A Thousand Splendid Suns |
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Khaled Hosseini
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Pages: 384 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1594489505
Pub: Riverhead Hardcover
Pub date: 2007-05-22
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 153713
Reader Reviews:
Highly recommended (1/1 people found this helpful)
Khaled Hosseini describes beautifully the relationship between two Afghani women from different generations married to a much older man. Their efforts to overcome the harsh treatment meted out to women under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan result in the development of a deep bond between the two women. The book also reveals the suffering of ordinary people in this country under both Soviet and Taliban rule and their struggle to maintain some degree of normality and happiness with family and friends throughout this period. It is a deeply moving book and I thoroughly recommend it.
Astonishment and pleasure (1/1 people found this helpful)
Hosseini is a great story teller. Both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns grab the eyeballs and don't let go until the book is (unfortunately) finished. It is difficult to now remember, in our neon-light-celebrity-corporate ridden McCulture, what natural life is about . In Kabul, "These women were all swinging handbags and rustling skirts ... Their nails were long polished pink or orange, their lips red as tulips. They walked in high heels, and quickly, as if on perpetually urgent business. They wore dark sunglasses and, when they breezed by, Mariam caught a whiff of their perfume. These women mystified Mariam. They made her aware of her own lowliness, her plain looks, her lack of aspirations, her ignorance of so many things." This book helps you FEEL Afghanistan's hot light / cold nights, country and city smells, colours and pain. I was gasping in astonishment and pleasure at Hosseini's descriptions, analogies.. Examples: "hostility radiating ... like waves of heat rising from asphalt"; Mammy's heart was like a pallid beach where Laila's footprints would forever wash away beneath the waves of sorrow that swelled and crashed, swelled and crashed." Wonderful writing, Mr. Hosseini.
A Thousand Splendid Suns (1/1 people found this helpful)
Khaled Hosseini captures the innermost feelings and emotions of the two female protagonists expertly. This is a story about the bonds of sisterhood, of enduring love and ultimately of sacrifice. But, whilst it reminds us that in many parts of the world life can be brutal, especially for women. it is also a story of hope.
As the chapters flow, one becomes immersed in the lives of Mariam and Laila and as the story comes to a close I found myself not wanting the book to end.
It can be said that great literature is the result of crisis, whether that be of a personal nature or the result of national or international conflict. Through the writer we get a feel for what it is to live through both personal and national conflict and the effects that this has on the lives of the characters.
This is truely a great book, a Modern Classic. I wait in anticipation on Hosseini's next novel!
Splendid Indeed!! (0/0 people found this helpful)
This is a beautiful, poignant book that remains with the reader for a long time after. It not only captures the pain and suffering of a people torn apart by war, but also had me marvelling at the generousity of spirit of Mariam and the sacrifices she was willing to make for laila and her children. With all the unfairness and brutality she had endured, i had wished a happy ending for her but alas...
I have also read The Kite Runner and would like to say thank you to the person who introduced me to Khaled Hosseini.There are many great writers out there but few possess the ability to make one cry with the right arrangement of words. Thank you Dr Hosseini, i look forward to your next book.
A Thousand Splendid Suns (0/0 people found this helpful)
Well this book is fantastic. I read it in one day could not put it down. I loved the way it was written, and felt i really knew the characters.I could just start reading it again. The only thing negative about it is i'm now finding it hard to read my next book, i can't stop thinking about this one.I haven't read the kite runner yet but i have it on order and can't wait to read it.
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