A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007, Hardcover)

** Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. His mesmerizing second novel, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS [SPLENDID SUNS], begins and ends in his birth-city, a city of natural beauty, excesses of wealth and poverty, and most unfortunately, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a city devastated by destruction and death perpetrated by the few upon the many, by external invaders and internal power struggles. Hosseini came to the United States in 1980 yet the place of his birth lives on vibrantly in his heart, and in his subtle yet enchanting writing to this day. ** Without knowledge of the glowing reviews for this book, I began to read it. Within 40 pages, I knew that this novel deserved the glowing reviews, and moreover that it would compel me to keep reading it alone, each evening. Usually I read four or five books at the same time: one novel on Monday, a different one on Tuesday, biographical non-fiction on Wednesday, Haruki Murakami on Thursday, Virginia Woolf on Friday, and so on. Hosseini's narrative and characters banished all competitors until I had reached the last page of SPLENDID SUNS, deeply wishing, at the minimum, for an additional 100 pages. ** Five families draw their breaths in and out, and reveal their disparate feelings, thoughts, experiences in this mysterious and emotionally insightful novel: Jalil, his competitive wives and privileged official children; Nana and the illegitimate Mariam (at 5) fathered by Jalil, both of them banished by him to a remote one-room hut; Mariam (at 15) and Rasheed (at 55), offically wife and husband, who descend from a practical couplehood to a vicious animosity; Laila, orphaned by war, forced to join the household of Miriam and Rasheed, an innocent Laila pining for her childhood friend, Tariq whom she wonders if she will ever see or talk with again; Mariam and Laila, very slowly transforming into allies, and then into supportive friends who are determined to survive the Hell they must endure every day at any cost; finally, Laila and Tariq, united again against all probability, finding themselves, battered and mutilated by time and bombs, building a future together amidst the desert and destroyed buildings in which they thought they would surely die, to be devoured by dogs. Through these five families I learned about and felt for every human in this beautifully written work of art, a book about a far-away land with people who need and deserve all that life, love, and peace offers. The kind of life, love, and peace we all seek and hope for. ** For all the enjoyment and details, get A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. Linda J. Langham. May 20, 2007.

I'd read The Kite Runner a few months ago, and it was one of the most amazing and touching experiences I've ever had as a reader. I bought a copy of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS from an e-bay site; I'd heard such great things about it, and, having loved his first book, I had little doubt about Khaled Hosseini's next work.
Unbelievably, this book is even more touching gut-wrenching, and moving. The characters instantly win our sympathy, and we root for all of them. Kite Runner, set against Afghanistan over a similar span of time as that covered in ATSS, focused on the role of men in Afghan society; it said little about life through the eyes of a woman (or women). In ATSS, Hosseini paints a rich historical canvas, peopled with both genders, however, the protagonists in this tale are for the most part, female. You cannot read this book without understanding exactly how a woman in Afghanistan may have felt as she lived through the many changes in her country: from the Soviet-invasion-era and the freedom women enjoyed during that time: to teach, to work, to walk alone down the street - without a burqa, if one so desired; and then the later decades, when the Taliban ruled the land and women were forced back indoors, not allowed to work, to walk or travel anywhere unless accompanied by a man; and all women were required to wear burqas at all times. To break any of these rules guaranteed a whipping, a beating, or worse. To get this close to beloved characters, and then to walk the same path with them, and to witness the hardships (and the few, hard-won victories) they were forced to face, is almost exhausting. It would be, were not Khaled Hosseini such a brilliant storyteller. Instead of exhausting, the road we travel in ATSS is a beautiful, terrible, yet always exhilarating.
You won't be able to stop cheering for the story's two heroines; an unlikely friendship forms betwen them over time, and we hope (hope against the reality of their lives) both will find love and happiness, and if not, then that they'll find a semblance of peace. Hosseini delivers on every level. I read this book in two sittings (it would have been one, but I had to get up early the next morning!). Though it doesn't -- of course -- this is a book that should come with a you-ll-love-it guarantee: it's that great.

The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.

