This book has been on my radar for a while now – all of Khaled Hosseini’s books have been – so when the lovely people at SocialBookCo contacted me through their review programme, asking if I would like to review this for them, of course, I said yes!

This is the 3rd book I’ve reviewed for them. This is basically a site that compares all the different prices of books from different retailers, showing you where you can buy each book for the cheapest price. And then there’s the reviewing side – If you join their programme, there are opportunities for you to be sent books for free in exchange for an honest review by a given date. So check it out if you’re interested!

Let’s dive into A Thousand Splendid Suns!

(sounds a bit suicidal)

Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Series Status: Standalone

Genre: Late Historical Fiction or Early Contemporary (it spans over many years)

Number of Pages:  372

(Found on Goodreads)

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner. The book, which spans a period of over 40 years, from the 1960s to 2003, focuses on the tumultuous lives and relationship of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Mariam, an illegitimate child, suffers from the stigma surrounding her birth and the abuse she faces throughout her marriage. Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal from Rasheed, Mariam’s husband.

*Thank you to SocialBookCo for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

I don’t even know where to go with this.

I’ll warn you now, I doubt this is going to be very articulate.

Because this is one of those books that is just so raw, honest, and quite frankly, incredible. It pulled my emotions in every direction possible.

It wasn’t the sort of book where I stopped and thought about my opinions of the characters. Though honestly, I ended up with strong opinions of them without even realising. I adored Laila and Aziza, admired Mariam’s strength and willpower. I hated Rasheed and just the world in general for forcing them through so many godawful things.

This is not a happy story. That, I can tell you now. It’s brutal. It’s awful to know that the majority of these situations are actually considered OK in some places. Every day is a danger, and yet this is a story of strength. A story that shows you, no matter what, there is goodness in the world too. And while this book is largely focused on showing us the injustice of Afghanistan through these years, that underlying message of hope really resonated with me.

It’s the sort of book I want everyone to read. But I know that can’t happen – and in some cases, shouldn’t happen. It’s a hard story. It features rape, domestic abuse, suicide. And of course, not everyone can read those sort of things and keep them separate from their own mind. So I will say this: if this book sounds interesting to you, please be wary and know there’s hard topics. But if you can read that sort of thing without it harming you, then by all means I implore you to do so. It’s such an important story, especially with the ongoing racism surrounding the world right now. Books like this show you the opposite side, show you how there’s simply no way you can lay blame on an entire culture or religion for every tragedy. Because they go through it too. They’re people too.

I’ll always remember this story. And while it’s not quite a favourite – I don’t know why, it’s just not quite there – it’s close.

4.5/5 stars!

Amazon | SocialBookCo

Share your thoughts!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

If not, do you plan to?

Have you read any of Khaled Hosseini’s other books? Which would you recommend me read next?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

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