A Thousand Splendid Suns

When a successful first novelist comes out with his or her second book, there is always the worry that it won’t succeed as well as the first. That is definitely not the case with Khaled Hosseini’s second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. His first novel, The Kite Runner, came out in 2003 with great reviews. I put off reading it for quite some time, because I knew there were some difficult scenes in it. But when I did finally read it, it became one of my favorite books. I was worried that Splendid Suns wouldn’t measure up, but after reading it, I actually think I like it better than The Kite Runner.

Like the Kite Runner, this novel is set in Afghanistan. Unlike the Kite Runner, this novel focuses on two women. Mariam is the illegitimate child of a servant and a businessman. When her mother dies, her father’s wives marry her off at the age of 15 to Rasheed. When Mariam is unable to bear Rasheed a son, he becomes increasingly violent towards her. Meanwhile, just after Mariam is just married to Rasheed, Laila is born next door. The daughter of liberal parents, Laila grows up well educated. When Laila is fourteen, Kabul is in the midst of a civil war and her house is bombed. Laila is badly injured and her parents are killed. Rasheed and Mariam take Laila in and nurse her back to health. Rasheed soon wants to take Laila as a wife. Believing she has no other options, Laila agrees. After Laila bears a daughter, she too becomes the victim of Rasheed’s violence. Mariam and Laila form a strong bond that sustains them through their suffering.

I won’t give away any more about the story, but let me just say that it’s good. The thing I like about Hosseini’s writing is that his characters are so well developed that you really care about them. And their stories bring up so many emotions. This is definitely one you shouldn't miss!

I listened to both of Hosseini's books on CD, and was disappointed to hear that he would not be narrating A Thousand Splendid Suns, as he had for The Kite Runner. However Atossa Leoni does a wonderful job. Incidentally, Leoni will be playing the lead female character, Soraya, in the movie version of The Kite Runner, scheduled to be released on November 2nd.