A beautifully written book that's both moving and bittersweet. Hosseini shows the reader how the Soviet occupation, the tribal conflicts and the Taliban rule of Afghanistan affected the people on a daily level through the lives of Mariam and Laila.

Summary~

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

My Thoughts~

I picked this up at my most resent visit to the library and was excited that it wasn't checked out for once. As this was considered a "new release" at the library I could only check it out for a week and at first was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time. Those thoughts where soon pushed out of my mind as I began reading A Thousand Splendid Suns as it warped me into Afghanistan and into the lives of Mariam and Laila. As soon as I became engrossed in Mariam's story, which got me hooked on page one; I was transferred to Laila's journey. In Mariam's part I was spellbound and couldn't believe all the hardships Mariam faced; how much can one person handle? I was foolish enough to think that Laila would have a happy life with Tariq and was heartbroken when I learned that he was killed while trying to escape from the war. And was shocked when he returned toward the end of the book; at first I thought he might be a phony, but after learning that Rasheed had paid someone to lie about her love's death in order to trap her; I was relieved and happy that they would be able to be together after so many years of separation. After Rasheed's death I thought it was very honorable that Mariam choose to risk her life, and take the blame for his "murder" in order for Laila, Tariq and her children to have a life together. The ending, with Laila revisiting Mariam's childhood home and walking through her past was a wonderful closing to A Thousand Splendid Suns, bringing closure to the characters and the reader.

This book brought me back to Hosseini’s Afghanistan sometimes splendid – sometimes ghastly, but always real and compelling. I love this author’s capacity to bring the cup so close to your lips that you can smell – actually taste the sweet liquid and then all at once it is snatched away while your lips are still parted and expectant.

Raised in poverty by her unwed epileptic mother and married off early by the rich, elegant father who has always kept her at arm's length, Mariam would seem to have little in common with well-educated and comfortably raised young Laila. Yet their lives intertwine dramatically in this beautiful novel from the author of The Kite Runner, who proves that one can write a successful follow-up after debuting with a phenomenal best seller. As Mariam settles in Kabul with her abusive cobbler husband, smart student Laila falls in love with friend Tariq. But she loses her brothers in the resistance to Soviet dominion and her parents in a bombing just as the family prepares to flee the awful violence. Simply to survive, she becomes the second wife of Mariam's husband and is bitterly resented by the older woman until they are able to form the bond that serves as the heart of this novel. Then the Taliban arrive. Hosseini deftly sketches the history of his native land in the late 20th century while also delivering a sensitive and utterly persuasive dual portrait. His writing is simple and unadorned, but his story is heartbreaking.

This is one of the best novels I have ever read. The story is so real I found myself crying for these characters as though they were alive. The prose is lyrical and many passages in my book are marked to read again and again. What an author! What a novel! A thousand splendid suns is a perfect title.

Finished on 6/17/07. This was a great story that was a good follow-up to the introduction to Afghanistan in Shantaram.

This is the story of two very different women who's circumstances come together through 30 years of craziness in Afghanistan. From the Soviet invasion in 1980 through the Taliban rule of the 90s, these women led difficult lives that were defined by war, violence and brutality.

Through all of that though, the main themes in Hosseini's story are of love and longing. Meriam and Laila come together as Rasheed's wives and are treated very poorly and beaten. They finally befriend one another as 'sufferers in common'. Laila's children (Aziza from Tariq, and Zalmai from Rasheed) serve to bring them together and unite the very different lives. In the end, Meriam makes the uber sacrifice by killing Rasheed, and in the process saving Laila's life and determining her own fate.

In the end, Tariq and Laila live relatively happily ever after and return to Kabul. After creating some closure around Meriam by visiting her hometown and retrieving the letter from her deceased father, Meriam's spirit pervades the life of the children and Laila. At the end we find out there is another child on the way and the family is discussing names for a boy, knowing that if its a girl they will name her Meriam.

I read The Kite Runner about a year ago, and fell in love with Hosseini's writing style. A Thousand Splendid Suns does not disappoint. He manages to develop a number of characters in a relatable, believable, and realistically complex way, while painting the landscape of a war torn country. Hope, loss, struggle, and survival are the themes prevalent in this book. Can't wait for him to come out with another. Highly recommended.

This book was so well written, I was pregnant at the time and this book was hard to handle in a way, hormones... I need to read the Kite Runner!

What an amazing writer he is! I anxiously awaited the opportunity to read this. As soon as I finished my summer classes I went to the library and checked it out straight away. I can't wait for his next book.

Profiles the life of an Afghani woman living through the Soviet invasion and the American occupation.

Similar to Kite Runner

"A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story two women against the background of the last forty years in Afghanistan. Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 and was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it. Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. While the woman bond, Mariam's husband has his eyes on Laila. With the emergence of the Taliban, the women have few options, if any."

The sad history of Afghanistan provides the background for this beautiful story of heartbreak, misery, love, and an unexpected friendship. Hosseini is a wonderful author whose unique and personal perspective on the Afghani people paints a very different picture of a war that has created such intense reactions in the United States. He gives faces and names to the people affected by the decisions of a president half a world away. While I've been alive, Afghanistan has known no peace so it is interesting to read of the country's prosperity before the takeover by the Soviets and the destruction caused by each regime following. He paints a picture of life in Afghanistan and a culture that is both better and far worse than the media depictions we are exposed to in the United States.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a beautiful book.

What a story. Opens your eyes to how different some people's lives are around the world.