| A Thousand Splendid Suns (Unabridged) |  | Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  1190 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B000R51QYC
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
It's difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner: a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon.com, readers reacted with a unanimous enthusiasm that few of us could remember seeing before. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope. We wanted to spread the word on the book as widely, and as soon, as we could. See below for an exclusive excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns and early reviews of the book from some of our top customer reviewers.--The Editors
| An Exclusive Excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns |
We have arranged with the publisher to make an exclusive excerpt of A Thousand Splendid Suns available on Amazon.com. Click here to read a scene from the novel. It's not the opening scene, but rather one from a crucial moment later in the book when Mariam, one of the novel's two main characters, steps into a new role.
| Early Buzz from Amazon.com Top Reviewers |
We queried our top 100 customer reviewers as of March 6, 2007, and asked them to read A Thousand Splendid Suns and share their thoughts. We've included these early reviews below in the order they were received. For the sake of space, we've only included a brief excerpt of each reviewer's response, but each review is available for reading in its entirety by clicking the "Read the review" link. Joanna Daneman:  "His style is deceptively simple and clear, the characters drawn deftly and swiftly, his themes elemental and huge. This is a brilliant writer and I look forward to more of his work." Read Joanna Daneman's review
Seth J. Frantzman: "Khaled Hosseini has done it again with 'A Thousand Splendid Sons', presenting a new, dashing and dark tale of two generations of women trapped in a loveless marriage, bracketed by great events." Read Seth J. Frantzman's review
Donald Mitchell: "Khaled Hosseini has succeeded in capturing many important historical and contemporary themes in a way that will make your heart ache again and again. Why will your reaction be so strong? It's because you'll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction that's very rare to a modern novel." Read Donald Mitchell's review
Lawrance M. Bernabo: "All things considered, following up on a successful first novel is probably harder than coming up with the original effort and Hosseini could have rested on his laurels in the manner of Harper Lee, but as "A Thousand Splendid Suns" amply proves, this native of Kabul has more stories to tell about the land of Afghanistan." Read Lawrance M. Bernabo's review
Amanda Richards: "There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you won't be able to put it down. Hosseini's simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed." Read Amanda Richards's review
N. Durham:  "All that being said, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a bit more enjoyable than Hosseini's previous "The Kite Runner", and once again he manages to give we readers another glimpse of a world that we know little about but frequently condemn and discard. However, if you were one of the many that for some reason absolutely loved "The Kite Runner", chances are that you'll love this as well." Read N. Durham's review
John Kwok: "Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a genuine instant literary classic, and one destined to be remembered as one of 2007's best novels. It should be compared favorably to such legendary Russian novels like "War and Peace" and "Doctor Zhivago"." Read John Kwok's review
Thomas Duff: "Normally I'm more of an action-adventure type reader when it comes to novels and recreational reading. But I was given the chance to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), so I decided to try something out of my normal genre. I am *so* glad I did. This is a stunning and moving novel of life and love in Afghanistan over a 30 year period." Read Thomas Duff's review
Charles Ashbacher: "This book manages to simultaneously capture the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years and how women are treated in conservative Islamic societies.... In many ways it is a sad book, your heart goes out to these two women in their hopeless struggle to have a decent life with a brutal man in an unforgiving, intolerant society." Read Charles Ashbacher's review
W. Boudville:  "Hosseini presents a piognant view into the recent tortured decades of the Afghan experience. From the 1970s, under a king, to the Soviet takeover, to the years of resistance. And then the rise and fall of the Taliban. An American reader will recognise many of the main political events. But to many Americans, Afghanistan and its peoples and religion remain an opaque and troubling mystery." Read W. Boudville's review
Mark Baker: "I tend to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I found the first half slow going at times, mainly because I knew where the story was going. Once I got into the second half, things really picked up. The ending was very bittersweet. I couldn't think of a better way to end it." Read Mark Baker's review
Grady Harp: "Hosseini takes us behind those walls for forty some years of Afghanistan's bloody history and while he does not spare us any of the descriptions of the terror that continues to besiege that country, he does offer us a story that speaks so tenderly about the fragile beauty of love and devotion and lasting impression people make on people." Read Grady Harp's review
Robert P. Beveridge: "When I was actively reading it, the pages kept turning, and more than once I found myself foregoing food or sleep temporarily to get in just one more chapter. When I had put it down, however, I felt no particular compulsion to pick it back up again. It's a good book, and a relatively well-written one, but it's not a great book. Enjoyable without leaving a lasting impression." Read Robert P. Beveridge's review
B. Marold: "While the events in Afghanistan and the wider world create a familiar framework for the stories of these two women, it is nothing more than a framework. The warp and weft of everyday life, and the interaction of the two women and their close relatives is the heartbeat of the story." Read B. Marold's review
Daniel Jolley: "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'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." Read Daniel Jolley's review
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 1185 more reviews...
