Educational and emotional. I cried for their beauty. ...
343245
Educational and emotional.  I cried for their beauty.  I cried for their abuse.
229453
Having recently finished Hosseini's latest book, I can say that I was equally enthralled by all three. I have mourned their completions and reflected on them as another might a memory of an out-of-touch friend. And The Mountains Echoed was entrancing from the opening allegory to the novel's heartfelt conclusion, when one " fairy " gives the gift of a happy dream to another " fairy. " Aside from audibly gasping at revelations every few minutes, I shed every possible kind of tear ( the happy, the sad, but mostly the ' God, that's just so beautiful ' kind ) that by this journey's end I was so exhausted and fulfilled that I slipped into a nap enriched with almost six decades of borrowed memories. For those who felt there were too many unnecessary characters, I believe they would have felt differently had they jotted down the names of characters to eliminate the pressure to remember who everyone was. I had done this ( because I have a condition that affects my memory ) and found the result interesting in a sort of " six degrees of separation " way ( with Nabi --- and Nabi's letter to Mr. Markos --- as the central connecting character ). I actually did not need to refer to my diagram since all of the characters made such an instant impression on me ( as I expect they will on most readers ). I pity anyone who can walk away from a Khaled Hosseini book unmoved.
3531866
This beautiful story made me ache for the characters, especially Ashe. Finishing the book, I was still feeling their heartbreak, loss, love and happiness!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
205281
I am an emotional wreck reading this book. It is filled with some things that women put up with in order to be with a man they love. It had me in tears reading about the father being sick, because it reminded me of my father who I lost a year ago; had me in tears. Now patiently eating on the next part because I had a feeling about what would happen to the dad.
3119808
As a Special education teacher of an Autism class and a parent of a child with special needs, I could relate to this book on so many levels. The images capture the heart and heartaches involved with this journey-"the beautiful and the brokenness." Extremely personal, well done, and a treasured keepsake for this family as well as ours. Thank you Bruce and Valerie for sharing your journey.
743674
I'm am sitting here writing this through tears. Not just tears, I'm pretty much bawling. The emotional connection and power in these few pages is amazing. Definitely read this but have tissues nearby.
1929421
I don't give 5 stars lightly. Subject matter of this book worried me but it was beautifully written. Yes, I cried.... several times. Not all sad tears, some happy tears. I was highly invested in these characters. I longed for a happy ending for Jenn & her family. I prayed for the friendships to remain despite the different outlooks on the situations. I grieved with the town and felt uplifted at the coming together. I felt so much compassion for the mother of the shooter. She was not a monster, she was also a grieving mother and had to endure even more knowing that her son was the one who took all of those lives. The twist at the end was good, even though I had figured it out about 1/2 way through (I'm good at that stuff). Reading the other in the series next even though it's more like a prequel to this one and tells about before the shooting. Hoping the author will write an after too as I would love to see where these families and this lovely town end up years later. Only negative I have to say about this book is that I wanted to know more about the reporter's personal story. I felt there was something there, but it never came out. Hoping another book is in the works where maybe that will be answered!
3968022
Yes, I cried while reading (and afterwards). What I took from this beautifully written story is this: Marriage is hardwork and not always fun but the rewards outweigh all the negatives. Love who you love and love them HARD because you never know when it'll be the last goodbye or the last I love you. Embrace the stumbles along the way for without those you wouldn't be able to truly appreciate the blessings coming your way. And most of all be HAPPY!! Don't let your past cast a shadow on your future.
Rhonda, I patiently await your next masterpiece  (impatiently is more accurate, lol)
3304122
I cried, I dreaded, I learned history,
I felt I was there, in the world Kate was telling my about. I was moved and touched by every charachter,
there where imperfections but I gladly overlooked them, they where minor.

A great read!
2874897
I just finished this first novel of local author, Salena Fehnel. This emotional story of three generations of dysfunctional women is raw and eye opening. I found it interesting that this story was told in reverse, it allowed the reader to slowly put the pieces of the characters together and understand how they ended up where they did. The book is heart wrenching and captivating at the same time.
1836561
I don't usually read historically based novels and I didn't realize I was doing so since I got this on my Kindle several months ago. This story made my heart ache and tears fall. Very well written and so eye opening. Yes, we all learned this stuff in our history books but this is not the same. Definitely worth your time, I couldn't put it down.
1484696
Loved it, even though i cried through the entire thing. It made me think about my young children. thinking about them in that situation made my heart ache for all those people.
4430003
This book went beyond my expectations.  I did not want to put it down.  It made me cry at times and feel so many emotions.  It was so well written with detail.  I felt as though I were right there with the characters.  The characters had so much strength and redeeming qualities.  The historical aspects were very good.
2845445
Such a heartbreaking story of accepted abuse in a culture where women and children are not worth a second thought. Sayuri rises above the abuse in a way that Chiyo couldn't. So educational to see how a slave can become master, at least over herself.
2566453
Oh, wow. I can't complain much about this. Although some things I didn't notice explained and the ending was a little rushed, this was still very effective on me. It may've been better as a game or not, I don't know. There were several times where this made me so emotional I wanted to cry for the characters. The silent and melancholy Kaze, the hilarious and deranged Cid or the hyperactive and cheerful twins. Even for the short time you know them, they grow on you and what becomes of some of them is just extremely heartwrenching. I know some people may not be satisfied with this, but I was. I recommend it!
3027836
Even though it made me cry at the end, it was tears of love for the special animals of my own past reflected in the love felt for Lay Me Down, both from Susan Richards and from Hot Shot.  It is also a story about coming to terms with damages from your youth, how we cover it up with other distractions as young adults, but then learn and grow from it as we enter our middle years.

I'd recommend this book highly, even to non-horse people.  It is transcendent.
2629036
Educational,and eye opener. The devastation was amazing, well captured.