A Thousand Splendid Suns

Wow, I just finished reading this book last night, and it has really stuck with me. I couldn't put it down. I'd agree with others who've said the first half of the book is slower than the second half, but it was all engrossing, and I felt so involved with the two main characters, Miriam and Laila. Although much of the book is heartbreaking, you are able to see what the Afghan people have endured just in the past several decades, and what they will do to create a better future for their families.

Is this book brutal? Yes, in many parts. But, there is also alot of love and joy brought from family, friends, and the desire of these characters to take control of their own lives, even in the face of war, poverty, and at some points, extreme hunger and understandable feelings of futility.

I highly this book. It's an excellent follow-up to "The Kite Runner."

it was hard for me to pass the first chapters, but then i couldn't leave the book until i was done with it.

it is amazing what people cause do to each other.

This unforgettable book intertwines the lives of two women of Afghanistan, Mariam and Laila. Their lives are surrounded by both the hope of Afghanistan and personal heartbreak brought on by the unstoppable force of history that crashes into their lives. The strength of these women is inspiring that in the worst of times, love will still conquer all wrong.

This is a great book. The violence was hard to take but I understood why the author felt that is was necessary.

What more can be said about "A Thousand Splendid Suns"? It is an astonishingly good novel and proves without doubt that Hosseini is no one-hit literary wonder. Whilst I didn't get into it from the get-go the way I did with "The Kite Runner", that is a minor quibble. The plotline and main characters are remarkable, memorable and heartbreaking. The novel gives a unique perspective on the living hell that is everday life in Kabul, Afghanistan, told through the eyes of two women at very different stages in their lives who are brought together in heartbreaking circumstances. They have to endure living their lives in a manner that I find horrific to contemplate, and Hosseini really brings to life their unlikely friendship and struggle to endure intolerable personal circumstances. I cannot recommend "A Thousand Splendid Suns" highly enough and have given it a 5-Star rating.