A Thousand Splendid Suns Reviews

This second novel by gifted writer, Khaled Hosseini, will keep you entranced from the first chapter.  It is a difficult book to read sometimes when the two women Mariam and Laila are faced with surviving horrible circumstances brought on by war and then strict Taliban rule in Afghanistan.  How they manage to survive through all this will inspire you and make you wonder how many women in Afghanistan today have similar stories. How Hosseini manages to write so well about women is amazing. His books shed light on a beautiful, wonderful place that has suffered so much for so many decades. It is...

Hosseini provides a glimpse into the lives of two women; the heartaches that shatter them and the bonds that strengthen them.  This is a story that has a lot of historical and cultural information.  In addition, it has the drama and heart of bona fide classic.

Although I highly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns, I can only give it four stars...

This novel was an excellent follow up of The Kite Runner.  I especially enjoyed learning more from the female perspective.  The Author does a great job of thoroughly introducing the reader into the lives of each of the primary characters before the story weaves their lives together.  My heart was broken for each main character and remains broken for the many women who live in this constant state of fear and despair.

Educational, heart wrenching and very well constructed novel.  I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Afghanistan, men or women.  It is not appropriate...

I was hesitant to read Kite Runner but so many people recommended it that I finally broke down & gave it a read. Of course I loved it & couldn't wait for this 2nd book. I bought it the day it came out & was not disappointed one bit.

While Kite Runner was wonderful, this story of 2 Afghan women hit closer to home. Reading about their lives pre, during & post Taliban was quite emotional.

Khaled Hosseini is a wonderful writer & does women's voices beautifully.

I don't know what he has planned for a 3rd story, but I can hardly wait to find out. 

This book is an amazing achievement by Khaled Hosseini. His second novel was, I found, far superior to his first.

The two protagonists of the story are highly rounded characters that you quickly fall in love with. The two women have inspriring strength. Great insight by the author.

I was expecting a lot from this book after having read and very much enjoyed the Kite Runner, but it surpassed my expectations. I never read books twice, but this one is in my list for the next few books I will read

A tragic story that leaves you with a good feeling due to the sheer heroicness of the two women.

This was a great second book from the author of Kite Runner, you won't be disappointed.

The story of 2 very different women thrown into terrible circumstances and they form a friendship and eventually a family. It's a beautiful story. You really root for the women and hope they will one day find happiness. It really teaches you a lot about the history of Afghanistan and really makes you happy to be American. It's amazing to realize these women  weren't living in the distant past but now & women still live like that over there.

A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini was quite an interesting read. I listened to it on CD and Atossi Leoni did an excellent job of bringing the whole story alive. Her accent alone made the book more real for me. I knew very little about the history of Afghanistan. The story is interwoven with the history of Afghanistan from the Soviet intevention through the post-Taliban rebuilding. Like many of Amy Tan's stories about China it gives you an upclose and personal view of what has happened to the ordinary citizen in Afghanistan. In particular it gives a woman's view as to how they...

This story is a wonderful story of hope.  What I love about this author is how he breaks down the barriors and divissions which our society has created especially the media.  He shows us that in every society, in every religion, and in every culture there are the good and the bad.  He shows the black and the white and the gray in our daily lives.  I found this story like his last novel very enlightening.  You have two women from very different family situations brought together and at first not really liking each other.  As the book progresses they develope a profound love and respect for...

To tell you the truth, I really had no desire to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns".  The book was given to me by another avid reader.  I thought I would try it and if I could not get into it then I would just give it up. 

Sooo, I started the book and BOOM!  I was totally sucked right into the book. 

I found this book totally engrossing and riveting.  I kept wanting to keep reading and never put the book down until it was done. 

The storyline keeps you so engrossed and the characters are full of life and easy to picture and identify with.  What a spendid book, storyline, and everything! ...

From the time I picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns, I was unable to stop reading.  The historical writing by, Khaled Hosseini, was amazingly sad, and even with some liberties taken was what I would consider a book of Afghan and other Middle Eastern religious history and the wars that follow.

The choices of the woman and basically nill in this incredible read, and what they endure to protect their lives and their children is off the charts incredible!   

I cannot wait to to run out and buy The Kite Runner, also by Khaled Hosseini (an Afghan-American who moved to CA in 1980).

A Thousand Splendid Suns was a great read- interesting characters, gripping storyline, and fascinating cultural insights.  This book follows a woman named Mariam and a woman named Laila through an intriguing cultural piece.  Laila was raised by parents who were ahead of their time.  When a disaster hits her family, she is forced into marriage with an extremely strict man who is already married to Mariam.  An extremely unlikely friendship ensues. While comparable, I would venture to say that as a follow-up to The Kite Runner, this book falls short.  It is less memorable, but still captivating. ...