And the Mountains Echoed” is a fascinating insight into life and culture in Kabul and in the West. The main theme is the fractured and complicated relationships between people over a generation. It is beautifully written as you would expect from the author of the Kite Runner This is a bitter-sweet story with many sad outcomes, introduced by a father’s ‘fable’ told to his young children about a man who makes the dreadful choice to give one of his beloved children away in order to offer them a ‘better life’ and the repercussions of this – particularly on the child left behind and the grief of the father that passes on down the line. It is an intricate, clever plot that turns our suppositions of a character’s goodness and personality upside down several times and challenges our judgement of worth and love. Many of the group did not finish it, as it is long, deep and at times confusing. Rated out of 10: 5-8 Reading group name: Time To Read (Oxted)