hemmingwayhater 's review for:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

1.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Unfortunately, I think the scope of the novel really worked against it. I didn’t feel connected with either of our main characters because of the time jumps. Any weight and momentum that was built in one section felt like it was completely eliminated by the next. I also don’t feel like this novel had the weight that it should. I understand that it’s a novel for young adults, but I feel like some of the themes addressed still needed more weight and depth. I think another thing that didn’t work for me with this novel is how much i simply don’t know about the conflicts in Afghanistan. I love reading fiction to learn about other cultures, conflicts, and history, but this novel didn’t really help teach me anything, as it felt like it assumed I knew enough going into reading to understand the historical events that happen throughout the novel. I don’t want the book to be a wiki page, but I also wish it gave more insight and information of the events in the novel. So much of the book was tell and never show, and I felt like every character had a real lack of depth. I also really hated the ending. I hate when the last chapter of a book is just tying up loose ends unnecessarily.