Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by talha10ahmad
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5.0
Khalid Hosseini outdoes himself in his second novel A Thousand Splendid Sons. While through Kite Runner Hosseini establishes himself as master storyteller, through this novel he is able to craft an even more heart rendering story, with more nuance and character building than before.
The novel revolves around two protagonists Marian and Lala, born 20 years apart, with vastly different upbringings, who somehow find themselves together in the face of a bloody war, an oppressive ruling regime and a single violent patriach.
Hosseini spends a great deal in fleshing out the two main characters and the troubles they face. You are left wondering who to feel more sympathy for. While a fictional story, it is more in touch with historical events and takes the reader through all the tumultous events that took place during the last few decades of the 20th century in Afghanistan.
The brutality of the war is even more pronounced in this book. With nothing left to the imagination of reader, Hosseini paints the war ravaged Afganistan as is, from the rockets falling around to the morality police doling out harsh punishments. Despite all the harsh atmosphere of Afganistan at the time, it is the domestic suffering that is the most vicious. But unlike the Kite Runner, there is no respite for the characters here. They are ordained to a life of misery and helplessness.
I have read many novels but a short few have been as engaging and as heart rendering as this one. Hosseini was born to be a writer.
The novel revolves around two protagonists Marian and Lala, born 20 years apart, with vastly different upbringings, who somehow find themselves together in the face of a bloody war, an oppressive ruling regime and a single violent patriach.
Hosseini spends a great deal in fleshing out the two main characters and the troubles they face. You are left wondering who to feel more sympathy for. While a fictional story, it is more in touch with historical events and takes the reader through all the tumultous events that took place during the last few decades of the 20th century in Afghanistan.
The brutality of the war is even more pronounced in this book. With nothing left to the imagination of reader, Hosseini paints the war ravaged Afganistan as is, from the rockets falling around to the morality police doling out harsh punishments. Despite all the harsh atmosphere of Afganistan at the time, it is the domestic suffering that is the most vicious. But unlike the Kite Runner, there is no respite for the characters here. They are ordained to a life of misery and helplessness.
I have read many novels but a short few have been as engaging and as heart rendering as this one. Hosseini was born to be a writer.