit khaldehosseinifoundation.org.

Khaled Hosseini's other best-selling novels

 

*My Thoughts*

NOTE: This review contains NO spoilers

I was profoundly touched by the lives of each of the characters as I read their stories. Khaled Hosseini, again, has out done himself in delivering another riveting, yet compassionate, novel about life, love and family...and family doesn't necessarily mean a blood relation. Hosseini has an amazing ability to bring his characters to life. The novel took me on their journey, over generations, of life, the people they interact with, and the choices they made.  And, the amazing twist is that his characters weren't just random people. Each and every character had "crossed paths" in one way or another. In a sense, their stories "revolved" around each other...the decisions and choices they made was, in a way, a result of their lives being tied to each other...either in a direct or indirect way. In addition to their lives intersecting with each other, each character's story took me on a journey that spanned the globe...from Afghanistan, to Paris, to Tinos (a Greek island), and to Northern California. What also made this novel so compelling to read was that after the many years that passed and the many lives that were crossed, the emotional "ride" of coming back "full circle" made the story an overwhelmingly remarkable story of the relations that these characters had with each other. By the turn of the last page, I was completely taken by the complexities of how circumstances affected each character. 

There's a statement, on the inside flap of the cover, I think sums up the entire novel...

An emotional, provocative, and unforgettable novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

And The Mountains Echoed is an emotionally compelling story of life, love, family and the other lives that are intertwined with each other.

My rating:

An Evening with Khaled Hosseini w/ Guest Host Leland P. "Lee" Cowan of CBS

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closes to us, at the the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe -- from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos -- the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page. 

On Tuesday, June 25, 2013, my daughter and I traveled up to Pasadena for an exciting event with Khaled Hosseini. With the release of his new novel, And The Mountains Echoed, Hosseini was on tour promoting his new release and Pasadena was one of the stops. Fortunately, I was able to get the day off to get a chance to meet him...boy, was I excited! After getting off work that morning (working the graveyard shift), I took a short nap before driving out to the All Saints Church in Pasadena where the event took place. Luckily, traffic wasn't too heavy, especially when we were on the freeway after business hours and everyone was heading home...haha! 

Vromans bookstore set up for the event

Display of And The Mountain Echoed books

When we arrived, a good number of fans have already lined up to entire the building for the event. When doors opened at 6pm, we took our seats...more specifically pews...ha! Our host, Vromans Bookstore, had set up on the front lawn to provide Khaled Hosseini's books for purchase.  There were also quite a good amount of And The Mountains Echoed on the table that were pre-purchased and ready for pick up...my copies were among those that were pre-purchased. 

Fans entering and taking their seats

Fans patiently waiting for the event to start

As I looked around, a variety of people were already halfway through the book,while others had already read it. People were still walking in as the exciting hour of 7pm ticked closer. Before Khaled Hosseini and Lee Cowan took the "stage," a short video of what The Khaled Hosseini Foundation is about.

The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan. The Foundation partners with the United Nations refugee organization (UNHCR) to build shelters for refugee families. It also provides economic opportunities, education, and healthcare for women and children of Afghanistan.

After watching this touching video about the conditions that Afghanistan refugees endure every day, and the efforts of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to provide shelter for them, the discussion with Khaled Hosseini and Lee Cowan was underway.

Khaled Hosseini and Leland P. "Lee" Cowan, CBS Sunday Morning News Correspondent

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

The event started with a discussion with a brief history for Hosseini's love for writing. It was fun to find out that he began writing for fun since he enjoys writing. Hosseini first wrote The Kite Runner as a short story which he then later expanded it into a novel. In 2004, The Kite Runner came out in paperback, Hosseini was surprised to see his book being read by a variety of people.  

Khaled Hosseini discusses his early days as a writer with Lee Cowan

Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns

As stated during the talk:

Hosseini: In 2004, I started to see people at airports. I sat next to people on the airplane reading my book, um, so weird (audience laughs). Oh, I couldn't believe it, I was terrified...you know, what do I do...do I say something or not say something...

Cowan: Ask if she even liked it...

Hosseini: Well, I could tell she liked it, because she was like really into it...

Wow! So funny and enlightening to listen to Hosseini's anecdotes of when he first started as an author. Among all that laughter, he also stated that it was difficult to practice medicine and write at the same time. So, in 2004, when he started to write his second novel, he requested to go on sabbatical. 

It was also interesting to learn that being a doctor wasn't really his career fascination, but he felt useful, in his own way, to society...like he said, "I liked my patients, I just didn't like the fact that they were sick." That was hilarious since, after all, doctors treats sick people. Another anecdote that he revealed, was when he would go on rounds (in 10-15 minute slots) and see his patients; during that time, his patients were spending that short time asking him to sign the book. Too funny!! 

Khaled Hosseini also discussed much of the purpose of his foundation in helping and providing shelter for refugees in Afghanistan. He also revealed to the audience of his recent trip to Afghanistan in which the above video was made.  Hosseini particularly talked about two little girls that he met on that trip. These two little girls appear at the end of that video.

And the audience questions begins!

Khaled Hosseini listening to an audience question

After the intriguing and fascinating talk about Hosseini's early year, writing, career and his foundation, the time for audience questions began. Much of the audience questions began with their stating their admiration to Hosseini and his books. One person in particular asked how he learned how to write with an abundance of description. Hosseini stated that everything he knows about writing was "self taught" and "instinctive." Wow!!! That's amazing!! Despite the long line, audience questions was cut short due to time. We still had to get to the signing part of this amazing event.  

And the signing begins!!!

Only if there was more time, this event can go on and on.  I could go on and on about this amazing night! There's so much that Hosseini revealed to the audience, it was awe-inspiring! 

Learn more about author, Khahled Hosseini, at:

http://khaledhosseini.com/

Learn more about The Khaled Hosseini Foundation at:

http://khaledhosseinifoundation.org/index.php

Khaled Hosseini, author of And The Mountains Echoed

June 25, 2013 was an amazingly enlightening night about Khaled Hosseini's life, his writing and his foundation. It's always a fun learning experience when fans learn about the lives of favorite authors. I, for one, was determined not to miss this one...among the many other author events I have attended. I definitely have an added new appreciation of all the novels that these authors put out for many fans... be it aspiring writers and/or avid readers. Meeting Khaled Hosseini and learning about his humanitarian efforts to provide shelters for refugees in Afghanistan was such a memorable and inspiring experience. The only bummer part was there was no posed pictures allowed due to time. It would have been incredibly awesome to have gotten a picture with him. He is definitely an amazing author. It was so worth the drive out from Coachella!!

My books signed by Khaled Hosseini

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