Reading 11:- And the Mountains Echoed- by Khaled Hosseini- A Review!!

 

Hey! Do you have a sibling?

The one, whom you adore as your little one.

One who has grown up under your eyes from crawling on the ground to walking. A one whom you protect from scorching sun by standing by side as a shade. One with whom you fight over a game of ludo or carrom; fight for the Tv remote to ensure control over the channels, fight for sleeping over your side of the bed, over a new pencil being given to your sibling and not you.

And with days and years, passing under the roof of togetherness, rises one morning with the rays of emptiness within you.

A strange void making its presence felt when your loving demand- छोटी , एक गिलास पानी ला दे !! (choti, bring a glass of water) is unanswered. 

When there is no one to crib you for not touring around the streets on your scooty. When you start finding your little one in others having the same name as your sibling’s. Her rough sketches, her random letter- A, B, C…her rocks & pebbles are only valuables left behind for you to cherish her in memories. You are unaware of her whereabouts, of how she is, what she is doing, is she okay, and above all, does she even know that she is your sister & you are her brother. 

Deep within, you know she doesn’t , she was too young to remember anything of you when you both were parted from each other. But then, there is this ray of hope in you. Hope that keeps you alive with her memories and a faith that you both will find each other. And you recall Rumi:-“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a filed. I’ll meet you there.” 

Well! Hope is a good thing.- I got this dialogue imprinted from  the movie Shawshank Redemption.

This book will take you through the heart touching story of siblings- Pari and Abdullah, siblings sharing a bond for reasons unknown to them, sharing a bond even when the presence of other is unknown, sharing a bond even when one has lost one’s memory of the other. And how the truth gets revealed to them about their relationship with each other is the journey this book will take you through.

And in the entire journey, you will meet characters, other lives. Lives that are a constant reminder- “Oh, this life-  its brief, like really brief and this suffering, this pain- its real, like really real and “Pain demands to be felt” (John Green).

To be felt, in Wahdati’s strokes, in the silent cries inside the hospital four walls. In the humanity suffering from wars in Afghanistan. In Thaila’s dog bite, a bite robbing her of her future, her dreams. In Roshi’s eyes, who has lived but at the cost of losing everyone.

And with so much suffering flaming on the planet, its good to be kind, to fall in love, to be in love, to laugh, to have memories to smile upon. Love beyond love laws deciding who needs to be loved & how much. This love is always sweet & beautiful. Yeah.

This beautiful and loving relationship of Mr. Wahadati & Nabi- every little thing is so beautiful in them.

From Wahadati’s secret glances of Nabi,

To his secret sketches

Their long silence strolls

Their cribblings & fights over taste of daal

Wahadati’s confession to Nabi

Nabi’s commitment till the end.

It’s all so beautiful to read.

But not everything is always beautiful.

Reading this will meet you with characters who in the desire of power and jihad simply take away lives and destroy humanity as if it’s a vice to practice humanity and it ought to be disgraced and spit upon.

Of the hidden animal that is breathing in all of us, that will never acknowledge the greed that has built its home on an old man’s and his ancestors’ land. Oh! Ones’ home is not just bricks and cement, it’s a beauty that one has cherished throughout one’s life and I feel it’s a crime to build one’s palace in someone’s else.

How often we make promises out of emotions only to realize later our lack of will and commitment to fulfil it. That eventually is a burden that we suffer within and this suffering, you will realize when coming across Idris & Roshi’s story.

This book is a blend of characters blooming with the stories of their own. The story of Thails, her heart wrenching surgery that is an inspiration to Markos for his plastic surgery career, their bond of friendship beginning with a hand made camera and shining throughout like the rainbow glimmering over Odie’s (Markos’ mother) hand is something that will stay in your memory for a long time. As in, you close your eyes & you will smile like that rainbow- a colorful world.

What else?

Reading this book has brought diamonds to my eyes. Wish the same pearls glow in your eyes and shine in your heart!!

Grab your copy here!!

Note-

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Also, the review is published in author's goodreads profile and medium profile.

Thankyou for reading!!