2008 ( )

This was a difficult story to relate to because I've never experienced anything close to the hardships and set backs women were faced with in the struggle of the lives in Afghanistan and Kabul. Polygamy is normal in those country's. Women were not allowed to be educated and their life was to serve their husbands and bear children. Women were forced to accept a a brutal lifestyle of being forced to to live in the same house as other women they didn't know with the same husband. The poverty level in which they lived and the starvation they endured were outrageous and abhorring because they weren't allowed to work. This story was heart wrenching, and I believe is a must read for all women. This book is a reminder of how much we take advantage of even the simplest things, like food and shelter, in our lives.

After devouring the story, characters, and prose of "The Kite Runner," I was a bit hesitant to read Hosseini's second novel. Friends told me not to worry that "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was the equal of "Kite Runner "and in some ways better, and I have to agree. This novel delves into the plight of women in the Middle East during the time of the Afghanistan War and beyond. The author makes you angry, sad and happy in the course of a few pages if not sentences. Where "Kite Runner" revolves around two boys growing into men, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" takes you on a feminine journey. ( )

Again skilful storytelling that made me want to read on and on. The relationship between Tariq and Laila was very beautifully written. But there was something bugging about the plot.

SPOILER ALERT: I felt the author dedicated too many pages on the physical and sexual abuses lain on the wife. I was uncomfortable reading about the women's domestic suffering again in Part 2, was it necessary to mention the violence and humiliation over and over? No, it was disgusting, unpleasant and repetitive.

Some of the decisions the characters made just didn't seem 'right'. Mariam dared to run away from her Mother, why not from Rasheem, instead of suffering 20 years of his tyranny? If I was Laila I would probably top myself before I tie the knot with Rasheem. Laila and her Babi should've left town at the same timeTariq did; you just don't sit around and wait for your mentally unstable mother/wife to make crucial decisions when there is a war going on outside your doorstep. Tariq asked for her hand before he left town, why did she turn him down?

Kite Runner's plot seems more plausible. ( )

Truly awesome. Loved every page, loved every line. Two great women protagonists. Beautiful characters. ( )