A Thousand Splendid Suns
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
What a great book to read! It's one of those books that does 2 things at the same time: 1)remind you how lucky you are to live in the USA and 2)it brings to life the harsh reality that other countries consider commonplace practice!!! Excellent book!
Such a powerful second book after the kite runner. Shows the first one wasn't just a fluke. His book is so easy to read and his charaters so alive and real...I fell easily into the story and have had a difficult time of leaving it behind me..always a sign of a good book.
I know that this was the book written after Kite Runner... but should I read the Kite Runner first? I already have this one from the library, but I won't read it if it will make more sense if I read the other first!
Jenn,No not at all. They are completely different stories about Afghanistan. You don't need the knowledge in one to read the other. Read it.
I absolutely love A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is eye opening and awful that women in other parts of the world are denied so much freedom. It reminds me how lucky I am to live in a place where women have equal rights as men. I'm not finished with it yet, but I'm pretty sure this is one of the best books I've read in a while.
I love this book even more than The Kite Runner. Maybe it`s just my romantic side talking, but I always go back and read the parts describing Layla and Tariq`s relationship. It`s so pure and innocent and true, their love is everlasting, if you ask me.
Just finished this book and want to add my voice on what an amazing story. I didn't want it to end! And I don't resent such a book keeping me up past my sleeptime. I highly recommend it.
The Kite Runner really got to me, made me cry, and pops into my mind frequently. While A Thousand Splendid Suns is a splendid book indeed, I didn't find it quite as powerful as The Kite Runner.
Best book I have read in a long time
I liked this book. It was well written and showed the relationship between the wives in a way that is rarely done. However, I didn't find the prose to be as inspiring as that in The Kite Runner. It's a near second.
An exquisitely written story demonstrating the indomitability of love and the human spirit even in the midst of destruction and terror.It has all those components Faulkner said were essential to any story worth writing: Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrfice (without which any story is ephemeral and doomed).
i looooooooooooooved this book, it was such a great read, i finished it in less then a week, and im a slow reader, sadly. it was great! i loved it. it made me cry to be honest. best book i read in a long time. xxx
I read this book about 4 years ago when I was on holiday in KL and thought it was very good. I actually liked it better than the kite runner. It was interesting to be in KL at the time as it is a place where you see a lot of muslims on holiday and it was very noticeable particularly around the pool where I was staying - the men were in swimming having a wonderful time in boardshorts etc while their women were covered up and under beach umbrellas in 30 degree Celicus temperates!
I really enjoyed this book. Not only was it a story of two women from opposite educational perspectives drawn together by circumstance, it also gives a brief insight into the geographical and cultural aspects of Afghanistan. I could appreciate it was a story, however, I suspect the author had drawn a lot on the experiences he had experienced growing up under this repressive regime.
I found this book to be compelling and was entirely enthralled by it. The story portrayed a very vivid picture of Afghan life from a woman's perspective and left little to the imagination. I cared about each of the characters and frequently was moved to tears by the descriptive prose.
I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and thought it was much better than Kite Runner. That could be because I prefer reading about adults.
This was a fabulous book. It is totally different from The Kite Runner which I loved also. This book, however is told from a womans perspective. It's so hard to believe that women were treated in this manner. I also learned more of what that Taliban was all about. It seems to me that the Taliban is run by very insecure men when they have to keep women on such a low scale.
Such an amazing book. So was The Kite Runner. I hope he writes a bunch more novels! So eye opening!
Such a amazing book.I would say this is even better than the Kite Runner.This makes me to love Afghanistan.
This book was amazingly insightful and terrifying and wonderful. What a great peek into war torn Afganistan. I can't say I like it better than The Kite Runner. They were so different. Both of them had an impact on me and I will not forget what happened in those books.
I really loved this book, when I read "The Kite Runner" , I thought it was the greatest I ever read, but 1000 Splendid Suns topped that. I am keeping a copy to read back in the future.
This book is perfectly written. Totally love it!! :D
I agree this was a sensational book but quite different from the Kite Runner except for the general part of the world where they take place. But Splendid Suns was such an eye-opener as to how women are treated. It was so shocking and terrifying truthfully. I cried a thousand tears in pain for those women!They made a film of Kite Runner. Do you think they could make a movie from this one? WHo would you cast as the two women? That would be tough.
Laura wrote: "This novel was an incredible effort following "Kite Runner." This time the main characters are female and living in Afghanistan as the country struggles with war and politics over the past dec..."
