"A Thousand Splendid Suns"

"A Thousand Splendid Suns"
by Khaled Hosseini


I had not planned to read this book but there it was on the new books shelf at my
neighborhood public library and I said to myself, "Why not"

I hesitated because of the locale and what I had perceived as serious subject matter. Afghanistan. A saga with the Soviet invasion, civil war, the Taliban. To my surprise this book turned out to be the story of two women and their indomitable spirit in the face of unimaginable hardships and tragedy. I highly recommend this book You will not be able to put it down and you will not soon forget it.

From Amazon Reviews:

"A Thousand Splendid Suns is an absolutely wonderful story about the things that keep us going, even when our world falls apart"


"Splendid Suns follows the lives of two Afghani women, Mariam and Laila, as they move from children to adults. The book spans 30 years, beginning with the Soviet invasion and ending with the overthrow of the Taliban. A Thousand Suns is a moving story about the power of love, the bonds of friendship, the love of country, and the struggle to survive.


BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In September of 1980, Hosseini's family moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego's School of Medicine, where he earned a Medical Degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Hosseini was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004.

While in medical practice, Hosseini began writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, in March of 2001. In 2003, The Kite Runner, was published and has since become an international bestseller, published in 38 countries. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns was published in May of 2007. He lives in northern California.