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.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is definitely one of one of my favourite books. After my sister recommended it for me to read, it sat on my desk for weeks before I eventually got around to picking it up. But when I finally started reading, I just couldn’t stop myself from finishing it up!

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a book draw me in like A Thousand Splendid Suns and it has brought me back into the world of books again. I like the fact that A Thousand Splendid Suns deals with the very real issues which are occurring in the world today, and it introduces readers like myself to the sacrifice and hardships which we never quite understand in the war torn countries.

Hosseini brings his characters to life by keeping them real, and their story real. Warning: this is not a fairytale, it’s a tear jerker.

The only fault I could find with the book is the way Hosseini changes the point of view throughout the novel. The first portion of the book is from the point of view of Mariam, then we’re introduced to Laila and from then on the point of view interchanges between the two. I personally found the first change confusing because so much of the story was Mariam‘s story that I didn’t expect Laila to be of any significance.