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A Thousand Splendid Suns
by
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Spl ...more
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Spl ...more
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Kindle Edition, 379 pages
Published
November 25th 2008
by Riverhead
(first published May 22nd 2007)
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Start your review of A Thousand Splendid Suns


Like diamonds and roses hidden under bomb rubble, this is a story of intense beauty and strength buried under the surface of the cruel and capricious life imposed upon two Afghani women.
She remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how people like us suffer, she'd said. How...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

August 2007
I was riding in a cab in Bombay recently, and a bookseller on foot approached me at a traffic light with a stack of books. I did my best not to look at the boy, but I couldn't help it. He was waving several books in my face and something caught my eye. I thought my glance was discreet, but he saw me look.. and it was game over. The light turned green right then and the boy starts running with the cab yelling 'Memsahib! Memsahib!'. We're picking up speed.. I'm so scared he's going to g ...more
I was riding in a cab in Bombay recently, and a bookseller on foot approached me at a traffic light with a stack of books. I did my best not to look at the boy, but I couldn't help it. He was waving several books in my face and something caught my eye. I thought my glance was discreet, but he saw me look.. and it was game over. The light turned green right then and the boy starts running with the cab yelling 'Memsahib! Memsahib!'. We're picking up speed.. I'm so scared he's going to g ...more

"A face of grievances unspoken, burdens gone unprotested, a destiny submitted to and endured."
This must have been the longest time I had waited to review a fiction after finishing the book. Even after a week, I still haven't fully recuperated from the emotional blow of A Thousand Splendid Suns... Painful, heartbreaking, but quite beautiful in a very sad way. Hosseini has improved upon what he did with Kite Runner, if that's even possible, in every conceivable way imaginable to give the reade ...more
This must have been the longest time I had waited to review a fiction after finishing the book. Even after a week, I still haven't fully recuperated from the emotional blow of A Thousand Splendid Suns... Painful, heartbreaking, but quite beautiful in a very sad way. Hosseini has improved upon what he did with Kite Runner, if that's even possible, in every conceivable way imaginable to give the reade ...more

Jul 17, 2019
Matthew
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone and everyone
Amazing!
Heart-Wrenching!
Important!
In a world where people tend to make assumptions about people and places based on the news, preconceived notions, prejudice, etc., this book needs to be read. I think a good portion of the American population hears “Afghanistan” and they think it is a country full or terrorists and unreasonable Muslim extremists who all band together to plot the downfall of anyone not like them. A Thousand Splendid Suns shows the progression of life in Afghanistan from the Sovie ...more
Heart-Wrenching!
Important!
In a world where people tend to make assumptions about people and places based on the news, preconceived notions, prejudice, etc., this book needs to be read. I think a good portion of the American population hears “Afghanistan” and they think it is a country full or terrorists and unreasonable Muslim extremists who all band together to plot the downfall of anyone not like them. A Thousand Splendid Suns shows the progression of life in Afghanistan from the Sovie ...more

Aug 29, 2012
Emily May
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
2013
It was a warm, sunny day in Montenegro and I was about to set out on a boat trip. I felt certain that a combination of sightseeing and the people I was with would keep me from having much time to read, but I packed a book anyway just in case there was time for a chapter or two in between stops.
A Thousand Splendid Suns happened to be that book. And at the end of the day, when I staggered off that boat, blinking at my sudden exposure to reality, it wasn't because I'd been mesmerised by the stunni ...more
A Thousand Splendid Suns happened to be that book. And at the end of the day, when I staggered off that boat, blinking at my sudden exposure to reality, it wasn't because I'd been mesmerised by the stunni ...more

