A Thousand Splendid Suns - Hardcover

Hosseini, Khaled

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747582793 ISBN 13: 9780747582793

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2007

Synopsis

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction. A Thousand Splendid Suns is an unforgettable portrait of a wounded country and a deeply moving story of family and friendship. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love.

About this title

Review:

`Explores the turbulent history of modern Afghanistan through the lives of two young characters' -- Marie Claire

`Hosseini has stuck with his winning formula: compelling, unflashy storytelling centred around two sympathetic protagonists struggling in difficult times ... nothing beats a good story' -- London Paper Book of the Week

`The novel offers extraordinarily harrowing insights into the lives of Afghan women over the past three decades .... If he cut his teeth by writing about his countrymen, it is the plight of Afghanistan's women that has brought him to realise his full powers as a novelist' -- The Times

`A gripping tale ... It is, too, a powerful portrait of female
suffering and endurance under the Taliban' -- Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail

`A view from inside the burqa of the nightmare of Afghanistan's
history over thirty years ... grippingly told' -- Alan Marshall, Daily Telegraph

`Anyone whose heart-strings were pulled by The Kite Runner should
be more than satisfied with this follow-up' -- Natasha Walter, Guardian

`Hosseini has that rare thing, a Dickensian knack for
storytelling. He excels at writing suspenseful epics filled with compelling
characters' -- Lucie Young, Daily Telegraph

`Hosseini illustrates beautifully how ordinary people are capable
of great things through the power of love' -- Shauna Bartlett, Glamour

`Hosseini is at his best in some of his description of the landscape and his account of the developing relationship of the two wives, which begins with hostility and slowly blossoms into a concord ...'
-- Observer

From the Publisher:

The highly anticipated and breathtaking new novel by the
author of the internationally bestselling novel The Kite Runner.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0747582793
• ISBN 13: 9780747582793
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384