<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>
who is saboor in and the mountains echoed
an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh