A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini: An incredibly depressing story about two Afghan women living through the numerous regime changes in that country. I will say that this is beautifully written, with compelling characters and rich detail. And I certainly learned a lot about Afghan history and culture. It’s just that the story was a big downer, filled with cruelty and regret. Women are horribly mistreated; people are thoughtlessly mean to each other and then never get a chance to apologize for it; and the “happy” ending feels really contrived. So if you’re looking for a brutally honest look at the lives of women in Afghanistan, this is probably a pretty good start, but don’t go looking for a feel-good story to pass a rainy afternoon. Some of the images will stick with me for a long time.
Also posted on BookCrossing.
I enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns but it is not one of my favourite. I didn’t like in the middle when the story changed. I kept thinking about the first part of the story.