Richard recently posted a review of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I had been dying to read it and he kindly loaned it it to me.I started reading it Friday and couldn't put it down all weekend, finishing last night. Richard's review provides a perfect summary, so I won't repeat it but will add my recommendation to his. The book is tremendous. I loved The Kite Runner by the same author but think I liked this one even better. It was fascinating to see the political turmoil and destruction in Afghanistan through the eyes of two women. Particularly frightening was the Taliban rule where women literally were not permitted out of their homes without a male escort. If they did and they were caught, they were beaten.
One of the main characters, Mariam, is only seven years older than me so her experiences in Afghanistan roughly parallel the period of time in which I've grown up. Yet no two lives could be more different. Both of Hosseini's books gave me a far deeper and more sympathetic understanding of life in the middle east.
It is my turn to select a book for book club, and this one is most definitely it.
3 comments:
Because of yours and Richard's glowing review, I ordered this book from Amazon tonight. Can't wait to read it.
If you liked that, read The Swallows of Kabul. It's an amazing book, but sad, and makes you really think about the ills women suffer around the world.
hi...
I really loved the Kite Runner. It might be the best read I've had in the past 10 years. The next book was not as good, in my humble opinion, but Kite Runner had set a high standard.
Will go see the movie soon
Post a Comment