And the Mountains Echoed

And so forth. I will tell you a tale because you want to hear one.1952 in Afghanistan. In the little hamlet of Shadbagh, Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother. They endure hardships together, including harsh winters and poverty, while their father, Saboor, is never satisfied with his job. Pari is everything to Abdullah; she is as lovely and kind-hearted as the fairy she was named for. Abdullah loves her more than everything, treating her like a brother and even exchanging his one and only pair of shoes for a feather to add to her cherished collection. Every night, they share a cot, their limbs entwined, their heads touching. One day, the father takes the siblings on a desert trek to Kabul. Pari and Abdullah are unaware of the tragedy that awaits them there as what happens there would sever their lives—sometimes you have to chop a finger to save a hand. Khaled Hosseini writes with profound wisdom, depth, insight, and compassion about the bonds that define and shape our lives, the ways in which we help those in need, the ways in which our choices resonate through history, and the ways in which we are frequently surprised by those closest to us. His writing spans generations and continents, taking him from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos.