A review by wayward_flowers
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

Oh my heart-
A Thousand Splendid Suns has got to be one of the most tragically beautiful pieces of literature ever written
Khaled Hosseini's portrayal of what it means by being a woman, a Muslim, and a human in general is done stunningly with realism and sensitivity.

"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."

As a Muslim myself, this book definitely had a profound impact. I just want to thank the author for the respectful and authentic portrayals, especially in how the story explores relationships, whether platonic, romantic, or familial. The bond between Mariam and Laila was absolutely beautiful. Tariq and Laila's relationship and just..the hardships they went through yet both never backed down. They clung on to hope and their Lord.

"The Koran says Allah is the East and the West, therefore wherever you turn there is Allah's purpose."

The writing too was breathtaking, and some of the passages struck me deeply (I annotated sm-) 
Also it was so enlightening, exploring Afghanistan’s history, weaving its tragedies into the lives of the book's characters with great care.

"Each snowflake was a sigh heard by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. All the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women suffer."

I knew this was going to be a 5 star from the start. I just wish I was able to prioritize and contemplate on this book a little more but wasn't able to as life had different opinions (which is the only reason why it took some time to get through this book) But..atlas. it was wonderful 

“And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the parched land of that field, Mariam uprooted them. She uprooted them and ditched them before they took hold.”
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