And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini : Book Review

 “I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.”

I wonder how he did it. And The Mountains Echoed is a poignant tale of the powerful love between a brother and a sister. Hosseini makes us look at a taken-for-granted relationship used mostly for quarrelling purposes with a renewed lens.

Abdullah, ten, is someone who would go to any lengths for his three-year-old sister, Pari. Having been by her side since her birth, with no mother to care for them, he means the world to Pari. But what unfolds when their father sets off with Pari across the desert in search of work, is what fate is all about. Thus the story unfolds across decades, countries, continents, and myriad characters, all leading somewhat intertwined lives.

The novel begins with the kids’ father telling them a bedtime story about ‘A finger cut to save the hand’. It is only later that we realize what unsaid implication the story had.

Hosseini masterfully veers through multiple narratives at once, a moment back you might be in a rich Parisian house and the next moment you are flown to the dusty streets of Kabul. The setting shifts from Shadbagh, a small village in Afghanistan, to Kabul, then to Paris and America.

His adroitly sketched characters deserve a special mention to themselves. He brings out the inner turmoil experienced by his characters, their secrets that lie trapped in them forever. The backstories of all the characters are beautifully brought out leaving behind hardly any string dangling. Knowing their stories gives us a sense of intimacy with the characters. All their actions become magically explained, leaving us wondering if we could, in real life too be as forgiving if we knew as well the past of our family and friends.

His captivating style clutches at your heart the most, leaving you entranced and bewitched. Hosseini brings out many shades of mankind in a kindly non-judging manner. How he manages to squeeze the many aspects of humankind remains a mystery to me.

An intricate tale, the novel was something unlike anything I had read so far. Although the narrative frequently switches, it always has a firm hold on your heart and mind, making it a compulsively addictive book. Hosseini, with masterly skill, wrenches your heart out yet leaves it suffused with one of the purest forms of love.

The story might’ve been lost. Who brought it to us?

Time passes. Generations are replaced. Only the mountains remain, the steady witnesses of the truly transparent love. And the mountains, echoed.

 

 

41 Anmol Kahaniya (41 Priceless Stories) by Munshi Premchand: Book Review

 “ The world assumes that we are happy with high mansions, fine carriages, servants and attendants, and huge investments. But he who is without the honor and strength of the soul can be anything but happy. (transl.)”

Geetanjali Shree’s ‘Tomb of Sand’ emerging as the Booker Prize winner made me reflect upon how far I had been marginalizing Hindi literature. And picking up Premchand’s collection of stories, emerged as a sure eye-opener.

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, better known by his pen name, Munshi Premchand, was one of the most pioneering writers in Hindi literature. His works are all classics, capturing the then India with all its copious dissimilitudes, both social and economical.

Reading him was just like reading a detailed and factual thesis on the early twentieth-century India, albeit coloured with his vivid imagination.

Premchand’s works are an ideal quintessence of the Indian spirit. Capturing life with all its ironies and beauty, his style is a wonderful blend of sarcasm with deference. Cascading over numerous social, political, professional, religious, and family issues, his stories leave hardly any topic untouched.

His clearly etched characters bring out his mastery over the short-story genre.  I was impressed by how Premchand has distinctly brought out the clashing perspectives of all his characters in his stories , sticking to the truth of those days, refraining from any fairy-tale endings.

The exquisite vocabulary used in his stories adds further to the charm of his work. His command over Hindi and Urdu language beautifully leaves us entranced in the world he paints.

Reading his work led me to realize that Premchand was essentially a feminist, a man who stood up for women’s rights at a time when feminism was yet to be coined.

 If you are a Gen Z reader, you might take more than your average time reading them as the stories are all in Hindi.

Most of us might have read Premchand’s works when they were a part of our Hindi textbooks. But now, it is time to go through his works once more, now from a mature perspective. The stories bring forth a volley of emotions, leaving you yearning for more.

Happy Reading!!