A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini

Do you see how my reading pace picks up with a WONDERFUL book? I just finished A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. I read it on the bus and had to push myself to walk over the bridge instead of stealing a few more minutes riding on the train so I could get some extra reading in.



Today I decided that Khaled Hosseni is the new Maeve Binchy (remember her?). His books are filled with characters, plot twists and turns, romance and sorrow and ironic endings.

FROM PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY (I couldn't explain it better).
The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny—"There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten"—is endorsed by custom and law. Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.


I loved this book cover to cover and was sad when the magic was over. Looking forward to Hosseini next writings! I give this book 4 out of 5.


Book Angel Strikes Again
Got another package from Book Angel featuring DANGEROUS ADMISSIONS by Jane O'Connor and WHAT THE DEAD KNOW by Laura Lippman. I'm busy rereading Dolly's Memoir, Rebel Teacher, but as soon as I am done, I will be work on these.