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A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hardcover)
by Khaled Hosseini
| Category:
Memoir, Fiction, Afghan war, Woman novels |
| Market price: ¥ 268.00
MSL price:
¥ 258.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A wonderful, intensely moving story of how two modern Afghan women overcome the great challenges that have faced women in their home country and rise above their victimization. |
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Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Pub. in: May, 2007
ISBN: 1594489505
Pages: 384
Measurements: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00804
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-1594489501
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- Awards & Credential -
From the runaway #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kite Runner. Rank #2 in books out of millions on Amazon.com as of May 30, 2007. |
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- MSL Picks -
A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of those rarest of novels, a work of fiction that stakes an uncontested claim to the status of literature immediately upon publication. Khaled Hosseini has written a majestic, sweeping, emotionally powerful story that provides the reader with a most telling window into Afghan society over the past thirty-odd years. It deals with issues of class, religion, sexual roles, child rearing, work, education, and community. These issues are highlighted in terms of the different regimes and attitudes of the controlling male characters. It's also a moving story of friendship and sacrifice, giving Western readers a rare glimpse into the suffering and mistreatment of Afghan women that began long before the Taliban came to power. Not only does the novel reveal the ruthlessness and pure evil of the Taliban, its chronicle of Afghanistan's bloody, repressive recent history helps demonstrate why we must remain constantly vigilant as the nation's move to democracy inches forward a little bit at a time.
This is a fantastic novel that looks at Afghanistan nearly half a century through mostly the eyes of Mariam. The story line is character driven as Jalil, Nana, and Rasheed vividly represent one generation; Mariam the sandwich generation; and Laila and her newborn the younger generation. Readers will see the ironies of what happens to women under Afghan, Soviet, and Taliban rule. Khaled Hosseini provides a great saga that will have readers lining up for more tales as A Thousand Splendid Suns will be on most short lists for novel of the year.
There is tragedy in this book - heart-breaking tragedy - yet the story is ultimately an inspirational epic with the power to enlighten the reader spiritually as well as historically.
(From quoting an American reader)
Target readers:
General fiction readers.
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Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in 34 countries. In 2006 he received the Humanitarian Award from the United Nations Refugee Agency and was named a U.S. goodwill envoy to that agency. He lives in northern California.
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From Publisher
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.
Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.
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| View all 14 comments |
Karthik Ganesh (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
If The Kite Runner was an excellent book, this one is nothing short of brilliant. Khaled brings you to the Kabul of today via the most amazing journey through the Kabul of yore. He brings out the turmoil surrounding a once proud nation through the eyes of 2 women. I have to admit that there were sections of this book where I felt I could cry. I consider myself an avid reader... this book is undoubtedly in my top 10 favorite books of all time.
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Mahanrih (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
When you read a book and you easily slip into the story and find yourself taking the journey along side the characters, you know you're reading something special. This book does that. It will stay and linger with you long after you have wiped away a tear or two, closed the book, and gone back to your own life. This is a great book! |
Vanessa (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
This second book from Khaled Hosseini Splendid Suns Proves The Kite Runner was no fluke or just plain good luck. This man is a passionate writer. This is another story that has profoundly touched my life and makes me want to do something, anything that can make places like this in today's world better. This story will have you soul searching, and it stays with you. I am still thinking of it days later, and I am disappointed I don't have anymore of it to read. Writing is his calling, and I hope he has many more stories to tell. |
Vickie Davie (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
This book is less disturbing than The Kite Runner. There is more quiet desperation. A bit less personal story, and a bit more history.
But, it is no less gripping. The story and the history are beautifully woven together. The author holds nothing back in painting a stark picture of what it means to be a woman in a culture where they are valued only for how well they keep a house, and how many sons they produce. A culture where they are subject to the whims of men. Those that value them as worthwhile human beings are welcome oases - they seem to be the exceptions in their world, rather than the norm.
He also paints a stark picture of how much harm religious fanaticism and intolerance can do.
But, it also paints a picture of hope that the winds of change can blow cool and refreshing.
It also shows us the rich history of Afghanistan, a country that has endured, much like Nana said that women must. It shows a country and a people with much potential.
My eyes welled in a few places. At one point, I had to stop reading, close my eyes, and gather myself as the story hit close to home. I even laughed (Islamic flamingos.) By the end, tears were streaming down my face, and I was once again left feeling immensely satisfied.
It is rare that you find a writer who, with their first novel, shows that they are an immense talent. I had previously only ever read one such author in my life. From the first chapter of The Kite Runner, I knew that Khaled Hosseini would be one of them. A Thousand Splendid Suns is more proof of it.
I am already looking forward to what he produces next.
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