<P> And the Mountains Echoed became the first to not deal directly with the Taliban, which featured prominently in both of his previous works . Though Hosseini did not consciously decide to avoid that topic, he stated that he was glad that he had moved away from it in order to keep the storyline fresh . The characters' struggles were largely personal and unrelated to the political turmoil in Afghanistan . Hosseini added, "I hope a day will come when we write about Afghanistan, where we can speak about Afghanistan in a context outside of the wars and the struggles of the last 30 years . In some way I think this book is an attempt to do that ." </P> <P> The title was derived from a line from "The Nurse's Song" by English poet William Blake: "And all the hills echoed". In January 2013, Publishers Weekly announced the publication date as May 21 of that year, and Riverhead Books released a statement that the novel was about "how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations". First printed in hardback, And the Mountains Echoed was priced at $28.95 in the United States and £ 14.99 in the United Kingdom . Hosseini went on a five - week tour to 41 cities across America to promote the book . In October 2013, plans were confirmed to translate And the Mountains Echoed into 40 languages, among them Icelandic and Malay . </P> <P> The novel opens in the year 1952 . Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three - year - old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul . The choice devastates his ten - year - old son, Abdullah, who raised Pari following their mother's death in childbirth . </P> <P> Subsequent chapters expound on how the arrangement came to be: the children's stepmother, Parwana, grew up as the less - favored child to her beautiful twin sister Masooma . One day, in a flash of jealousy, she caused Masooma to suffer a debilitating injury that resulted in paraplegia . Parwana subsequently spent several years caring for her sister until the latter asked her to help her commit suicide and to then marry Saboor . Their older brother, Nabi, left to work for Mr. Wahdati, a wealthy man in Kabul, and became infatuated with his wife, Nila . After Nila expressed dismay about her inability to have children, Nabi arranged for Pari to be sold to the couple . </P>

Who is saboor in and the mountains echoed