Heart-wrenching story of suffering. - Rated 
I started this wondering if Khaled Hosseini's second novel would be as powerful as `The Kite Runner' It is once again a compelling tale of real life in Afghanistan, this time over a period of thirty or so years, with the complicated political situation forming the background.
The two central characters are Mariam and Laila who unexpectedly thrown together form a very strong friendship. Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of Herat businessman Jalil Kahn and for the first fifteen years of her life she is hidden with her mother Nana in the countryside, so as not to cause the family embarrassment. It is only on the death of her mother that Jalil takes her into his home unwillingly. To Mariam's distress he very quickly arranges a marriage for her to Rasheed a man thirty years her senior and from the distant town of Kabul. The marriage is not a happy one and Rasheed is an oppressive and resentful husband.
The other protagonist is Laila a late daughter born to neighbours of Mariam and Rasheed in 1978 a time of great uncertainty in Afghanistan. Laila was only two years old when her brothers went off to fight. Neglected by her mother who only lived for her sons Laila grew up becoming very close to a neighbour and friend Tariq. A twist of fate causes these two women to be thrown unexpectedly together and it is a heart wrenching story of the suffering of Afghani women, in the end love for each other and love for Afghanistan conquers all.
Brilliant, brilliant, oh so brilliant - Rated
Just buy it, sit back and laugh, weep, admire the wonderful style, find you are so immersed you can't stop to eat or sleep. This is the best new novel for a long time. Buy it and you'll never lend it even to your best mate!
Hosseini excels as an emotional plumber... - Rated 
Having read the 'Kite Runner' I knew this wouldn't be an easy read. The novel sat on my bedside table for over a month before I finally took the plunge, preferring in the meantime easy thrillers and crime novels because, as T.S. Eliot once put it, 'human kind cannot bear very much reality!'
Along with UN missionary status, Hosseini must surely now have obtained a first class degree in emotional plumbing. As predicted, I was drained by 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. The novel does a suction job on the tear ducts/ heart strings with no release of pressure until the final pages. I won't spoil the ending for anyone but be prepared to live through the emotional worst of the 'Kite Runner' and then some more.
This time, Hosseini's vivid Afghan hell is inflicted on two and a half generations of women, from the late 1960s to the present day. We experience the crushing of human spirit by religious bigotry, the sexual tyranny of male-obsessed feudalism and relentless tribal violence with an endless procession of innocent victims.
After subjecting the reader to three hundred odd pages of this, Hosseini finally produces his emotional rescue package. It's a slightly implausible ending, but the plan is to offer his readers some hope after all the harrowing and trauma.
Overall, the 'Kite Runner' is better constructed and ultimately more uplifting. However, this novel is very powerful and has opened my eyes to the plight of Afghanistan, which was the main purpose of the novel.
Heart Breaking - Rated
I have just finished this book and it is the first book that has ever made me shed a tear, and more than once. This book is harsh and very very sad with small but very bright light at the end. I loved this book.
Fantastic book! Great easy readable story with characters you really care to learn more about. - Rated
The book sets a story built around the lives of two women; Laila and Mariam and their lives amidst the war torn Afghanistan. At first I thought the war side of the story may act as a deterrent for a long drawn out novel but it provides an interesting an easily readable backdrop to what eventually turns into a novel of love between Laila and Tariq (her one legged childhood friend, Mariam the other wife to their shared husband Rasheed and Afghanistan.
The text starts with the life of Mariam who we find is an illegitimate child with a sad start to life and slowly weaves into the life of Laila a younger more beautiful Afghan woman who goes through different hardships. From the point their two lives interweave and you learn more about the characters, love or hate them you'll find it hard to put down.
You have to read the book to find out how the story ends but it is honestly one of my best reads!! Not too long and draws you in from the first couple of pages.
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