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A Thousand Splendid Suns |  | Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $2.20
as of 11/22/2009 00:09 CST details
You Save: $13.80 (86%)
New (93) Used (168) Collectible (4) from $2.20
Seller: a_bunch_o_books
Rating:  1518 reviews
Sales Rank: 561
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 159448385X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781594483851
ASIN: 159448385X
Publication Date: November 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
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? Its because youll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction thats 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 wont 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 Hosseinis 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 more than 189 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list for The Kite Runner, 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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1518
 Something was off November 16, 2009
Melissa S. Carmean (Fort Wayne IN)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am never one to complain about anything at all, ever. But in all honesty, the book was NOT as described. I believe when I reviewed the listing for the book, it was described as 'in very good' condition. I was expecting the book to have been read, to have maybe a few creases in the spine, maybe the corners upturned a bit, but to be otherwise fine. This book was in terrible condition. There is no way that it could be described as 'very good condition'. It looked like it came from a library, like hundreds of people have read it before it came to me. The front of the book had been bent in places, ALL of the corners of the front and back cover were bent (if they existed at all), there were many many creases in the spine and it appears that numerous liquids have been spilled throughout the paged. The front conver was even ripid in a couple of places, and all the pages were in a permanant position as if someone had thumbed through them relentlessly top and bottom. I was very displeased because the item was described as having been in 'very good' condition, when the poster probably shouold have listed it as 'hey, it's legible'. I hate to complain and am usually very happy with the items that I reveive, but I feel that the seller completely misprepresented the condition of the book. I am farily certain that my book spent years in a public library before it came to me. I was very disappointed. I usually like to give second chances but I doubt that i will ever buy a thing from this seller again, unles they learn to sell books as described. I would have happily paid the same prive for a book that was in poor condition. I was a great book and I loved it, but I just feel as though I were lied to a little bit. Sorry ro be rude. I enjoyed the book thoroughly anyway, so ultimately it was worth what I paid. I just wish that the seller would have been a but more honest with me, because believe me, there is no way that anyone could bpssibly construe this book I received as 'in very good condition. Sorry but I don't think that I will return to this seller in the future, although I am sure that this was a mistake and doesn't happen too often. Also the length of time it took to get here seemed excessive to me, I believe I was waiting for it for a week and a half, and that it was not shipped out within two business days. But perhaps that is my fault for chosing standard shipping. Thank you for your tine. I am sure that the seller is generally competent and reliable, so don't base your decisions on what I have said if you are considering from tihs seller.
Thank you for your time, and once again I am sorry for the complaint or if I offended anyone. I just hope that maybe better attention should be given to the condition of the books and the way that you portray them before they go out. Maky sure if someone ordered a book in very good condition that it IS in good, or at least decent condition- not one that has been thumbed through a million times by a million different people.
 Quickly becoming a part of the educated psyche's book list November 14, 2009
M. Lai
Hosseini's second book, while a depressing depiction of women's rights in Afghanastan, is beautifully written. Laila and Mariam are dynamically weaved. He somehow makes something that should not be relate-able to most very digestible and emotional. There are twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. For someone who knows nothing of the culture or region, Hosseini - despite his admitted liberties with the geography - has introduced the area.
Despite it's rather morose ending, there is a call to action and hopefulness. He leaves the reader to consider solutions to what seems like a situation that should not exist. This ability to inspire the reader despite depicting rather dire circumstances is what makes this book a strong candidate to be on modern reading lists. It is quickly becoming a book that educated people read. That said it's not so high brow that everyone can't appreciate it.
Spontaneous outpourings of an Afghan heart November 9, 2009
Pankaj Saxena (Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India)
Splendid Indeed! I would like to use all those hackneyed expressions about Hosseini which usually appear on the cover page of a bookseller. Excellent! Suspenseful! Unforgettable! Gripping! Heartbreaking! I would be honest in using all of them and still it wouldn't be enough! Yes! Hosseini is that good!
Since, The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter series I haven't read a more gripping book. A Thousand Splendid Suns has everything you may want in a book. I won't go into the details of the story. It tells stories of two Afghan women and the traumas they have to bear under the Islamic regime of the Taliban.
Hosseini is indeed a master storyteller and you get hooked to it. He is so intensely graphic that you see every little movement described in the book, and listen to every wind rustling; every sigh falling.
He moves our deepest emotions and we get carried. We laugh with the characters; we feel their pain; we look at Afghanistan the way Afghans do.
The narrative is very authentic. Hosseini knows about the place he is talking about. He knows his Afghanistan, very unlike the Booker winner Adiga, who knows next to nothing about India. He is also clear about his content and has no tolerance for Islamic fundamentalism. A Thousand Splendid Suns is also not politically motivated like, A Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.
The havoc Taliban brought upon Afghanistan is vividly portrayed. He does not ignore its tragedy for the sake of being politically correct. The inhumanity of Taliban and all its supporters, the barbarity of Islamic fundamentalism and the brunt women have to bear under Islam is truthfully portrayed.
He does not forget to pay a tribute to the destroyed statues of Bamiyan. He does not express joy over 9/11, like Hamid does in A Reluctant Fundamentalist. He does not shun the truth.
His style is pleasantly accessible and familiar. He suffers from no -ism and nothing of post-modern claptrap enters into Hosseini's narrative. If the First World War jilted European psyche, making their poets and writers confused, the Afghanistan War has made Hosseini even more definite in his narrative, clearer in his vision. Some call him, an `old fashioned writer'. I love him for it. He is a little melodramatic and uses some standard attention engaging techniques of novelists and thriller writers, something which may throw him out of the mainstream of standard literature, but looking at the crap `mainstream' literature is producing these days, it is better not to be included in it.
Not since reading Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie, have I wept over a book. Russia and England were two places which had become alive in my imagination through literature. I now add Afghanistan to that list.
An Unexpected Read November 5, 2009
Carey A. Brookhart
I recently had to read this novel for a Book Club in a graduate level reading class I am taking. This novel was not my first choice on the list, but I am so grateful that I had a chance to read it.
The story - not real, but as close to it as possible - takes the reader into the lives of Mariam and Laila and shows the ties they create as they deal with love, loss, domestic violence, and the unfortunate circumstances for women in Afghanistan. The themes of sacrifice and friendship are present throughout the entire novel, especially during the most shocking of scenes. This novel touched me very deeply as it opened my eyes to what life for women is like in other countries and cultures. There were times during the novel where I became so angry that I threw it across my room and did not read it for a day or so. There were times when I cried because I was so moved by the struggles the women encountered. I cannot think of another novel that I have read in the last decade that has caused me to have such genuine responses.
As mentioned, I am so grateful that I had to read this book and meet with others to discuss it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone - I think there is something in it that everyone can relate to in some way, shape, or form. Kudos to the author, and thank you.
 A Thousand Splendid Suns November 1, 2009
Dustin R. Woodworth
Great read, a real eye opener! Makes you thankful to be a woman in America.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1518
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