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fahd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
curiousgeorge's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this story and the characters and I think the author is beautifully talented. Can't let myself give it a full five stars because I'm not sure if it goes too far depicting trauma as the main experience of Afghan women / if it's too reductive about the country and culture. If you can approach it with nuance it's a good read from start to finish
xmaine's review against another edition
4.0
Heartbreaking. I consider myself to be lucky as a woman living safely in another country, oblivious to the war that is happening on that side of the world. I would've not want for any of the struggles Mariam and Laila had to go through to happen to our women today. War as always, regardless of the time, always claims innocent lives. And as for me, it has never been the answer. I am grateful to have read this book for it opened my eyes to many things I was not aware of. Thank you, Khaled Hosseini. This has been a life-changing experience. And I hope more people get to read this book.
bluereen's review against another edition
5.0
"A man's heart is a wretched, wretched thing. It isn't like a mother's womb. It won't bleed. It won't stretch to make room for you."
***
I had been putting off reading this book because I knew it was a heavy one. But with everything that's been happening now, I felt it was only right that I finally pick this book up. I didn't think I'd cry as much as I did, but Khaled Hosseini really knows how to tug at the heartstrings. The storytelling is excellent as always, and the plot twists left me dumbfounded.
I can't decide which book I prefer more, this or The Kite Runner. But reading A Thousand Splendid Suns as a woman myself just hits different. Much respect to all the Afghan women fighting for their lives amidst domestic and social oppression.
***
I had been putting off reading this book because I knew it was a heavy one. But with everything that's been happening now, I felt it was only right that I finally pick this book up. I didn't think I'd cry as much as I did, but Khaled Hosseini really knows how to tug at the heartstrings. The storytelling is excellent as always, and the plot twists left me dumbfounded.
I can't decide which book I prefer more, this or The Kite Runner. But reading A Thousand Splendid Suns as a woman myself just hits different. Much respect to all the Afghan women fighting for their lives amidst domestic and social oppression.
gerda_gisela's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
tracamiller's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sarahs2real's review against another edition
5.0
(warning: slight spoilers)
how must one rate a book that has no faults in it? how must one even dare to give a perfect book anything bellow five stars?
it will forever shock me that a man wrote a story that so beautifully and painfully captured the pain of not only being a woman, but also a Afghan woman during the Taliban.
Mariam, the first wife of Rasheed. Everywhere I look she is there. When I recite the Quran I am reminded of her. When I pray I am reminded of her.
Laila, the second and much younger wife of Rasheed. Strong and un compliant.
A mother. A daughter. A student.
I feel like I’m writing a dumb letter right now, but in essence, this book captures the purity of love - sisterly, maternal, and paternal.
It paints a picture of resistance, when again and again, a woman is beat by a man who she had no other choice to marry, and yet fights back;
The pains of motherhood - to marry a man decades older than you so you are not stoned, to scream another into this world with no pain meds, and under the reign of the Taliban; To lie and cheat and steal; To sacrifice and come close to death over and over over again, and the only reason you are holding on is because you are a mother — because to be a mother is to love, and to love is to fight.
it follows the story of 14 year old Laila as she is orphaned and made to marry Rasheed, a man already married to Mariam, a woman who literally watched as Laila was born.
Through the tiptoes and heartbreak of miscarriage, and the wails of grief; through the sisterhood of one woman letting another rest on her lap as she cleans the wounds of the other; Through DECADES of hard labour;
This is not a story someone can just laugh over. It is one that NEVER leaves you. It is a story of love, of pain, and of resistance, even if it only follows the life of two women forced to clean up over a man. The harsh realities of rape, and superiority, and for your religion to be twisted and re written to suite your own special dose of torture.
I cried, and cried, and cried, and i think I really need a friend who i can rant to about this book, because even years later when I see this on my bookshelf, all i will be able to do even then is cry.
how must one rate a book that has no faults in it? how must one even dare to give a perfect book anything bellow five stars?
it will forever shock me that a man wrote a story that so beautifully and painfully captured the pain of not only being a woman, but also a Afghan woman during the Taliban.
Mariam, the first wife of Rasheed. Everywhere I look she is there. When I recite the Quran I am reminded of her. When I pray I am reminded of her.
Laila, the second and much younger wife of Rasheed. Strong and un compliant.
A mother. A daughter. A student.
I feel like I’m writing a dumb letter right now, but in essence, this book captures the purity of love - sisterly, maternal, and paternal.
It paints a picture of resistance, when again and again, a woman is beat by a man who she had no other choice to marry, and yet fights back;
The pains of motherhood - to marry a man decades older than you so you are not stoned, to scream another into this world with no pain meds, and under the reign of the Taliban; To lie and cheat and steal; To sacrifice and come close to death over and over over again, and the only reason you are holding on is because you are a mother — because to be a mother is to love, and to love is to fight.
it follows the story of 14 year old Laila as she is orphaned and made to marry Rasheed, a man already married to Mariam, a woman who literally watched as Laila was born.
Through the tiptoes and heartbreak of miscarriage, and the wails of grief; through the sisterhood of one woman letting another rest on her lap as she cleans the wounds of the other; Through DECADES of hard labour;
This is not a story someone can just laugh over. It is one that NEVER leaves you. It is a story of love, of pain, and of resistance, even if it only follows the life of two women forced to clean up over a man. The harsh realities of rape, and superiority, and for your religion to be twisted and re written to suite your own special dose of torture.
I cried, and cried, and cried, and i think I really need a friend who i can rant to about this book, because even years later when I see this on my bookshelf, all i will be able to do even then is cry.
rrekhaa's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
emma_swearingen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75