A review by cultbyproxy
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

dark emotional sad 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

“It is our lot in this life, Mariam. Woman like us. We endure”… “How quietly we endure all that falls upon us”

A Thousand Splendid Suns told a story of tragedy, suffering and sacrifice; a story about the strength of women, how endurance is a necessary tool for survival, not a choice-trait one simply picks. There were many times were I had to put this book down, to sit with the weight of its story and feel the heaviness of its pain. This is not simply a tale of Mariam and Laila, but of many women and girls just like them, and how our society fails them. How, even in victory, they are still left with much to endure, much to suffer, much to sacrifice. 

There is a beautiful quote from which I believe the name of this novel stems: 

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

And I believe this story was the door at which we were welcomed in as guests and allowed to feel the full force of those thousand suns, shining in unison. Each representing the untold stories of women worldwide. And as we part with this tale, collect our coats at the door, and bid a final farewell to Mariam and Laila, we depart as guests with the lasting impression that “[They’re] like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.”

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I base my star rating off of how I feel, what number speaks to me when I think about the book and usually this can be quite uncertain. But one thing that is never fleeting or faltering is the way a five star book makes me feel and Khaled Hosseini has managed to write a story which will remain with me forever.