A Thousand Splendid Suns
- 406
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
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Our view
Hosseini’s novel draws its strength from the bond between Mariam and Laila, a generation apart and married to the same man. The storytelling is beautiful and hard to bear at once, because war and forced marriage are shown without softening. Readers should expect to be shaken. It suits those who want a novel that moves them deeply and can face a dark one.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, following the huge success of his bestselling 2003 debut The Kite Runner. Mariam, an illegitimate teenager from Herat, is forced to marry a shoemaker from Kabul after a family tragedy. Laila, born a generation later, lives a relatively privileged life, but her life intersects with Mariam's when a similar tragedy forces her to accept a marriage proposal from Mariam's husband.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.7 across 1,378 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 90% of the weight and the score stays at 8.6 — the Rankings average of 7.8 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.8 | 129 | 9% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 16 | 1% |
| Hardcover | 8.7 | 1.2K | 90% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.