Reviews

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

ashleyyychambers's review against another edition

5.0

1000 stars! This book was so visual to me, it felt like I was watching a movie. It follows the lives of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila and their fates become intertwined against the backdrop of decades of turmoil in Afghanistan. The bond that forms between them shows the hardships they endure, creating a powerful story of solidarity. Overall, the book sheds light on the harsh realities faced by Afghan women and it gave me a new perspective about a culture I knew nothing about. Just like the Nightingale, I feel like this is a book that will keep thinking about for a long time.

maryanneross's review against another edition

5.0

I can't express how moving this book is. I love a book with strong female characters, and this certainly fits that criterion. The language is almost poetic, and the story is rich with modern Middle Eastern history. It always moves me to think how much the people of Afghanistan have endured. Generations of Afghans have been ravaged by war, greed, and oppression. Hosseini pants characters who survive all of that oppression. I enjoyed both The Kiter Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I cannot wait to read And the Mountains Echoed, as Hosseini has become one of my favorite authors.

gigimaxt's review against another edition

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

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

4.75

vale0510's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

carolsebastian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

debs_101's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

3.75

as93lfc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

shakeela's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

klarabelle's review against another edition

5.0

A masterpiece! The spectrum of emotions that this story elicited, mainly sadness, disbelief and anger, has left me feeling heavy and hollow at once. While the story is fictional, it is a realistic depiction of the experiences that Afghan women may face. The character and story/world building was exceptional, as were the depth of the relationships, which had the effect of emotionally teleporting me into their lives.

Three months later, I still think of this story, and of Miriam as if she were a real person, and mourn the tragedy of her life and death. I will never get over this book, and it currently sits on the throne of my most favoured. It will take something extraordinary to pip it from its post.

teguhsam's review against another edition

5.0

I was gonna give this book a 3 stars because I think it was just slow at the beginning. But the last 40 pages was really good, I almost cry. The closure, the ending is so good. This book deserves a four stars