A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Feb 2009 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

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 and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

Ratings and reviews

I have a mixed feelings about this book. I like how the writer injected the 3 decades history of Afganistan and showed what the people has been experienced, especially the women. It exposed how bad it is - how the officials use religion to manipulate the people, to justify their cruelty and injustice towards women. And the fact that it is happening again recently is just unspeakable. The world is not as beautiful as I imagine. But the flow of the story has been a blocker for me to build emotional connection with the characters. While I am building a connection with Maryam, it needs to be stopped as the author brings me the Layla story. Then going back to Maryam's, then move again to Layla's, it goes like that till the end. That is why I give it 4 stars.

My heart goes out for Mariam... It was disturbing to read such terrible condition of a country but it ultimately makes us realise that even in most difficult situations we should never give up hope...

One of the best book I have ever red, I am originally Afghan as well, and it’s sad that my people went through such difficult time lost loved ones and fled the country due to invasions of super powers, and the involvement of neighbouring countries. But, it’s even more sad that when Afghans fled the country to start from scratch we been mostly called by the names terrorist, immigrants, aliens and so on, not knowing that we are in this state because Of their own action and they won’t take responsibility or even apologise for 3 millions afghans that lost their lives. Hope, there will be days for all race acceptance globally and world without a border and prolong peace!

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-four countries. In 2006 he was named a US goodwill envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency. He lives in northern California.