Book 12/30.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
And the Mountains Echoed is a multi-generational novel about family, sacrifice, and how a single choice echoes across decades. The story is told through shifting perspectives across multiple characters, spanning over 50 years and four generations.
After rereading A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2022, and The Kite Runner in 2025, And the Mountains Echoed was up next. Unlike the other two, I remembered nothing about this book’s storyline, and that was probably not a good thing 🤷♀️ but at least I was reading it as if it were the first time 😅
About halfway through my reread, I found myself wondering why I had rated this 4 stars and not 5, but the final third quickly reminded me. Khaled Hosseini is a great storyteller, and that strength shines through in his third novel, but it could have done with a tighter edit as the final third dragged a little. I also did not care much for the Markos–Thalia–Odie storyline and was not entirely convinced of its relevance to the main story.
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing