Book Review: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini

This is a re-post of my Goodreads review for my non-Goodreads readers.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is the story of two Muslim girls living in Afghanistan: Mariam and Laila. Mariam is the older of the two, and while they come from very different family backgrounds, their lives intersect in a dramatic way. Brought together by virtue of circumstances, this accidental bond becomes a deep friendship as they are forced to deal with a common enemy.

The backdrop, and, at many times, a key player in the story, is the troubled history of Afghanistan, from the war with the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet struggle between warlords, the rise to power of the Taliban, famine, and 9-11. Mariam and Laila live through this, and Hosseini shows us this turbulent time through their eyes, walking the streets of Kabul and the surrounding villages in their sandals.

I don’t want to give to much of the story away, because I think you feel the impact of all that happens best if you aren’t expecting it. I will say that this book is very well written. It’s a third-person account, mostly from a limited perspective, though we do occasionally see things our main characters don’t see. For most of the time, however, we are following either Mariam or Laila. Hosseini does a great job of taking you to war-torn Afghanistan, giving you a sense of the atmosphere, the culture, and, perhaps even more difficult for the Westerner, giving an insight into the mindset of a Muslim woman.

This book is an excellent example of how literature can help teach history and culture. There is nothing here you couldn’t read in textbooks, but in the story of Mariam and Laila, history and culture come alive. I honestly think I have a deeper appreciation for the Afghani people, and their history, than I did before.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is definitely for older teens through adult. There’s not a lot of profanity, and sexual situations are handled fairly tastefully. However, there are some scenes of quite intense violence, and the overall sensibility of the book would appeal more to an older reader. With that in mind, I highly recommend it. Five stars.