And the Mountains Echoed characters

Appears from the start

A ten-year-old boy in the Afghan village of Shadbagh whose closest bond is with his little sister Pari. Since their mother's death, he has taken on much of her care and treasures the feather she once found for him. He accompanies his father and Pari on the long walk to Kabul without knowing why they are going.

Appears from the start

Abdullah's three-year-old sister, lively, trusting, and inseparable from him. She is too young to understand the poverty pressing on her family or the purpose of their journey to Kabul.

Appears from the start

Abdullah and Pari's father, a laborer struggling to provide for his children and his second wife, Parwana. He is reserved and worn down by poverty, and he leads the children from Shadbagh to Kabul after telling them a fable about a father forced to make an unbearable sacrifice.

Appears from the start

Saboor's second wife and the mother of his younger son, Iqbal. She remains in Shadbagh with the baby while Saboor takes Abdullah and Pari on the journey to Kabul.

First appears in chapter 2

Parwana's twin sister, admired for her beauty and ease in company. A childhood accident left her dependent on Parwana's daily care, binding the sisters together through love, guilt, and resentment.

First appears in chapter 2

Parwana's older brother, who works for the wealthy Wahdati household in Kabul. His position connects his poor family in Shadbagh with a couple whose money and childlessness will alter Pari's life.

First appears in chapter 3

A wealthy, cultivated Kabul woman and published poet who feels confined by Afghan social expectations and by her marriage. Restless and charismatic, she wants a child and is drawn to a life beyond Kabul.

First appears in chapter 3

Nila's reserved husband, a prosperous Kabul man with an artistic temperament. He keeps an emotional distance from his wife and from much of society, while Nabi becomes closely involved in the household's daily life.

First appears in chapter 4

An Afghan doctor who settled in the United States and returns to Kabul with his cousin Timur after the fall of the Taliban. Thoughtful and outwardly conscientious, he is deeply affected by the injuries of a young girl named Roshi.

First appears in chapter 4

Idris's outgoing cousin and fellow Afghan expatriate, who returns to Kabul partly to reclaim family property. His loud manner and easy sociability initially make his concern for others appear less serious than Idris's.

First appears in chapter 3

A Greek plastic surgeon who has spent years doing reconstructive work in Kabul. He lives in the former Wahdati house and receives a letter from Nabi that entrusts him with a private family history and a final request.

First appears in chapter 8

A girl raised beside Markos on the Greek island of Tinos. A severe facial injury makes her the object of other people's pity and curiosity, but she resists being defined by either and becomes a forceful presence in Markos's life.

First appears in chapter 8

A boy growing up in a grand new house near Shadbagh, sheltered by the wealth and reputation of his father, a former commander known locally as Baba Jan. Adel initially accepts his father's heroic account of himself.

First appears in chapter 8

Saboor and Parwana's son, who returns to Shadbagh after years as a refugee and finds another family occupying land he regards as his inheritance. His encounter with Adel exposes a history that Adel's father has concealed.

First appears in chapter 9

Abdullah's daughter, named for the aunt her father lost in childhood. Living in California, she cares for Abdullah as his memory begins to fail and grows up with the story of the missing sister whose absence has shaped him.