Liberte - Khaled

Advantages: Strong characters and an education into the plight of women in Afghanistan
Disadvantages: None

...Having read the Kite Runner, I was eager to read the next work by Khaled Hosseini. Whilst I still debate with myself whether it is as good as Kite Runner, if you evaluate the book in its own right without comparing it to the author's first book, then it is truly a masterpiece. Khaled Hosseini moves away from the Kite Runner story in this book to focus on the plight of women in Afghanistan. This book will shock you in every sense of the word when it comes to the ordeal that women have been subjected to in Afghanistan. Whilst I don't think that the story is as compelling as in the Kite Runner, it still depicts some interesting and diverse characters that all have a significant role to play. Moreover what this book does that the former didn't, is really take you through the political changes that took place in Afghanistan over decades... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Very well written; excellent story and characters
Disadvantages: Harrowing references to conflict

...Set against a backdrop of conflicts in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's second novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is essentially the tale of two women, Mariam and the younger Laila. The blurb tells us that it concerns the friendship, 'as strong as the ties between mother and daughter', that develops between them. It is a while, however, before this friendship starts, and there is a great deal of pain and hardship both before and after its beginning. Part One of the novel, covering a hundred pages, follows the childhood of Mariam. She is the illegitimate daughter of Nana and Jalil, one of the wealthiest men in the city of Herat. Mariam and Nana have been sent out of town to live in a kolba or simple wooden hut to avoid embarrassing Jalil, his three wives and other children. Jalil visits Mariam every Thursday, and she thinks the sun shines... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: An absolutely rivetting book
Disadvantages: You WILL cry!!

... A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS KHALED HOSSEINI Last year I read Khaled Hosseini's book, 'The Kite Runner'. That story concentrated on the life of a young Afghan boy as he grew up in violent and confused times. I found it to be an remarkable book that was packed full of emotion. So on finding that the author fhad written another story that takes place in Afghanistan, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', I had to read it. THE AUTHOR An author's background does not always have a lot of relevance on a book when writing a book review, but I felt that for this book, his background is VERY important. Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Afghanistan. He was born into a privileged position as the son of a diplomat with the country's foreign ministry, while his mother was a high school language and history high... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful