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A Thousand Splendid Suns

Average rating: 5/5

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A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

May 22, 2007 | Hardcover

After more than two years on the bestseller lists and over four million copies in print, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel of enormous contemporary relevance.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years-from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding-that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives-the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness-are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love-a stunning accomplishment.

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Reviews

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      helpful to you?

    Definitely a well written book. I really felt for the main character and all the trials and tribulations she faced at such a young age and then growing into an adult. Even though I read this book a few years ago some of the passages still remain with me. I would totally recommend this book!

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 5/5

    Emotional

    Sidhu.B

    3 months ago

    I picked this book up after I finished reading the Kite Runner and as I expected I wasn't let down. I was so emotionally attached to the characters of the book I couldn't pull away from the book and kept reading late into the night.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 4/5

    Heartwrenching

    Dana

    3 months ago

    Though not a huge fan of contemporary fiction, I finally succumbed after reading several rave reviews and must admit I wasn't disappointed. Face-paced and well-written, it is easily read in a few sittings.
    The story follows 2 women, Miriam and Laila, both born in Afghanistan but in different regions and hence very different worlds. Both their lives ultimately collide through the consequences of unrelenting battles, invasions and uprisings this country has undergone over the last half century.
    As both women endure unimaginable suffering and degradation, the story climaxes with the rise of the Taliban and its notorious intolerance and cruelty that will make any woman reader grateful to have had the extraordinary luck of living in a free country.
    What I took away from this story is that there is a culture to Afghanistan that is constantly overshadowed (or in some cases, destroyed) by its political issues. If nothing else, it compelled me to explore its history and unique culture a little further.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a number one bestseller. It is published by Bloomsbury in paperback and its ISBN is 978074758297724. It is a wonderful romance story but also a powerful and sad insight into war and the carnage and chaos it causes. One cannot read this and be unmoved by the suffering of women in Kabul during the Taliban rule. It is told from a female perspective. It catalogues the lack of education of women, rapes, beatings, arranged marriages, head covering and their low social status in vivid detail. The main character is Miriam who at the tender age of five discovers she is illegitimate and gradually becomes to realise her father does not acknowledge her in public and has her living in a hut miles from civilisation. When her mum Nana commits suicide her father Jalil runs her out of town and marries her at 15 years of age to a 45 year old man. Rasheed her husband inflicts upon her a life of beatings and torment. Until he takes a second wife Laila and things get worse for Miriam. Slowly the women form a friendship that eventually leads to a mother and daughter type of relationship. Miriam in a final confrontation with the violent Rasheed stabs him to death to give Laila freedom and a new life. While Miriam is sent to prison, Lalia, Tariq and the kids escape to Pakistan until it is safe to return home to Kabul. They return to help rebuild it and start work in an orphanage. Lalia becomes pregnant, a new life, a new beginning, the ultimate metaphor for the rebirth of Kabul. This is a beautiful novel depicting the cruelty of war and the beauty of family and romance. I highly recommend this novel. Reviewed by Annette Dunlea author of Always and Forever and The Honey Trap.

    Comments on this review:
    SM

    I agree. Please do not reveal every twist and turn of the book. If you feel you must however, a spoiler alert would be very considerate.

    Guy Smith

    I agree with you on your review, Annette, but you put way too many "spoilers" in there. One of the great things about the book was the unexpected twists and turns, so it's important to maintain the tension for the reader.

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From the Publisher

After more than two years on the bestseller lists and over four million copies in print, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel of enormous contemporary relevance.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years-from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding-that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives-the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness-are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love-a stunning accomplishment.

About the Author

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in thirty-six countries. In 2006 he received a humanitarian award from the United Nations Refugee Agency and was named a U.S. goodwill envoy to that agency. He lives in northern California.

Hardcover

384 Pages, 6.5 x 9.5 x 1.35 in

May 22, 2007

English


0670064912
9780670064915

From the Critics

"A beautifully crafted and disturbing story of two women victims of the wrath of men. As unforgettable as The Kite Runner, this novel places us in Afghanistan with an open heart." - Isabel Allende

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