A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
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Web ID: 15624819Such a good book!
This book had me hooked from start to finish. I found myself becoming attached to the main characters, Laila and Mariam, and felt as if I walked alongside them throughout their difficult journey. Cried about three times reading this, it was so well-written! I will be reading more by this author.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Read this if you want to feel empty & drained out.
I am more than happy to justify my reasons for the hate I carry for this book.Before I go ahead as to WHY I dislike the book, my summary for the book would be: "This novel portrays a story of two women and the hardships they had to face in their lives in the backdrop of the Afgan war and it's aftermath. Midway through the book you may realise that the book might have an actual plot which might act as the turning point of the novel, but the only turning role it played was towards the downfall of the book as a whole. To add to the misery, the story ends with a happy note, which seems way too ironical , given that the whole theme and the non existential plot of the book revolves around sadness, darkness and gloom(no literally, all that the characters did the whole day was be sad , and guess what they did at night, yup- be sad). So the happy note felt way more unrealistic than it should have, and no I do remember that fiction itself is a category popularly known to be unrealistic(in technical sense), but this ratio of happiness to sadness in this book is something astronomical." Coming to the reasons, So the book is divided into 4 parts. Part 1 introduces us to Mariam,not a single trace of whom is found in the part 2, which irritated the hell outta me.I mean the author just suddenly makes the readers forcefully enter the new world of part 2 , and makes them ( or rather tries to) forget about the previous part of the plot. To be honest here, I would have absolutely loved and adored the book had it been only about Mariam and how her relation with her dad developed, her marriage, children, miscarriage, her own fight for freedom from rasheed, from the world around her, or if not just about Mariam, maybe a bit less of Laila(the other woman of the two)or maybe the stories could have been parallel or a subtle shift from here and there would have been preferable but just more about mariam who formed the whole of the introduction chapter.The big reason I continued reading part 2 was because I wanted to know mariam's fate, but I guess ignorance is a bliss. I mean why would the author make the whole of the part one about mariam , and the readers soo connected with her,if the rest of the plot was majorly about laila. Now, I understand that the story deals with the theme of war, which is quite a sensitive one to deal with, but that does not justify the forceful gloom the author imposes throughout the novel. I mean, it literally felt as if the author was trying so hard to provoke sympathy in the hearts of the readers. I think if they wanted the readers to FEEL something for the victims of the war, this novel completely destroyed my ability to feel ANYTHING at all, be it sympathy, sorrow ( joy is out of the question). It drained me of my energy with its vicious and repetitive cycle of constant grief and dismal.( For context, books that have a melancholic, poetic beauty , just every emotion of life in them are top tier according to me). I did not shed a single tear, maybe because my conscience just knows the difference between gut wrenching,soul shattering stories and the stories that are just sad and DULL!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Raw. Impactful. Unforgettable. Great book!
This book takes you into what it was like for people trying to survive in Afghanistan during a series of transitions in government as well as societal ideologies. It's one thing to read about it in a nonfiction way, but this story tells it in a way that is unforgettable. You truly feel for the characters and hope that they are able to overcome immense obstacles throughout. Sometimes they do, but often there are stumbling blocks in their ways. It is intense at times and very grueling, but it is extremely well written and has a lot of twists and turns. This is an amazing work of fiction that is tough to put down and even though I tend to read mainly non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
omg
All I can say is wow, the story is amazing and touched my heart. What I wish is that everyone has the opportunity to read this book.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great read!
A page turner from start to finish! Great read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A tragedy, beautifully written
Like much of his first novel, The Kite Runner, Hosseini’s second novel is set in Afghanistan during the time of the Russian invasion and the Taliban’s rise to power. And like that first novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns tells a heartbreakingly tragic story of ordinary people who must confront extraordinary circumstances that threaten—and in some cases, decimate—any chance they have at happiness. Yes, this all sounds bleak and sad, because it is. The artistry here lies in Hosseini’s ability to create wonderfully complex and compelling characters. The tale of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women who are victimized by poverty, sexism, and war, is ultimately about the triumph of love and the many sacrifices one must make. This is a powerful novel that had me in tears by the final page. Hosseini is a masterful storyteller.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Loved this book!
I bought this on a nook special because it sounded interesting. It is a fantastic book. I found myself thinking of it when I wasn't reading it. A tale of two women in Afghanistan in the late 1990's , early 2000's. I found myself rooting for Laila and Miriam. If you enjoy books about strong women and middle eastern culture, I would recommend this book. I will be looking for others by this author. Well worth the read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Read
Couldn't put it down
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com