Nearly as Beautiful

And the Mountains Echoed 
By Khaled Hosseini
Genre: Adult Fiction 

"It begins with the heartbreaking, unparalleled bond between two motherless siblings in an Afghan village. To three-year-old Pari, big brother Abdullah is more mother than brother. To ten-year-old Abdullah, little Pari is his everything. What happens to them-and the large and small manners in which it echoes through the lives of so many other people-is proof of the moral complexity of life."

First, the likes. If you have read Hosseini's other novels, A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Kite Runner, you know something of Hosseini's beautiful, eloquent writing. His subtle similes, his vivid descriptions, and how he paints characters so that you can see and feel all of their life-joys and sorrows.

Despite that this novel was told from so many different perspectives, I got to know the characters intimately and each one seemed unique, with their own personalities.

I liked that Hosseini didn't dive into politics or religion (Islam) in this book, and splatter or even whisper his opinions to the reader, which would have been easy to do. Instead, he looks at relationships, stretches them, breaks them, and, in the end, makes them shine and sparkle even amidst pain and turmoil. This novel is primarily about what it means to be a human, to love, and to be separated from those you love. It is a beautiful book.

However, I believed And the Mountains Echoed was nearly, not quite, as beautiful as Hosseini's other novels. As I mentioned, this book is written from many different perspectives. This made the whole tale a bit disjointing and confusing. As you got to know one character/story well, Hosseini dragged you out of their head and into another character's head, who might not even know the previous character. So even though I was able to clearly picture the characters, I didn't really empathize with any of them, since I left them fairly quickly, and oftentimes didn't get to see how their story ended.

Also, this novel will definitely jerk on your heart strings. That's not a bad thing (if you like to cry), but it overall seemed too depressing to me. One of the themes seemed to be aging and death, which I don't like to swallow in large qualities. The ending was sad, but had some glimmers of hope. I didn't find it as hopeful as the endings in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, although those books weren't oozing joy at the end either. The characters in this book just seemed to make less honorable/good choices, even though they weren't necessarily 'bad' choices. I just expected more of the characters, or for them to change more for the good.

For the above reasons, I give this book a 3 out of 5 and recommend it for 17 year olds and up due to its deep subject matter. It does have less grisly, violent scenes than the other two novels, so that was nice.

And, I have to say, I did enjoy visiting Afghanistan again. If you're longing to take experience another country without leaving the country, try this book. Also, I recommend reading either A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Kite Runner before reading And the Mountains Echoed, as it's easier to read.

Living in Afghanistan

In the Land of Blue Burqas 
by Kate McCord (a protective pseudonym)
Genre: Non-Fiction

"The gray-bearded and black-bearded man in the back of the rickshaw eyed me. The gray-bearded man asked me, 'Are you a Muslim?'

"For him, the word Muslim had a very clear definition. He did not just mean 'Are you submitted to God?' To which I could have said, 'Yes, of course.' He meant something much more precise: 'Do you submit to the laws of the Prophet Mohammed as recorded in the Holy Quran and Hadith and as taught by the mullahs?' Whatever true response I could give would not be welcome.

"Still, I could give a true response. I answered the gray-bearded man's question softly without arrogance or apology, 'No, I am not a Muslim. I am a follower of the Honorable Jesus Messiah.'

"The black-bearded man scowled, his brows furrowed. He leaned too close to my face and glared directly into my averted eyes. His words came out as a command, short and abrupt: 'You should become a Muslim. It would be better for you in this life and the next.'"

I cannot imagine living through many of the situations that this woman found herself in. For five years, this single American woman lived in a hostile country among people completely different to her, with beliefs on the other side of a chasm from hers. But thankfully, God can cross any chasm, no matter the length.

This book was exceptionally written. I felt close to the author, like I was sipping tea across from her as she told me about her adventures and conversations in this harsh, yet beautiful land. These conversations are very clear and poignant. I did not return from the land of this book the same; I have a greater sympathy for Afghans, understood a little more where their worldview originates from, and the world they live in. I liked how Kate (yes, we're even on a first-name basis, though that's not her real name), didn't just say that Afghans are really like us, and all people are the same. She recognized how different their livelihoods and beliefs are from ours, respected those differences, and tried to understand them; she didn't shy away from difference.

It was really amazing, and such a God-thing, that this woman was able to live for so long with her Afghan neighbors in relative safety. I respected how she tried to follow their rules and enter their culture. She was very cautious about everything, all the time, and always attempted to live in a way that respected their culture. Kate also talked about Jesus in a way they would understand, and often shared the stories he told with her Afghan friends to explain a difficult concept. It convicted me, because not often do I share Christ's teachings with those around me, nor am I so delighted to listen to them as the Afghans were.

At first, I was a bit confused/lost in the structure of this book, because it is built on different themes, not a plot. But it only took the first two chapters to get it. I also wished that Kate went into more detail about all that she did in Afghanistan and more about her personally, but I understand how careful she must be with these stories.

One more thing that I had a problem with this book was that I didn't like how Kate kind-of downplayed the gospel. Not Jesus, but the great story of how we need Him. She focused, at least in this novel, on people hearing Jesus's teachings and changing their mindsets based on that. I definitely think this can happen, but I believe only true, lasting peace and change can come from fully embracing Christ. I'm sure she shared the gospel, and she had to be careful if/when she did. I just wished she would have included these encounters more, if possible.

This novel gave me a love for the Afghans and also a greater appreciation for Christ as I saw him laid next to another culture's god. This woman's story is an awesome picture of Christ's love and humility, and I want to strive to be more like her.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it for 16 year-olds and up because of the depth of the content.

What I learned: Where to begin? To many Muslims, the idea that God is love/loving is strange and new. Pausing before responding to someone is an excellent strategy. The sun, light, and warmth is an excellent picture of the Trinity. Why, you ask? You must read the book to find out!

A Review: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Genre: Dramatic/Realistic Fiction 

Quote from the back: "'This powerful first novel...tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both transform the life of Amir; Khaled Hosseini's privileged young narrator, who comes of age during the last peaceful days of the monarchy, just before his country's revolution and its invasion by Russian forces. But political events, even as dramatic as the ones that are presented in The Kite Runner, are only a part of this story. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence-forces that continue to threaten them even today.'"

This was a beautifully written book and I was in tears several times throughout it. It was definitely not a 'light' read; there is a lot of violence and tragedy. But there is deep love and forgiveness and it opened up my eyes to the suffering people had to face during the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, how important love is between right and wrong, and that people's actions can affect their children.

I was frustrated with the main character, Amir, a lot in this novel, but he grows and changes at the end, which I believe is similar to real life, for no one's perfect. Other than that, the characters were mostly like able and I really loved learning about the Afghanistan culture. There are also many great motifs and lovely symbols throughout the novel (look at the title, hint, hint). I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns better, but I still loved this book and give it a 4 out of 5. I would recommend it for older high-school students and up.

What I learned: What a kite runner is, how dramatically life changed during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul, and what a Hazara is.