Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

Hosseini's follow-up to his best-selling debut, The Kite Runner views the plight of Afghanistan during the last half-century through the eyes of two women. Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of a maid and a businessman, who is given away in marriage at 15 to Rasheed, a man three times her age; their union is not a loving one. Laila is born to educated, liberal parents in Kabul the night the Communists take over Afghanistan. Adored by her father but neglected in favor of her older brothers by her mother, Laila finds her true love early on in Tariq, a thoughtful, chivalrous boy who lost a leg in an explosion. But when tensions between the Communists and the mujahideen make the city unsafe, Tariq and his family flee to Pakistan. A devastating tragedy brings Laila to the house of Rasheed and Mariam, where she is forced to make a horrific choice to secure her future. At the heart of the novel is the bond between Mariam and Laila, two very different women brought together by dire circumstances.

(Summary from Booklist review)

Author Website:
http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

3 comments:

  1. This is an amazing book. The two central characters are developed in a humane way that engages the reader. I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Recent Afghan history covered in human terms. Excellent read.

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  2. This is not the type of book I usually read. But I'm very glad I did. It brought the lives of the afghan people to life. I had to keep reminding myself that this was in recent times. You think of an outhouse and no water or electricity as something from a long time ago. Not so.

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  3. This book made a very far away place- very real. Excellent imagery and characters. A must read!

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