Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

183 reviews

ed_moore's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Hosseini’s ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ is the tale of two women surviving through the patriarchy and political turmoil of Afghanistan, this being the control of the soviets, violence and civil war between different rebel factions and the rise of the Taliban. It was a brutal and honest depiction of Afghanistan’s struggles which didn’t shy away from depicting the true horrors of living there from starvation, violence and patriarchal control, to war and occupation and the labours of childbirth. 

It is difficult not to reflect on this alongside the other work of Hosseini’s that I have read: ‘The Kite Runner’ and whilst I preferred the longer term focus on the turmoils of Afghanistan which was lost in ‘The Kite Runner’s’ movement to America, I did however find myself much more attached to the characters of that book and to be more emotionally impacted by such. That may  be down to gender resonance. That is not to discredit from ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ however, as it was still utterly heart-wrenching and persistently took from the reader alike to the persistent theft of the livelihoods of Laila and Mariam. His use of foreshadowing is also really effective but in cases a bit explicit, it is clear when such is occurring but I would conclude it still works well.

Reading in todays political climate, with the return of the Taliban plaguing Afghanistan, it was also likely more harrowing and impactful than it would likely be if I read such when it was published. Knowing the country has regressed to the under-occupation state it faced in the book after 20 years independence and rebuilding was constantly on my mind and made every tragedy Hosseini described even more saddening and relevant. Hosseini really has a talent for tugging on the heart strings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, War, Sexism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Suicide

sapphiclavi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Sexual violence

_sushmita_7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very different from what I usually read but gave us a sneak peak on how the situation actually is in Afghanistan.
This shows us that however unfair life is at the end of the day we somehow get through it to find happiness.
And even the most hopeless cases shouldn't lose hope🥲

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage

martinjen98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, War, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, and Mental illness

ellent's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Child death

lanid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, War, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Bullying, and Confinement

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Confinement, Sexism, Death, War, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Ableism and Vomit

thefooddater's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A beautifully written story that I could not put down. Its a tale about sisterhood, especially in the face of extreme female oppression. The story also weaves in a bit of Afghan history. I've known about the Taliban through only news reports, but reading about how the rich culture and history has been destroyed by religious extremists and years of colonialism was eye opening.
Despite the dark topics, the ending is hopeful and shows the resilience of Afghans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Police brutality, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Death of parent, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, and War

The book takes place between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the early 2000's liberation of the country of the Taliban. There are also graphic scenes/depictions of sexual assault.

evadis's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, War, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Murder

uhohzmia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: War, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Rape

Minor: Torture, Pedophilia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Murder