A Thousand Splendid Suns

By: Khaled Hosseini

Narrated by: Atossa Leoni

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of 30 years of Afghanistan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss, and by fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them, in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.

©2007 TKR Publications, LLC. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Another searing epic....[Hosseini's] tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters." (Publishers Weekly)
"Unimaginably tragic, Hosseini's magnificent second novel is a sad and beautiful testament to both Afghani suffering and strength. Readers who lost themselves in The Kite Runner will not want to miss this unforgettable follow up." (Booklist)

Gut Wrenchingly Beautiful

Plot, Character Line, Movement through each hard topics, this book had it all. Amazing story

Intense, heartfelt, and good closure

Wasn’t sure where this book was going, but after The Kite Runner, figured I wouldn’t be disappointed. I wasn’t. It was a well written history of a country I only read about in the news, and the story of two women who became each other’s family. Really enjoyed this one.

Just wow

A lot of people in the reviews complained about the narrator and I don’t think she’s nearly as bad as people are saying. Yes she is a bit monotone and could put more emotion behind certain events. Maybe different voices but the way it’s written I don’t think it’s bad. The book was extremely powerful and extremely well written just wow the emotions I’ve felt during this book. If it had a better narrator idk if I could of taken it!

Powerful and moving

One of the books that will stay in my heart forever. Teach us powerful lesson of life and gratitude.

Beautiful story.

This was a beautiful story. It was very eye opening and neat to see other perspectives from this timeframe.

Outstanding storytelling

Best when narrator is at 0.85x speed. Once the speed is to your liking, it is hard to stop until the finish.

Incredible

Harrowing, powerful, beautiful. A grilling insight into the lived experience of the war in Afghanistan, especially for women.

A dose of the real world.

if more people in our coddled corner of the world would read, and empathize with the struggles going on every day in other parts of the world, we might unite to solve the bigger problems that exist beyond our sight.

The brutality, cruelty and corruption of war and misogyny

The reality of the ownership of women as if they are chattel. And knowing that the Afghanistan Leila returned to with hope is now in 2024 back in the hands of the Taliban with all their cruelty. That breaks my heart.

Depth of characters

While, at times, hard to hear, this book has incredible insight and depth to anyone who wants a deeper relationship with those they may see as enemies. Those who seem to oppose and restrict us can become allies and even family as we fight evil in cooperation rather than competition. Hurt people hurt people and healed people heal people.