A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

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Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns Author: Khaled Hosseini Genre: Cultural Rating: 9/10 # pages: 318 Date read: June, 2008

Summary: A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years--from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding--that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives--the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness--are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Review: Written by the author of Kite Runner but leagues better. I was very disappointed by KR and therefore reluctant to start A Thousand Splendid Suns, but quickly realized it was far superior. As always I am shocked and appalled to read about how the Taliban treated women. I hope they will never (as Hosseini predicted) return to power in that manner.

Politics aside, the book is well-written and captivating. One can't help but feel sympathetic with the two main characters and weep for them in their times of trial. A much better book than I'd expected.

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[bogormen.livejournal.com]

And yet people thought he was the best candidate. Not once, but TWICE!

I will never understand that.