A Thousand Splendid Suns

Now you know I am an "early-to-bed" sort of girl. However...its rare, but it does happen that I stay up late. Last night I stayed up until 2am reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni. (who wrote The Kite Runner)

I loved it.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

I read alot of books....some are great, some are eh...and some are just unspeakably amazing. This was one of those.

I wish that it didnt end.

"Its a book whose story begins against the backdrop of Russian occupation, the Taliban, political upheaval and war. The author tells about the lives of women in a country that at its most conservative keeps them uneducated, controlled by men and behind the veil and a closed door at home.

Either of the main characters — Laila, the educated only daughter of liberal Muslim parents, or Mariam, the outcast disposed of by her father — could be the subject of a novel. We follow both from childhood through their arranged marriages to the same abusive man, Rasheed, a shoemaker. The difficulties of the women's lives shock the characters as much as they do us. The beatings and humiliation each endures would be reason to file charges in the United States. Yet despite his sadism, Rasheed is more a straw man than a true villain. The villain is any society and religion that devalues women under the guise of protecting them.

In the midst of family violence and the turbulence of war, Hosseini weaves the details of life that sustain us all: children, work, friendship, love, faith. Even in the lives of Mariam and Laila, there are the pleasures of a cup of spiced tea at the end of the day, a newborn grasping a finger, a snippet of poetry.

A Thousand Splendid Suns" seems less integrated than "The Kite Runner," but it continues the tragic story of the people of Afghanistan. Each book and every character asks different questions about individual struggles and the depths of family secrets. Each suggests different answers to questions everyone — Afghan or American — struggles to answer for our families and futures. Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and clear, evocative language continue in this messier and wiser book. "

From http://www.stltoday.com/

Quite possibly the best book of the year...definately so far...I loved it. Im wayyyyy behind on my reading. Im only on book 32 for the year. I doubt Ill make my goal of 85 for the calendar year. One day Ill read a 100 in a year. Sometime when I have lots of time to do nothing other...