A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

Hardcover, 372 pages

English language

Published Jan. 11, 2007 by Riverhead Books.

OCLC Number:: 85783363

(3 reviews)

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment. --front flap

45 editions

fionag11@bookwyrm.social reviewed A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

None

5 stars

Wow, yeah. This book is hard to read, because of the domestic abuse, but if you can stand it, it is also such a fascinating window into the last few decades of Afghanistan's history, powerful, full of tension. You will be rooting for these two women and looking forward to the liberation of Kabul as much as they did - will it be in time to save them? Even more poignant given that we have now gone back to the days of the Taliban. OK, don't despair, there are light moments! - one detail that sticks with me is when the Titanic craze hits Taliban-controlled Kabul - Titanic burkhas!

Jamal reviewed A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini

What am I supposed to take away?

2 stars

Content warning Spoilers ahead!

I read this on the recommendation of a woman. Apparently, in her circle, this book is quite popular for the way it shows the hidden injustices against women and the weight they carry in society. To these points I can agree, and I see why someone can have an emotional moment reading this book.

For me however, I found the characters to be mostly flat, and the plot just depressing. I had to force myself to finish it when I was halfway through. The pile-on of horror did not make me think this or feel that, it purely led to disgust and boredom.

One positive take away is the historical context, which made the chronology of events memorable.

I suspect that I was not the target audience for this book. I saw that its fans fall into two camps: those that like it for the historical and humanized look at Afghanistan, and those that related to the women's perspectives in that society. The former did not have that wow effect on me given that I was a bit more knowledgeable on the topic, and the latter fell a bit short of capturing me given the flatness of the characters and the extremes of violence.

Taru Luojola

rated it

Sept. 3, 2015

Subjects

Families
Fiction