A beautifully written book that’s both moving and bittersweet. Hosseini shows the reader how the Soviet occupation, the tribal conflicts and the Taliban rule of Afghanistan affected the people on a daily level through the lives of Mariam and Laila.

a review of: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kaledh Hosseini.

it’s phenomenal.- this book i got because my aunt recommended it – then thought i was reading a … more » chick book, then didn’t care anymore – totally made me cry – don’t know if that’s happened before. it’s powerfully dramatic; beautifully written. Not only is it a story about love and sacrifice, war and struggle – it is a journey, from this country to that, from these norms to those, from this family to the generation after, and after that.

This story makes me wonder where love is in this world. how it surpasses tragedy and inconsistency. It makes me question my relationships with everyone – how am i sacrificing me – how is life kicking my ass, and thru the struggle, i am able to capture a glimpse of how beautiful certain perspectives are, certain people are – certain circumstances; ironies; situations. it humbles me.

Wow. Powerful. This is a spectacular book. I also loved Kite Runner, and often second books don’t live up to expectations, but that was not the case with Thousand Splendid Suns. The perspective of two women in Afghanistan over a ~30 year period of time starts out as shocking and unfathomable. But as Hosseini draws you into the lives of Mariam and Laila, their own struggles and modest triumphs become incredibly real. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

I was afraid that A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini’s second book, would not live up to Kite Runner, his first. However, this worked me just as much as that one, if not more, because he centers the story on female characters this time. I almost literally could not put this down. It is a beautiful, sad, and immensely disturbing insight into the lives of two women living in Afghanistan over the last decade. I would reccommend this to everyone and anyone. I think the whole world needs to read this book.

At least as good as The Kite Runner – a very moving tale of two women in Afghanistan. I’m not overly familiar with the country’s history, but assuming the book is accurate, it gives a good indication of the terrible hardships women have had to endure.
As before, I really enjoyed Hosseini’s prose.

this book was amazing at first i thought it was no better then khalids first book but as i got into it it proved to be even better then the kite runner. being from afghanistan it breaks my heart hearing stories of the the taliban regime and what women and children went through. even though this story is fiction i wont be surprised if something very similiar to this has happened to an afghan girl out there, cause still today girls as young as 12 are given away to 20-60 year olds and are ill fated with them for the rest of their lives

A beautiful story set about women, children, families, love and religious and cultural bondage. It’s emotional story mirrors the nightmare that has been Afghanistan for decades, culminating in the hard line religious oppressive climate of the Taliban. A good way to take in all the turmoil that is Afghanistan and useful as well for making one realize the things that are important.

The book starts slow, but is very moving. A character study of two women in Afghanistan, it covers 40+ years of history. Well worth reading. I’m going to have to read this author’s first book.