Mariam lives in a kolba on the outskirts of Herat with her mother. Jalil, her father, is a wealthy man who lives in town with three wives and several children. Because Mariam is his illegitimate daughter, she cannot live with them, but Jalil visits her every Thursday. On her fifteenth birthday, Mariam wants her father to take her to see Pinocchio at his movie theater. When he does not show up, she hikes into town and goes to his house. He refuses to see her, and she ends up sleeping on the porch. In the morning, Mariam returns home to find that her mother has hanged herself out of fear that her daughter has deserted her. Mariam is then taken to live in her father's house. Jalil arranges for her to be married to Rasheed, a shoemaker from Kabul who is thirty years her senior. In Kabul, Mariam becomes pregnant seven successive times, but is never able to carry a child to term, and Rasheed gradually becomes more abusive.

In the same neighborhood live a girl named Laila and a boy named Tariq, who are close friends, but careful of social boundaries. War comes to Afghanistan, and Kabul is bombarded by rocket attacks. Tariq's family decides to leave the city, and the emotional farewell between Laila and Tariq ends with them making love. Laila's family also decides to leave Kabul, but as they are packing a rocket destroys the house, kills her parents, and severely injures Laila. Laila is taken in by Rasheed and Mariam.

After recovering from her injuries, Laila discovers that she is pregnant with Tariq's child. After being told that Tariq is dead, she agrees to marry Rasheed, who is eager to have a young and attractive second wife, and hopes to have a child with her. When Laila gives birth to a daughter, Aziza, Rasheed is displeased and suspicious, and he soon becomes abusive toward Laila. Mariam and Laila eventually become confidantes and best friends. They plan to run away from Rasheed and leave Kabul, but they are caught at the bus station. Rasheed beats them and deprives them of water for several days, almost killing Aziza.

A few years later, Laila gives birth to Zalmai, Rasheed's son. The Taliban has risen to power, and there is a drought, and living conditions in Kabul become poor. Rasheed's workshop burns down, and he is forced to take jobs he is ill-suited for. Rasheed sends Aziza to an orphanage. Then one day, Tariq appears outside the house. He and Laila are reunited, and their passions flare anew. When Rasheed returns home from work, Zalmai tells his father about the visitor. Rasheed starts to savagely beat Laila and Mariam kills Rasheed with a shovel. Afterwards, Mariam confesses to killing Rasheed, in order to draw attention away from Laila and Tariq, and is executed, while Laila and Tariq leave for Pakistan with Aziza and Zalmai.

After the fall of the Taliban, Laila and Tariq return to Afghanistan. They stop in the village where Mariam was raised, and discover a package that Mariam's father left behind for her: a videotape of Pinocchio, a small pile of money and a letter. Laila reads the letter and discovers that Jalil regretted sending Mariam away. Laila and Tariq return to Kabul and fix up the orphanage, where Laila starts working as a teacher. Laila is pregnant with her third child, and if it is a girl, it is suggested she

I am an avid reader, and most of the books I read are of a serious matter. I read The Kite Runner, and waiting for Hosseini's new book about the life of Afghan women...This books is incredible, it opened my eyes to a country who is still at war...and a city Kabul, once a city of culture, now destroyed by so many invasions and wars...The author took me along to the lives of women, I wish I could have met, with such courage and lives unimaginable by me...this is a must read for it shows us another world, a world that is treacherous, violent, and full of ambiguities...I loved The Kite Runner...I adored A Thousand Suns, could not put it down. Hosseini is a wonderful and inspiring writer, he writes with heart, his words flow...it is a marvelous read... I can't wait for his next book...

I love the way Khaled Hosseini writes. If you like books that don't mess around with scenery and long, drawn out dialogue, then his writing is for you, it is superb. This book followed the Kite Runner, that was also a wonderful book.

The story is both touching and wrenching and it gives you a look at how lives can intersect when war intercedes in the lives of ordinary people. It left me with an appreciation for what the Afghan people are fighting for when they fight against the Taliban and made me realize that we need to help them as much as we possibly can.

The characters are rich and powerful. I highly recommend this book.
Pam