Most trees that do not bear fruit can live for hundreds or thousands of years.

Trees feed off the sun. They have no predators once they mature, they have a symbiotic relationship with other carbon organisms, and they are felled mainly by humans and strong winds. Trees are designed to last.

This relates to a major theme in Khaled Hosseini’s newest novel, “And the Mountains Echoed”.

Hosseini is an internationally acclaimed writer best known for his novel, “The Kite Runner,” published in 2003. “The Kite Runner” is an international bestseller and was an instant classic when released. It was sold in at least seventy countries and spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

In his latest novel, Hosseini explores the bonds that tie families together and how those bonds are torn apart.

The story is told chronologically, but in a cyclical pattern, with the point of view switching from character to character. As the novel progresses, the lives of its characters become more intricately entwined.

The novel springs from the relationship between a brother and a sister in an Afghan village. We see this repeatedly in the story, as the relationships change from father and daughter, mother and son, brother to brother, sister to sister, man to man, woman and woman and man to woman (as lovers and in marriage).

Nearly all these relationships bring love and comfort, but also suffering and isolation.

This story also crosses generational and geographic borders. No matter how far it extends, the story stems from the core relationship between brother and sister.

Hosseini tells a story of how families cause each other the most suffering. Parents abandon their children, and children abandon their parents. Parents physically, mentally and emotionally abuse their children and children abuse their parents.

The violence and brutality between family members is confounding: If we love each other so much, then why do we cause so much pain to each other? Duality of love and pain is a theme that runs deep in Hosseini’s novel.

The suffering within the families in the story parallels the suffering in Afghanistan. It shows how much the quality of life has been reduced over time by war, terrorist groups, and the progressive loss of general respect.

“And the Mountains Echoed” shows what happens when family, the roots of society, are broken. They are the roots from which any prosperous nation stems from.

When violence within families goes unrestricted and without punishment, the threads and structure of society are dissolved. When this happens, society breaks down, and society as a whole suffers. The threads and structure of society dissolve when family violence goes unrestricted and unpunished.

I believe this is what Hossieni is saying: whatever is happening in the families is reflected in society. They are connected.

When you cut down one tree in a forest, it affects all the others. And so our human roots extend for millions of years.

We may not live as long as the trees or the mountains, but our roots are deep and they are strong. We are connected. So remember, whatever is happens to the trees is happening to us.