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A thousand splendid suns

By Khaled Hosseini

(578)

| Paperback | 9780747585893

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Book Description

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality aContinue

Critics

There are three of them in this marriage

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Bloomsbury £16.99, pp372 The fictions of Khaled Hosseini portray not just a world out of joint - an Afghanistan racked first by conflict with the Soviets and then a civil war - but also, within it, families ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Behind the veil

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 384pp, Bloomsbury, £16.99 Anyone whose heart strings were pulled by Khaled Hosseini's first, hugely successful novel, The Kite Runner, should be more than satisfied with this follow-up. Hosseini is skilled ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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58 Reviews

4 people find this helpful

I cant say I didnt like, as I still gave it three stars after all, but.. There are a few 'buts' actually. Hosseini certainly knows how to write a good story, how to drag you in it, and at the same time, giving out emotions, love, fear, hate, uncertainty. The problem was Afghanistan. That is, I felt ... (continue)

I cant say I didnt like, as I still gave it three stars after all, but.. There are a few 'buts' actually. Hosseini certainly knows how to write a good story, how to drag you in it, and at the same time, giving out emotions, love, fear, hate, uncertainty. The problem was Afghanistan. That is, I felt I was reading the next chapter of the Kite Runner. Same place (Afghanistan), same war (Taliban), same problems (honour, lies, running away). I could go on and on frankly. My problem is, can Hosseini write about anything else, happening somewhere else? If not, I cant help thinking that his imagination is somewhat lacking or he is too afraid of writing about something he doesnt know too well. Either way, if he comes out with another book set in Afghanistan, I, for one, wont be buying it. Ive read it all before, twice!

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Dylaniata said on May 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

one of the best books ever!

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Ellescarpa said on Jun 27, 2007 | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

Astonishing

What a story! A tale of arranged marriage, true love, and how people can survive - and sacrifice themselves - for a higher (human - not religious) cause.
Better than the Kite Runner, and the kind of book that I'll read again and again.

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Ian Hodgson said on Mar 24, 2011 | Add your feedback

Better than the Kite Runner...

This was better than the Kite Runner, as I expected. It may be that as a woman, I related more with the characters of this book than the previous. Both Mariam and Laila are such inspiring women, the hardships that they have to endure is heart-breaking and to think that this may be a fictional book, ... (continue)

This was better than the Kite Runner, as I expected. It may be that as a woman, I related more with the characters of this book than the previous. Both Mariam and Laila are such inspiring women, the hardships that they have to endure is heart-breaking and to think that this may be a fictional book, character-wise, but is the hard reality for most Afghan women makes for a tough read.
The Muslim and Afghan traditions and culture are just so extremely different than that of the Western world, I suppose in some ways this fascinates us and horrifys us all at the same time. Brilliant book.

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Lauraolsthoorn said on Mar 7, 2012 | Add your feedback

"This book shows that human emotion must not be limited to feelings for the family but must go beyond it. It tells the story of the confluence of the lives of Mariam and Laila. It tells the eloquent yet complex story of Kabul using Mariam and Laila as the mouthpiece. It praises Kabul with the dying ... (continue)

"This book shows that human emotion must not be limited to feelings for the family but must go beyond it. It tells the story of the confluence of the lives of Mariam and Laila. It tells the eloquent yet complex story of Kabul using Mariam and Laila as the mouthpiece. It praises Kabul with the dying words of Laila's father "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."It tells the sad story of the separation through the death of Laila's father, Mariam escaping to Pakistan and other such events.It also focuses on the change seen in Kbaul after Taliban occupation.‘Only the hardest of hearts can’t be moved’. It made me cry! beautiful book

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Addy S said on Nov 16, 2011 | Add your feedback

A Simple Story

Loved the pace of this book. It's writing has a gentle pace with simple messages told by an author who is clearly writing from the heart.

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Wattsgc said on Jun 20, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback