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I have now read all 3 of Khaled Hosseini's books. I love this author. I cannot get through one of his books without an emotional reaction. His characters are so well-created. These books read like historical fiction. I recommend them to everyone. I can't say enough positive about them.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This book was amazing. The best book I've ever read in my entire 33 years of life. The writing was eloquent and the story was moving and drew such intense images in your mind that you felt like you were actually "there" , experiencing everything from the sidelines. The book is about 2 women in Afghanistan and their tormented lives. The story is about love, loss and finding one self in an environment that can dampen the most upbeat of spirits. Tragedy and unbearable sadness rule the womens lives and you wonder how they could ever lift themselves out of their pathetic world, given the fact that they have no respect from anyone (women and men alike) and have so few rights to even *exist* in this county of their birth. This book makes me thankful to have not been born in such an inhospitable land and I truly hope that things are improving though I know that women are often mistreated in the same way all over the world. This book is a real eye opener but shows that even women who are submitted to this type of extreme abuse and repression are capable of lifting themselves up and finding freedom, though it may come at a huge cost.Read full review
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 sheRead full review
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.Read full review
My book club selected this book for August. It is absolutely out standing and unfortunately so true. I have a friend who left Afghanistan when the Russians came in and the book truly describes the horrors the Afghanistan people have experienced. If you want to keep your freedoms in the good ol USA read this to see what many have experienced else where in the world and to understand what we are fighting for in that part of the world. Women all over the world have great freedoms and leadership roles in their countries and the world and there are those who would prefer that we remain ignorant and suppressed - barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen as the old saying goes. Beautifully written and you will not want to put it down. A fine and interesting story. A must read and I'm going to get the first book the author wrote prior to this one which I have been told is also wonderful. My neighbor has my copy now to read and then it goes to my daughter. My pal has sent her copy to her daughter. Read it and send it to your daughter. We take for granted our great freedoms in the United States. Regardless of your politics read this - it's what life is like in some corners of the world.Read full review
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