Product Description

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction. A Thousand Splendid Suns is an unforgettable portrait of a wounded country and a deeply moving story of family and friendship. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12857 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Review
'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 'I loved this book - I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. It is incredibly moving and a real insight into the madness and suffering of Afghanistan - in particular its women' Fiona Bruce 'Hosseini proves his credentials as a superstar storyteller. This follow up to The Kite Runner will have fans rampaging into bookshops desperate for their copy. Yet again he weaves a masterful story around the lives of two extraordinary and compelling characters brought together in adversity' Mariella Frostrup 'At long last, Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns in which the universally adored author of The Kite Runner returns with a study of love and self-sacrifice in a modern Afghan family' Sunday Telegraph

Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail
`A gripping tale ... It is, too, a powerful portrait of female
suffering and endurance under the Taliban'

Natasha Walter, Guardian
`Anyone whose heart-strings were pulled by The Kite Runner should
be more than satisfied with this follow-up'

Customer Reviews

A Beautifully Crafted Novel
This book moved me to tears, it is truly a remarkable and beautifully crafted novel. At times Hosseini paints harrowing and brutal scenes but always retains, through the characters of Mariam and Laila, humanity, spirit and above all love. There were chapters in this novel through which I literally held my breath, wishing with all my heart that what was unfolding would not, could not happen. It is very easy for those of us lucky enough to live in safety to visualise Afghanistan as a brutal, forsaken place, but this novel shows us something more. It forces the reader to acknowledge and recognise not only the suffering of people in our war torn world but something else, the human capacity for survival, forgiveness and love. Truly a wonderful book and one I would urge others to read. The best novel I have read in a long time and one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Heartwrenching! unforgetable.
I just oouldn't put it down! People say that a lot about books, but with this wonderful novel I really couldn't. I was then sorry I had finished it so quickly.

Khaled Hosseini knows how to play our heartstrings - and with this novel he does so beautifully. The characters are unforgetable, their stories tragic. The central female characters in this novel - Mariam and Laila are strong, and believable, the desicions they make all the more heartbreaking for the inevitability of them. Their world shaped by tradition and religion, is narrow with little if any real freedom.

In this novel Hossseini takes us on a journey through more than forty years of Afghan history - we feel the ravages of time upon a once beautiful city, as again and again fighting and bloodshed come to Afghanistan.

This is an excellent second novel, and I eagerly await more from this writer.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
The author of is book is truely an amazing writer. His debut book "The Kite Runner" was a great book and with A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini takes his writing skills and the reality of Afghanistan one step further.

The book is about the tale of two women in afghanistan. Their tales begin from the early days whilst Afghanistan was free from invasion and its recent history all the way through to recent times.

Its a book that shows the evil and good of human beings through the experiences of its main two characters in war torn Afghanistan. The final few chapters of this book will touch the heart of any person who reads this book whether it be man or women. Its the type of book that will linger in your memories for some time.

In conclusion, for me already the book of 2007 is A Thousand Splendid Suns.