Feb 22, 2009
Daniel
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Daniel by:
Rose
Shelves:
2009
It's apparently becoming something of a tradition for me to trash books that are not only widely loved and praised, but were specifically recommended to me by friends. Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splended Suns," I'm sorry to say, is going to get the same treatment. (Forgive me, Rose.) "Splendid Suns" has been so widely read by this point, I won't bother recounting the story, and instead simply list my objections:
- Hosseini seems incapable of creating characters with much depth to them. E.M. Fo ...more
- Hosseini seems incapable of creating characters with much depth to them. E.M. Fo ...more

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.
It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner.
Mariam is an illegitimate child, and suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth along with the abuse she faces throughout her marriage.
Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal ...more
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.
It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner.
Mariam is an illegitimate child, and suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth along with the abuse she faces throughout her marriage.
Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal ...more

I have never cried while reading a book,like I Did while reading this one!
It is the story of poor, uneducated women who have to endure the hardships of life...
The horrors and terrors that a lot of women have gone through during certain period in Afghanistan, the war torn country ,and the narration through the lives of two women Mariam and Laila..
Going through All kinds of Physical abuse of hitting, kicking and slapping ,brutal beating ,etc….
Struggling the cruel extremely sadistic Rasheed, And s ...more
It is the story of poor, uneducated women who have to endure the hardships of life...
The horrors and terrors that a lot of women have gone through during certain period in Afghanistan, the war torn country ,and the narration through the lives of two women Mariam and Laila..
Going through All kinds of Physical abuse of hitting, kicking and slapping ,brutal beating ,etc….
Struggling the cruel extremely sadistic Rasheed, And s ...more

Sep 13, 2008
K
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who actually thought "The Kite Runner" was a good book
Recommended to K by:
Shelly
To my editor:
Khaled here. As I was reviewing my final draft of “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” some questions occurred to me.
1. Could I make the characters any less complex? Despite my efforts, I feel I haven’t fully achieved the one-dimensionality my readers seemed to love in “The Kite Runner.” Specifically, I’m afraid I may have given Rassan one or two potentially sympathetic moments early on despite his overall abusive personality (although I more than make up for it). I don’t know whether my rea ...more
Khaled here. As I was reviewing my final draft of “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” some questions occurred to me.
1. Could I make the characters any less complex? Despite my efforts, I feel I haven’t fully achieved the one-dimensionality my readers seemed to love in “The Kite Runner.” Specifically, I’m afraid I may have given Rassan one or two potentially sympathetic moments early on despite his overall abusive personality (although I more than make up for it). I don’t know whether my rea ...more

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.
It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner.
Mariam is an illegitimate child, and suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth along with the abuse she faces throughout her marriage.
Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal ...more
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.
It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner.
Mariam is an illegitimate child, and suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth along with the abuse she faces throughout her marriage.
Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal ...more


Khaled Hosseini tells us the story of millions of daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers through Miriam and Laila. We can see how the Taliban had shattered Afghanistan in this novel. The author has beautifully depicted hope, tragedy, and violence amid the war. The way he tells the history of a country through the eyes of two women is simply brilliant. This is a must-read book for everyone and can be considered one of the few books that can change the lives of people in the best possible way. ...more

This novel is about two wonderful, brave , intelligent and resolute women Mariam and Laila their optimistic dreams, aspirations, boundless love... yet dehumanized in perilous, merciless, Afghanistan... continually suffering degradation during the tumultuous years in the long, sad history of that troubled, war ravished nation, Mariam born out of wedlock in Herat, to a wealthy man, lecherous Jalil and Nana, she was a maid at his house, he had already three wives and soon ten other children, sent t
...more

" One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."
There are very few books that make me feel a tempest of emotions: make me happy and proud at one moment and break my heart in the next; make me chuckle at a few scenes and leave me in tears later, make me love a few characters and hate the others- and this is one such book.
The novel focuses on the life of two Afghan women-Mariam and Laila who come from different walks of life. ...more
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."
There are very few books that make me feel a tempest of emotions: make me happy and proud at one moment and break my heart in the next; make me chuckle at a few scenes and leave me in tears later, make me love a few characters and hate the others- and this is one such book.
The novel focuses on the life of two Afghan women-Mariam and Laila who come from different walks of life. ...more

“Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.”
Five heart-breaking and tearful stars for a story that will stay with me for a long time, 5 glorious stars for a book that dares highlight atrocities committed against women in Afghanistan, and 5 flawless stars for a book that is pretty dam perfect in everyway possible. Inspired by real and common events these fictional stories ...more
Five heart-breaking and tearful stars for a story that will stay with me for a long time, 5 glorious stars for a book that dares highlight atrocities committed against women in Afghanistan, and 5 flawless stars for a book that is pretty dam perfect in everyway possible. Inspired by real and common events these fictional stories ...more

5*****
But this book deserves a thousand splendid stars- it is a true masterpiece and a wonderful book!
"Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam."
This story chronicles 30 years of Afghan history; from Soviet invasion, to the Taliban, to post-Taliban. This story is told from the perspective of two women; born a generation apart, with different ideas of love and family, two ...more
But this book deserves a thousand splendid stars- it is a true masterpiece and a wonderful book!
"Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam."
This story chronicles 30 years of Afghan history; from Soviet invasion, to the Taliban, to post-Taliban. This story is told from the perspective of two women; born a generation apart, with different ideas of love and family, two ...more

in true hosseini fashion, this book does not shy away from heavy, and sometimes uncomfortable, topics. but i realised that this book should make the reader feel uncomfortable. the tragedies that women face, even today, are crimes against humanity. but the strength of the two women this story follows is deeply moving and incredibly inspiring.
to save my heart from emotional devastation, i tried to focus on the positives of this story, which can be summed up in this quote:
to save my heart from emotional devastation, i tried to focus on the positives of this story, which can be summed up in this quote:
‘they would make new l...more

Jul 24, 2012
F
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
afghanistan-kabul
Loved this!

I didn't know whether to keep on reading or DNF this book. I didn't know if I should give it 5 stars or 2. The thing is, I cannot abide extreme hardship, pain, and suffering on behalf of the characters that are in the books I read.
I'm certain that this is to be the last book I'd read this year. And what a book did it prove to be! The mind reels at the barbarism that can be eked from such perverted ways of thinking. Reason, rationality are out of the window.
I know I haven't mentioned the plot or ...more
I'm certain that this is to be the last book I'd read this year. And what a book did it prove to be! The mind reels at the barbarism that can be eked from such perverted ways of thinking. Reason, rationality are out of the window.
I know I haven't mentioned the plot or ...more

A deeply moving epic about the lives of two women born over a decade apart, ending up in the same war torn Kabul. Their stories are set against the fall of, and further falls, of Afghanistan - the Soviet invasion, and then the coming of the Taliban, to the present post-Taliban era. A book that humanises these far away, widely reported on events, by detailing these women's lives. I thought that The Kite Runner was a good read... well this is better. 8.5 out of 12.

2008 read ...more

2008 read ...more

Suns is part historical fiction, part social commentary and part kick-in-the-throat storytelling. A friend of mine said that Suns is a metaphor for Afghanistan but I found it illustrative of Afghanistan's weary and violent history; I found it brutally educational. When I had studied in Germany in 1987, I lived in an international dormitory. I asked my neighbor, Hyder, where he was from, he leaned in to me with a devilish grin and hissed “Afghanistan!” While others found this amusing, the effect
...more

Nov 09, 2020
emma
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
reviewed,
unpopular-opinion,
authors-of-color,
non-ya,
diverse,
eh,
2-and-a-half-stars,
literary-fiction
I bought this book on November 8, 2016, and then I somehow picked it up by sheer coincidence precisely on November 8, 2020.
In spite of this divine coincidence, I did not like the read much.
If I had read it when I actually bought it, I probably would have, but I think I've evolved past this kind of unilateral-view things-are-sad white-woman-book-club energy. Societally, we all have. In the early 2000s, maybe we only had room for 1 feeling about Afghanistan (or okay, 1 in addition to War), but now ...more
In spite of this divine coincidence, I did not like the read much.
If I had read it when I actually bought it, I probably would have, but I think I've evolved past this kind of unilateral-view things-are-sad white-woman-book-club energy. Societally, we all have. In the early 2000s, maybe we only had room for 1 feeling about Afghanistan (or okay, 1 in addition to War), but now ...more

