Title: A Thousand Splendid SunsAuthor: Khaled Hosseini
Pages: 11 discs
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: The book begins with the story of Mariam, who is an illegitimate child of a local businessman. After her mother commits suicide, she is married off to a 40-year-old man who continually abuses her, especially after she has a few miscarriages and fails to deliver the son that Rasheed so desperately wants. The story then shifts to 14-year-old Laila whose parents are killed by stray bombs. Rasheed ends up taking her in as a second wife. The complete story takes place over a 30-year timespan in Afghanistan, when the country was gripped by anti-Soviet jihad, civil war, Taliban cruelty and finally uncertainty after the US invasion in 2001.
My Review: The book is very depressing and violent as it seems that the main characters can never get a break. I love reading about places and countries that I know so little about (Afghanistan), and from what I've gathered, this book is generally true to history. My biggest complaint is that the first half of the book felt very disjointed with the story focusing on Mariam before switching to Laila with no apparent connection between them.
Disclaimer: There is some language, but quite a bit of violence and death that may be disturbing.
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