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The Kite Runner narrated the relationship between a father and a son. A Thousand Splendid Suns explicitly illustrated the love between a mother and a daughter. And the Mountains Echoed continues and extends the theme of family love with an emotional story of the longing of two siblings. This new novel further seeks to find the answer to what love really is. 

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini has become one of the renowned best-selling author with his powerful novels of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. The two amazing best-sellers have been sold more than 38 million copies internationally. With his new novel, And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini has once again charmed his great fans with a powerful moral and aesthetic story-telling talent. Although some people might find that the new fiction is stale, as it is similar to his previous two books that talk about storgic love between families, it is still an amazing must-read novel. 

And the Mountains Echoed tells a touching story of the bond between siblings, Abdullah and Pari. After their mother passes away and their father marries his second wife, the relationship between the two gets even closer as they only have each other to depend on. Unfortunately, as his father faces critical financial problems, the two are forced to be separated, as Pari is sold for money and is left to live with the Wahdati family. After the civil war and the Taliban era, the two are not even able to hear about each other, as Abdullah moves to California while Pari starts a living in Paris. Despite their separation, they never forget about each other and continue to seek to meet each other again. 

The story has various noticeably outstanding aspects, including the richly illuminated descriptions. The fully enriched description about each scene totally grabs the reader’s attention and interest. Especially, the scene regarding the letter that Abdullah has made several attempts to send to Pari through his daughter is truly touching and well described. This is because this moment tells the readers about the true love and bond that simply does not become detached by external factors such as separation and distance. The tone of the narration during this scene also enhances the emotional burst, as the readers can feel the love, longing and desperation of the older brother.

 Unlike his previous novels, the author fully takes advantage of the use of chapters. Each of the nine chapters tells different stories about various characters who are closely related to Abdullah and Pari. Yet, they still do mention the story of the siblings simultaneously to continue the flow of the story. This helps the readers not only realize the love between parents and children, just as The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns had done, but also arouses the preciousness of love between siblings and other family members.

 Another interesting and creative thing that the author has done with the book is the various perspectives used within the same novel. Unlike Hosseini’s previous novels of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which were written from the first-person and third-person point of view respectively, Hosseini has managed to use various perspectives in the newly released book. It is written using all of them, as the narrator keeps changing from the sibling’s father Saboor to Nabi and Markos and even the author himself with omniscient perspective. At the end, all of these different voices start to build up and combine, which eventually reaches the state where "the mountains echo" the stories.

 The season of typhoons and fall is quickly approaching and many people will rather stay inside and pick up interesting books that they have wanted to read. There is nothing better than a moving and touching novel that makes one think about the true meaning of love, betrayal, honor, and sacrifice. And the Mountains Echoed, in that sense, is a perfect pick for this month, as it not only tells a truly impressive and gripping story, but also delivers its message effectively.