Book Review~A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: May 31st 2007 (first published May 22nd 2007)
ISBN: 9780747582977 (ISBN13: 9780747582977)
Pages: 372
Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon

Summary: Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Maraim's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.

With the passing of times comes Taiban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is an unforgettable portrait of a wounded country and a deeply moving story of family and friendship. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love.

Rating: 10/10

My Thoughts: Wow! I honestly thought I wouldn't like this book. I don't know why, but I think it was because it was out of my comfort zone. I was so wrong! I loved this book! I've definitely never read anything like it before. And I'm so glad that I discovered this. This is why I love the book blogging community! Because I discover new authors and new books that I end up loving. This book definitely made it to my favorites pile and I would love to re-read it.

The writing was beautiful, the story was incredible and so touching! I know I love a book when it's on my mind even when I'm not reading it. This was the case with A Thousand Splendid Suns. I kept pondering over what I had read, I wondered what would happen next. This book stirred some real emotions inside of me. I felt happy, sad, angry. The story felt real, and at times I wondered if it was a true story. Khaled Hosseini has showed in a very touching yet thought-provoking way how war effects the lives of people, especially women.

The story is told in 4 parts. The first part is about Mariam, the second one is about Laila, the third one is about both of them with chapters from either Mariam's point of view or Laila's point of view and the fourth one is written in present tense.

The characters were very real. They were presented in such a way that I could see them as actual human beings. I did not have a particular favorite, I liked Mariam and Laila both as well as Tariq, but I did develop a hate relation with Rasheed. He reminded me of the dog, Spike, in Tom and Jerry, only he was much worse!

And his son, Zalmai, reminded me of the Spike's son, Tyke:

I liked Mariam's father, Jalil, though what he did to her was not fair. But I understood his reasons. I loved Mullah Faizullah! He was such a nice, sweet old man. For some reason he reminded me a lot of Father Dom from the Mediator Series.

The description of the settings was very vivid and beautiful and it actually painted pictures of the places in my mind. One of the settings were also in Pakistan, which is where I live. It was about Murree and it was described exactly as Murree really is. I remembered the places the author was describing which was something new, and awesome, for me because I've never read a book set in a place where I have been.

I wanted this book to have a happy ending so badly! But I seriously doubted it! Considering the story and all, I did not think the book would have a happy ending and I thought it would end in tears. Now you'll have to read the book to know if it did end happily or had a sad ending ;)

I highly recommend this book to my readers. I even lent my copy to a friend for her to read. And I can't stop babbling about it to my friends! I seriously loved this book!