While this novel doesn't have the gut-wrenching effect of the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, it is, in many ways just as beautiful. The story begins with Abdullah and Pari, two young siblings split apart by circumstances, when their father is forced to sell Pari to a wealthy childless couple. 
 The novel traces Abdullah's and Pari's separate lives, along with the lives of various other people connected to them, taking the form of multiple narratives, bouncing from Kabul to Paris to San Jose. 
 The Abdullah-Pari tale forms the trunk of the novel, the other narratives are branches, enhancing its appeal. While the novel as a whole is a lot more subdued compared to Hosseini's previous books, it still leaves you with a feeling of beauty and melancholy at the end - a trademark of the author.