Each snowflake was a sigh heard by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. All the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women suffer.
Poignant, stunning, and impossibly heartrending, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS was one of the best and most meaningful books I've read because it embodies all the themes and values regarding gender identity and disparity that has been much debated by society for a ...more

I started this book with high expectations. I had been overwhelmed with every conceivable emotion when I read the “Kite Runner” and just couldn’t believe that his second book, “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, could possibly be as good.
So it was with trepidation and yet excitement that I read this book. I had left the last dozen or so pages to read until the following morning, as I didn’t want to quite let it go, and as I sat there at 7 a.m. on the terrace, with a cup of coffee in my hand, I slowly fi ...more
So it was with trepidation and yet excitement that I read this book. I had left the last dozen or so pages to read until the following morning, as I didn’t want to quite let it go, and as I sat there at 7 a.m. on the terrace, with a cup of coffee in my hand, I slowly fi ...more

4.75 stars
This book doesn’t have the full, 100% impact of WOW THAT WAS AMAZING but it was pretty damn good. This is my favorite type of story that slowly weaves its threads and develops a narrative over generations, and just when you think all of the ends are tied up, it comes full circle and punches you in the gut all over again. This book is just as empowering as it is tragic, and Hosseini is just masterful at storytelling at this magnificent scope. The writing is gorgeous without being longwi ...more
This book doesn’t have the full, 100% impact of WOW THAT WAS AMAZING but it was pretty damn good. This is my favorite type of story that slowly weaves its threads and develops a narrative over generations, and just when you think all of the ends are tied up, it comes full circle and punches you in the gut all over again. This book is just as empowering as it is tragic, and Hosseini is just masterful at storytelling at this magnificent scope. The writing is gorgeous without being longwi ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I like Hosseini's writing and opt for his books anyday if I have to reread a book.
But this one turned out to be quite disappointing for me.
The high rating of 4 stars still may be attributed to the simplistic yet straightforward and effective writing (yes, it's the writing that makes everything work for me to actually like a book in the first place) that made the characters, the story and the ending quite believable.
But it's the lack of character development (of the seeming) main character that ...more
But this one turned out to be quite disappointing for me.
The high rating of 4 stars still may be attributed to the simplistic yet straightforward and effective writing (yes, it's the writing that makes everything work for me to actually like a book in the first place) that made the characters, the story and the ending quite believable.
But it's the lack of character development (of the seeming) main character that ...more

Oct 25, 2016
Aj the Ravenous Reader
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Aj the Ravenous Reader by:
Masooma
At 15, while I was still playing jack stones or watching Japanese anime, the girls in the story perpetually worried that any day they would be given away to some stranger in marriage. While I complained about the heat during bedtime, these girls feared they would wake up tomorrow without a home and a family or worse, would not wake up altogether. What hurt me most is the thought that although the characters and settings may be fictional, the events in the entire story did take place in Afghanist ...more
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Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. In 1970 Hosseini and his family moved to Iran where his father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran. In 1973 Hosseini's family returned to Kabul, and Hosseini's youngest brother was born in July of that year.
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, Hosseini's father obtained a job in Paris, France, and moved the family there. They were u ...more
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, Hosseini's father obtained a job in Paris, France, and moved the family there. They were u ...more
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Well, here we all are, sheltering in place, buying canned beans, and generally trying to figure out how to stay inside and keep our minds busy....
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“Marriage can wait, education cannot.”
—
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“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
—
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Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
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