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)

Heart touching

This story cleverly describes a women's world in a male chaunistic society affected by war and the culture, that has been shaped by men for their own convenience.

Another masterpiece!

Another brilliant moving masterpiece! Right there with The Kite Runner! A whole new perspective on Afghanistan.

Keep Tissue Box Handy

If you could sum up A Thousand Splendid Suns in three words, what would they be?

We all hear about wars on media reports like CNN but we don't get the human stories at the ground level. Afghanistan went through a tremendous amount of bloodshed from 1979 to present. The stories of Mariam and Laila provides a perspective of people living through the turmoils. The characters get hope every time that there is a regime change but are sorely disappointed once the new regime comes into full power. It's a very sad story page by page and make sure you keep a tissue box handy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mariam and Laila. They come from 2 different backgrounds but end up with the same faith.

What about Atossa Leoni’s performance did you like?

Atossa Leoni is a very engaging narrator and makes the story interesting and keeps you involved.

Who was the most memorable character of A Thousand Splendid Suns and why?

Laila. She learns Mariam's story and makes a last trip to Mariam's childhood home.

Book on the Courage of Oppressed Women

Hosseini returns to Afghanistan as his literary canvas. The detail he can provide to a land thought forever desolate by the West is astounding. The author also went to great lengths to highlight the vast hardships endured by the Afghan people, hardships brought on by extremists and warlords, while the rest of the world seemed to forget them entirely once the USSR had ended its occupation. Central to his tale, however, amongst the story of macro politics in a truly ravaged region of the Middle East, are the two most powerful characters Hosseini has yet unleashed in the fictional universe. These two women endure countless atrocities and suffer brutally at the hands of the Taliban, as well as a monster of a husband. A surprisingly satisfying end deriving meaning from struggle is certainly delivered, despite an endlessly depressing and realistic backstory for our protagonists, one we endure and suffer through alongside them during the novel.

Readers of 'Kite Runner' will not be disappointed.

Masterpiece

At first, the book was a little bit boring. I stopped twice, thought I should read another book. Thought the author was unease with the story and I couldn't empathize with the characters. But then, comes Layla. And the story begins to run, the author just "flows", and Afghanistan becomes a land of nobody. I traced a parallel with my life, were I was when all that chaos and disgrace happened. I thanked all the blessings I had in my own life and, what a big luck I got for not living in a place like that. For not taste war and blood the way so many people tasted. Loved the book. Thought this one was better than the Kite Runner, denser, more realistic. Maybe I was a little bit harsh with its beginning.

ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR!!!

This is one of the best and most beautifully tragic book I’ve ever read in my entire life! I will recommend this book a thousand times over to anyone abs everyone. I’m haunted in the best way possible by this book, and the characters have left an impression on my heart. Must read!!!!

Gut-wrenching read

Very hard read for me. This was just gut-wrenching especially in light of current events. The book traces the lives of two women in Afghanistan during revolution and war. It starts with the childhood of each of the women and follows them through the upheavals of their world at large and in their personal lives. Mariam and Laila's lives become intertwined as a result of a bombing which strikes Laila's childhood home. Both women are forced to make decisions which inexorably change the course of their lives. Ultimately, they develop a fiercely loyal relationship. More than a friendship, Mariam becomes the mother that Laila never had and Laila the daughter Mariam never had.

Narrator was a drawback on this book for me. She does better in the character's voices, but most of the narration is very flat and very monotone and lacking inflection.

I am really struggling with my rating for this book. I loved part one on Mariam's early life. When it switched to Laila, it was really jarring for me. I kept wanting to get back to Mariam. I found it more than a bit unsettling that both female characters after stating how disorienting, how limited their vision was, and how hard it was to walk when clad in burkas, both stated that they rather liked the burka and its concealment of themselves. Maybe its an american thing, but that just hit me wrong. It's a little more understandable from Mariam's perspective based on her life to this point than from Laila's perspective. This is one of those books that I read because it's important to know what life has been or is like in other parts of the world. This was a non-flinching look at life from a female perspective. It was just so upsetting that I want to give it a 3. Still, I don't want to set a rating simply based on whether I liked or not. So I have been really asking myself to look at the writing and to look at the characters and their development. I will say that the character's are well fleshed out. Not much is really done with Rasheed and even though it's not his story, I still wanted an explanation for his actions. I guess that in real life, you really don't have that either. All we know about what makes Rasheed tick is given to us from an overheard conversation on the death of his son from his first marriage. There is a little bit of rounding out with the patience he exhibits in his relationship with Zalmai and Zalmai's obvious love for his father. Descriptive writing was wonderful. In my opinion, Mariam was the best written character. Her realizations about the man her father is were wonderfully done. While I do not believe the consequences for her actions are entirely apparent to her at the time of the action, she realizes the impact and the result on her own. For writing then, I would give it a 4. (Wish we could give 1/2s here.)

I really need a light read for my next book!

I can’t even

Crying throwing up.. this has destroyed me emotionally beyond measure. Do I regret reading though? Absolutely not

sad, sad, sad

Wow! After reading The Kite Runner, I didn't think I would cry as much as I did reading a book but I was wrong!!!! I cried, and cried and cried....

Not for the Faint of Heart

it is beautifully written but tough to read. I'm glad I stuck it out to the end. do not start it if you are unable to sustain the violence. nonetheless it's an Incredible Book.