A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Rating: 5

I read The Kite Runner by the same author last year and, even though I loved it, I was not too excited to read this novel. I was always put off by the displays in Borders with signs reading "If you loved this (big obnoxious arrow pointing to The Kite Runner) then try this (obnoxious arrow pointing in the other direction to Suns). For some reason, I was expecting something akin to the bad sequel of a beloved movie made only for the profit margin (Pirates of the Caribbean, anyone?).

Thankfully, A Thousand Splendid Suns far exceeded my expectations. The true beauty of this novel is the tortured soul of Afghanistan that serves as the backdrop to the lives of Laila and Mariam, two women from vastly different backgrounds who are brought together and become friends. Their story is captivating, but the story that moved me is the history of the country that Hosseini weaves throughout. I was heartbroken by the story of a population that has to deal with war as if it were cancer, continually infecting new areas of the country. The title refers to a poem about the beauty of Afghanistan, and I think Hosseini succeeded in making this a story about that.