Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, was fabulous. Heart wrenching yet thought provoking. Anyway, I had really, really high expectations for A Thousand Splendid Suns. I've been waiting to read it ever since I saw Hosseini give a talk on Book TV two years ago, in which he talked about how he was writing a new novel about Afghan women.
So I had unrealistically high expectations when it came to reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
And I'm pleased to say, that those expectations were met. Exceeded even. Yes, the first fifty pages of the novel were pretty slow. And yes, it's hard for those of us who live easy lives in Europe / America / South Africa to fathom the kind of suffering that Hosseini's Afghan women go through. But even if most people don't suffer to the degree that Laila and Mariam do (and I hope they don't), very few people have the gift with words that Hosseini does.
I read the book in just over a day. But I totally immersed myself in Laila and Mariam's world, and emerged, sobbing, the next day.
If you haven't read it yet, and it's on your list-- don't wait. I got this book from the airport in London. So glad I did.
1 comment:
I want to read both of those books. I'm so glad you posted this to remind me of that! Kite Runner was next on my list in America before we decided to move and then things got a little busy and I forgot. I was talking with Lisa today and she suggested that we do a book exchange in relief society where we bring the books we have read and exchange them for the ones others in the ward have read. I hope you are doing o.k.
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