A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini, 2007
★ 4.46 from 1.8m ratings on Goodreads
Two Afghan women, a generation apart, are thrown together by war and a violent marriage—and discover what loyalty can be built from ruin. A slow-burning, lyrical story that carries grief and war alongside stubborn hope, with moments of wit easing the weight.
Feels like grief, hope and melancholy. About war, family and society.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you gravitate toward family sagas set against war and are willing to sit with characters whose lives are shaped by hardship. Be aware that many readers describe it as emotionally devastating and angering, with suffering and violence that some found too dark.
Why read it
It gives you two women's intertwined lives and a close look at loyalty and endurance under pressure, and it asks what hope can mean when everything around it is broken.
A page from the book
How long it takes before cruelty becomes ordinary.
It wasn’t easy tolerating him talking this way to her, to bear his scorn, his ridicule, his insults, his walking past her like she was nothing but a house cat. But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid. And Mariam was afraid. What readers say
Readers say the novel is emotionally devastating and often angering, with many describing tears, heartbreak, and rage at the suffering depicted. They also repeatedly mention resilience, friendship, and hope, though some found the darkness or character treatment less satisfying.
Khaled Hosseini.Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul in 1965, left Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion, and trained as a physician in California.
Books that feel like this
More by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini, 2003
A boy in 1970s Kabul betrays the friend who would do anything for him, and spends the rest of his life learning whether a person can be good again.
And the Mountains Echoed
Khaled Hosseini, 2013
A father's impossible choice in a village fable opens into a novel about siblings, separation, and the long echo of one decision.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is A Thousand Splendid Suns for me?
- You may like it if you gravitate toward family sagas set against war and are willing to sit with characters whose lives are shaped by hardship. Be aware that many readers describe it as emotionally devastating and angering, with suffering and violence that some found too dark.
- What is A Thousand Splendid Suns like?
- A slow-burning, lyrical story that carries grief and war alongside stubborn hope, with moments of wit easing the weight. Feels like grief, hope and melancholy. About war, family and society.
- What should I read after A Thousand Splendid Suns?
- If you liked A Thousand Splendid Suns, try The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah) and The Help (Kathryn Stockett).
A taste of the feed
The voice that will carry you away is more polite than you'd expect.
I could introduce myself properly, but it’s not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.
The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
What we keep in boxes when we can't admit we're letting go.
I see the rocking chair I used when my grandchildren were young, then an old crib and a ratty-looking rocking horse set on rusty springs, and the chair my daughter was refinishing when she got sick. Boxes are tucked along the wall, marked “Xmas,” “Thanksgiving,” “Easter,” “Halloween,” “Serveware,” “Sports.” In those boxes are the things I don’t use much anymore but can’t bear to part with. For me, admitting that I won’t decorate a tree for Christmas is giving up, and I’ve never been good at letting go. Tucked in the corner is what I am looking for: an ancient steamer trunk covered in travel stickers.
The Nightingale · Kristin Hannah
The childhood warnings you still half believe, and the ones you ignore.
Two days later, I sit in my parent’s kitchen, waiting for dusk to fall. Igive in and light another cigarette even though last night the surgeongeneral came on the television set and shook his finger at everybody,trying to convince us that smoking will kill us. But Mother once toldme tongue kissing would turn me blind and I’m starting to think it’sall just a big plot between the surgeon general and Mother to make sureno one ever has any fun.
The Help · Kathryn Stockett
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