THE RICHARD & JUDY NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
‘A suspenseful epic’ Daily Telegraph
‘A triumph’ Financial Times
‘Heartbreaking’ Mail on Sunday
‘Deeply moving’ Sunday Times
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.
As good as The Kite Runner was, this was even better. I’m not sure the book description really serves it justice, because I almost didn’t listen to it. I’m really glad I did. Not only does Hosseini give the reader a wonderful story about the lives of two women who should be worlds apart, but he gives you a portrait of life for a woman in Afghanistan in recent history. Under the various ruling systems, every woman is ultimately the same. The story is really a downer for most of the book, but I think the message of hope at the end is a fitting metaphor for the country’s new direction.
