Hosseini’s latest novel 'And the Mountains Echoed' worth wait

Khaled Hosseini has kept readers waiting for six years for another of his masterpieces and though the wait was long, it was worth it. Hosseini does not disappoint with his newest novel.

If you read his other books, “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” this book will rank right up at the top with the other two. If you are new to his writing, this book will inspire you to put all your other books aside so you can read his others.

This most recent novel layers stories upon stories. It starts with a fable, tells the stories of families over many generations and at the end intertwines all of the individual stories into one.

This storytelling technique is how Hosseini incorporates the title into the book. As you travel through each of the individual stories, parts of them “echo” into the next.

While discussing this book with a friend, I described it as heartbreaking and yet, wonderful. Each of the stories were full of agony, despair, disappointment, suffering or heartache, but they also were full of hope, happiness and surrounded by a love and devotion for family. That devotion is what kept me reading.

The love of family is really what is at the heart of this novel. Brothers and sisters, cousins and even friends. The decisions, compromises and judgments rendered in each of their lives and the ramifications for future generations were mind-boggling.

The stories are set in Afghanistan, Greece, France and the United States. There are stories of extreme wealth and severe poverty. The stories of poverty, especially in Afghanistan, were a stark contrast to my life here in America. It was another humbling reminder that there truly is so much suffering in the world that most of us do not grasp. I am truly appreciative of our community and our freedoms after reading this novel.

The flow of the novel was a bit difficult at times because the flow of one story would stop and transfer to another story without much warning. There were several times in the novel where I had to stop and reread a page or two to get my mind on the right people. Keeping a character list might be helpful as you read along.

The novel was full of topics - loss, separation, family and forgiveness - for my book club.

It's a book full of description, emotion and character-driven stories.

Stacey Gorkow review books on her blog: Sincerlystacie.com. She lives in Benton County with her husband and three children.