A review by thefooddater
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A beautifully written story that I could not put down. Its a tale about sisterhood, especially in the face of extreme female oppression. The story also weaves in a bit of Afghan history. I've known about the Taliban through only news reports, but reading about how the rich culture and history has been destroyed by religious extremists and years of colonialism was eye opening.
Despite the dark topics, the ending is hopeful and shows the resilience of Afghans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

The book takes place between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the early 2000's liberation of the country of the Taliban. There are also graphic scenes/depictions of sexual assault.