A sad book with a satisfying ending. It was hard reading through the brutal happenings of Afghanistan and of the main characters. Kind of slow near the beginning but picked up when the two main characters unit. My favourite thing about Hosseini's books is learning about what happened in Afghanistan. Can't wait until his next book comes out. ( )

I loved this book! It was haunting and sad and felt too real. The most amazing thing to me is that I was/am about the same age as these two women. It's often hard to imagine what people could be going through on the other side of the world when you're a teenager in the 80's. I love the writing, the history, the perspective, all of it. I think the author somehow gets to the heart of what true humanity is. ( )

Better than The Kite Runner but even more painful to read. I was very impressed with the way the male author 'inhabited' his female characters so well - it's not that authors can't cross the gender boundary, but that so often when they do in either direction the character is slightly less rounded or convincing in some way, especially in mass selling modern fiction. This was a book where the gender of the author didn't matter, it was the women in the pages who lived.
I couldn't escape the pages enough to avoid crying a lot while reading it though. ( )

The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini is an amazing book. The author, whose other book The Kite Runner, uses a wide range of figurative language and description. This book is taken place in Afghanistan before during and after the Taliban’s control. The story goes through two girls’ lives and eventually their lives intertwine as they grow. I believe the description and imagery allows the reader to feel and understand these girls’ lives. Mariam, the first girl, and Laila the second girl grow up in different ways but they eventually end up in a binding and unpleasant existence. Like the Kite Runner this book has very sad moments. It is filled with despair and unhappiness with each new page. This is not a book to get some good light hearted reading in. However, I believe everyone should definitely read it. If you like the Kite Runner you will love this. It will show you the culture from a women’s perspective in much greater detail. I do not want to give too much away because the way the book is written as you read you learn more and more about every character it pulls you in to the story. I found it very easy to read even with some of the graphic descriptions. Overall I would give it four and a half out of five because it is written so well and has such an amazing story line. The only reason I did not give it a five is because at times it becomes depressing but I believe that makes this story so special. You should read this. ( )

Extraordinary book. A classic. The vivid characters become people you feel you have met. Hosseini's novels are not easy to read because of the story they tell. They are so beautifully written but full of heartache. This will surely be a set book for education in the future. ( )