A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

Okay, I've been thinking about getting it, you just sold me.

I'll be back....

Picked it up yesterday, putting Elmore Leonard's La Brava on hold....

Bumping. Just started Part Four last night.

I got into it right away, perhaps because I finished The Kite Runner a short time ago. And the multiple POVs don't bother me at all, especially since he does it so well.

Anyway, be back soon, nearly done....

...and just finished it.

WOW is right. I too teared up at the ending. My gawd....

The much ballyhoo'd Sophomore Jinx passed Mr. Hosseini right by. This novel is even better than The Kite Runner, and TKR was a wonderful book.

Every selfish, spoiled, text-messaging cellphone addicted brat in the western world who whines about their parents not giving them enough airtime should be made to read this incredible book.

I am wary that this book would be too depressing for me. TKR had me in choked up at places. From the synopsis, I'm not sure if I could read ATSS. But it gets to show that sometimes good things are worth the wait...

I absolutely loved this book too! Finished it during a one day, round trip plane ride. I couldn't put it down.

I thought I might be exaggerating how great it was, but then I gave it to my wife and she couldn't put it down either. He's a fantastic writer. I envy and admire his skill!

FYI: I just reread The Great Gatsby and had a similar feeling. Totally different book, but also so skillfully structured.

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" was one of the top 10 books I have read in the last 10 years (spanning the time I've been a heavy reader), which is a lot of books.

Hosseini's writing is amazing. They way he can turn a simple thing like a child aflight as she is being tossed into the air by her father into a page length experience is extraordinary.

The uplifting ending is true to the course of the story, although much of the novel is extremely depressing. With that, the novel itself is uplifting and I have to say that I feel changed by it. I highly recommend it.

Ah man! I went to the library last night to get more audio books (I listen to them to and from work since I have a long commute). I saw this there, and picked it up, then opted for soemthing else. After reading all of this, it looks like I made a mistake! I'll have to go back and get it.

I just ordered it on Amazon, after a friend couldn't stop going on about it yesterday. I haven't read The Kite Runner yet; I actually bought it for someone so I'd get to read it when she finishes, but I don't think she's read it yet!

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I just finished Khaled Hosseini's second novel and I think it's better than The Kite Runner. I hadn't planned to read ATSS at all but received it as a birthday present (from a friend who wants to borrow it when I've finished). I found it somewhat better written than his first, although I do see Hosseini as more of a storyteller than a writer.

I found the story relevant (given the current political climate) and was fascinated and appalled by the women's perspective. I think Hosseini did a wonderful job getting into the women's heads and really seeing Afghanistan through their eyes.

Anyone else have thoughts about this moving novel (yes, I cried)?

This book is in my top ten. Mud Dauber referred this book to me even though I didn’t read The Kite Runner. I cried throughout the book and my heart ached for the women, especially Mariam.

SPOILER: Mariam’s father brushed her off, she was given to an abusive husband, treated like garbage and didn’t get the opportunity to say good-bye to her father - heartbreaking. I hoped she wouldn’t die, that they would turn their cheeks and let her go. When she died, part of the story died with her.

Hosseini did a great job writing from a woman’s POV. Through vivid description, he detailed the destruction of war, which showed me, an American, the freedom that we sometimes take for granted.

Excellent book!

I also found it a very vivid and plausible rendering of a woman's perspective (multiple women, in this case) under such hard-to-fathom conditions. I thought it was a terrific book and I'm pretty sure I cried too.

(I cry all the time - for the worthy and the un, so it's hard to keep track.)

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, although "enjoy" is a difficult word to apply to a book with so many heartwrenching events. It was incredible to me how the modern world (complete with Titanic memorabilia) and this ancient way of denigrating women could co-exist. The ending was truly wrenching.

Meh, a light period piece that plays on our prejudices of Afghanistan to invoke a fake sympathy in our bored lives. The book deviates too far from emotional realism to provide an accurate portrayal of the times, or the characters.