A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

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.

Reviewed by luddite on

5 of 5 stars

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Khaled Hosseini has the innate ability to send the taste of bile through your throat in an instant, depict gory acts without actually being vivid, make your heart flutter with joy and despair at will - while you still keep that small flame of hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel - and a very bright one at that. But most of all, he makes you wonder about the fate of Afghanistan and Afghanis, making you ask: 'What if?'.

Enchanting narrative. A carefully woven work laced with Farsi culture, literature and rituals in the backdrop of a troubled country. A vivid description of the wars through the experiences of the characters - even the meanest of them all.

Love. Honour. Survival. Desperation. But most of all, Hope. That is what this book is about - to me at least.

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  • Started reading
  • 6 April, 2011: Finished reading
  • 6 April, 2011: Reviewed