 Good writing. Story didn't speak to me. May 13, 2008
Miriam is raised with the idea that she not worthy of life's finer things. Her mother makes it clear that being the child of a wealthy man and a servant has made her undesirable and unwanted. Miriam grows up thinking that her mother is right. When her father turns her away and gives her to a much older man for marriage, Miriam goes without having a choice. She moves with her new husband to an city unknown to her in Afganistan where she has trouble conceiving a child. After seven miscarriages and failed attempts, her husband has nothing but contempt for her and treats her like a slave, abusing her every step of the way.
Laila is the daugher of a local family who's sons have gone off to fight in the Country's war. Her father is kind and brilliant and dotes on her every chance he can get. Her mother, however, is unable to cope with the absence of her sons and becomes completely unglued once she is notified that they have been killed at war. Laila's biggest ally is Tariq - her childhood friend for whom she is developing romantic feelings.
Amidst tradedy and violence, the lives of these two women become intertwined. What starts out as a hostile and hateful relationship soon develops into one of love and companionship as both battle the same evil man. The two grow in their love for each other, Laila's children, and their common fight against oppression.
The writing is exceptional in this novel and really brings to light the suffering of the people, and particularly the women, in Afganistan over the past half century. The book never stalls and you want to keep reading to see how it turns out. It is somewhat predictable, however, and the reader will not be shocked at the outcome. Any other result would be too depressing in an age where we want the good guy to come out on top. While interesting set amidst the backdrop of Afganistan, the story of the interpersonal relationships between the women and their abuser is not new or original. This is where the novel becomes simply average.
 Engaging sophomore novel May 11, 2008
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini's follow-up to his wildly successful novel The Kite Runner, focuses on the women of Afghanistan and their experiences in a war-ravaged Muslim society.
I really enjoyed this book, though it was difficult to read sometimes. There are two primary characters in the book: Miriam and Laila. Miriam is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman. When her mother commits suicide, her father marries her off hastily in order to avoid his shame. Mariam is married to Rasheed, an abusive older man who punishes her when she can't give him a child. Meanwhile, Laila, a younger woman, discovers that she is unwed and pregnant just as her parents are killed in a bombing. In the interest of self-preservation, she becomes Rasheed's second wife. The two women go on to develop a friendship and an enduring love that, in many ways, saves them both.
As difficult as life was for the male characters in The Kite Runner, it is infinitely more difficult for the female characters in this novel. Muslim society can be cruel to its women, who are expected to remain obediant and subservient to their husbands, regardless of the treatment they receive. My heart ached for the characters, for the pain and indignity they suffered, and for the society that enabled such injustice to be carried out.
Hosseini's writing is a tad more flowery in this novel than in the first, but not overly so. And because this novel is set against the backdrop of very current events, it feels more topical.
I thought this was an excellent second novel. Hosseini used what he already knew (and what he already knew his readers were interested in), but gave us a fresh take on it by examining it through a different lens and a more current time. I thought this was a great way of "giving people what they want" while still growing as a writer/exploring new territory for him.
 A Thousand Splendid Suns May 9, 2008
After reading Hosseini's Kite Runner, I instantly began to read his Thousand Splendid Suns. Focused on women, this book will give you an idea of how women were treated in Afganistan under the Taliban's control. Powerful and very well written.
A tough "act" to follow... May 9, 2008
After reading this book a few months ago, I find it hard to read any other book.. I loved "Kite Runner" as well, but this book is so haunting, I can still remember every little detail - each character, the events, etc. I have never felt so much emotion from a single book. I tried to read "Eat Love Pray" right after and that book was so painful to read. Maybe if I read it before reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" I would have seen what all the hype was about for "Eat Love Pray".. In fact I didn't even finish "Eat Love Pray". I went on to "Friday Night Knitting Club" which is extremely dull.. and I'm moving on to "Three Cups of Tea" which is about Pakistan and the Taliban and whatnot - so I'm HOPING it'll be similar to Khaled's writing..
Read this book NOW!! Best book I EVER, EVER read....
A real page turner May 8, 2008
This book was so interesting that I finished it in 2 days. It depicted the customs and view of the way people live in Afghanistan while it told a beautiful story. It was easy to read and understand and made me see the way women are treated in this foreign country. Hosseini has a way with words that make you hungry for more reading. The service in receiving my book was awesome!
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
