A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS KHALED HOSSEINI GENRE: NOVEL, FICTION FIRST PUBLISHED: 2007 “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” In his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini provides a vivid portrait of a country shattered by a series of ideological leaders and wars imposed on it by foreign and internal forces. The narrative, which spans several decades, is driven by the stories of two women, Laila and Mariam, who, despite starkly different beginnings, find themselves intimately connected and dependent upon one another. Hosseini’s women, much like the country of Afghanistan itself, appear to be propelled by the whims of outside forces, familial and societal, with little chance of influencing their own lives and futures Yet Laila and Mariam are neither passive nor helpless as they make choices and accept consequences to affect desired ends, both hopeful and tragic. This portrayal of their dreams, trials, an...