I loved it... I just read the kite runner and loved both books just the same, I couldn´t stop reading and I cried so much... despite of the characters being male or female, I think the author has great hability to describe and tell the story in such a way that you feel you´re part of the plot!!! Both my favourites, this confirms my saying that a book doesn´t have to be 600 pages to be a great book, I never really expected the ending at all in any way!!!
Hi SamiraI cried buckets too! Did you see the Kite Runner movie?
I read the A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner a while ago(2007). I watched the Kite Runner movie last night. It made me cry all over again. Splendid Suns was so very sad. I am not sure I can watch Splendid Suns as a movie...I would be crying throughout it.
Vicky, NO ONE could watch Splendid Suns in a movie theatre; wracking sobbing throughout! I wish more people would read this book though and cry and cry in the privacy of their own homes!
Samira wrote: "I loved it... I just read the kite runner and loved both books just the same, I couldn´t stop reading and I cried so much... despite of the characters being male or female, I think the author has..."No, haven´t seen the movie, but I prefer, like you say to cry by myself reading the book, however I´ll try to get it and see it.
Does anyone know if he wrote more than these two books?
It doesn't look like it. Here's a link http://www.khaledhosseini.com/hossein... to his website. He talks about wanting to write a play or a movie, in addition to more books. Sounds like he might be working on something but nothing finished yet.
thank you for the link.
Vicky wrote: "thank you for the link."You're most welcome!
Just brousing this discussion. I read 2Thousand Suns a year or so ago, amazing book. Just downloaded Kite Runner for my Kindle.
This was a "bookclub" read and I was a bit hesitant about reading it. Wow! I am so glad I did, it was a real eye opener and made me appreciate life in Australia as a free woman. If you enjoyed this book you should read 'The Little Coffee Shop in Kabul'. This is lighter in content than Suns but great characters, great story and had me weeping like a baby at the end!
I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns more than The Kite Runner.
Laura wrote: "This novel was an incredible effort following "Kite Runner." This time the main characters are female and living in Afghanistan as the country struggles with war and politics over the past dec..."
I really enjoyed this and decided to pick it up because I read and loved The Kite Runner. This is the first book that has ever made me cry. I too enjoyed it more than Kite Runner - both are Brilliant. :)
Yep, I enjoyed Kite Runner too. I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns because the author seemed so able to portray the life of the women in Afghanistan. There is one scene that stuck in my mind. It's where the husband made his wife chew pebbles or rocks. Unbelievably cruel.
I loved this book. The author did a great job of portraying the life in Afghanistan. This book brought tears to my eyes. Incredible book.
I found this riveting and disturbing in equal measure. Better to be a dog in Afghanistan than a woman. It's not often a work of fiction makes me angry, but this one did. Yet it is a very beautiful book, beautifully written.
An easily readable book. Indeed not boring.
Such a great storyteller, but the topic is really hard to read. Freedom is something we take for granted but we shouldn't.
I close the book so many times because the story makes me feel so angry but then it remind me of being grateful of living were I live.
Loved the book. I kept on having to flip back to the section start pages to remind me what year the story was happening in as I could not believe how these women lived.Gave me a very appreciative view of our liberal society where even though there are challenges that we face as women we are at least allowed to live our lives in what ever way we want. No having to be chaperoned by some man.
While their circumstances broke my heart, I was absolutely engaged by the real love the two main characters had. Even though they were different and started out as adversaries. I hope one day to have a friendship that strong and pure
Jenn wrote: "I know that this was the book written after Kite Runner... but should I read the Kite Runner first? I already have this one from the library, but I won't read it if it will make more sense if I rea..."The stories are quite different and deals with different themes so you can read either first, in my opinion.
this book touches something deep inside...it made me realize how much i take for granted the freedom and rights i have.
Any one know what page this quote is on if so please tell me?? ?"...yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism..."
I think Muslim women around the world are going through lots and lots bad and dreadful things than we Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. While we are enjoying our life with our freedom they are giving up lots of things because of their lack of freedom. I pity them all.
Laura wrote: "This novel was an incredible effort following "Kite Runner." This time the main characters are female and living in Afghanistan as the country struggles with war and politics over the past decad..."
well said Laura.
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This time the main characters are female and living in Afghanistan as the country struggles with war and politics over the past decades. The women are forced to deal with unthinkable adversity - adversity we can't contemplate sitting still for in America. The lesson is that our freedoms and justice are not available to everyone.