And the Mountains Echoed

It happened one day that a div came to Maidan Sabz. As it approached the village from the direction of the mountains, the earth shook with each of its footfalls. The villagers dropped their shovels and hoes and axes and scattered. They locked themselves in their homes and huddled with one another. When the deafening sounds of the div's footsteps stopped, the skies over Maidan Sabz darkened with its shadow. It was said that curved horns sprouted from its head and that coarse black hair covered its shoulders and powerful tail. They said its eyes shone red. No one knew for sure, you understand, at least no one living: The div ate on the spot those who dared steal so much as a single glance. Knowing this, the villagers wisely kept their eyes glued to the ground.

Didn’t read Kite Runner but I have seen all the hype… then I saw this successor book at the Westside library and thought, “what the hell”.

…two weeks later…

I really did not want to like this sort of book that I had seen on all those bookstore end caps yet, weepy melancholy stories that are beautifully written is what, apparently, gets you on the international best seller lists and who am I to disagree.

This is a set of several related narratives that begins the story with a tragically poor afghani family who, faced with near certain death of winter, journey to Kabul to sell their baby daughter Pari to a wealthy couple and thus separate Pari seemingly forever from her very close, loving older (11yo?) brother Abdullah. The last narrative follows Pari reunited with Abdullah who is now too senile to recognize her. Is that summary too much of a spoiler?

So yes, this is a good book if you need a good cry and I am not immune to its appeal.