intensely engaging story of women's struggles in Afghanistan
340249
This is the story of two women in Afghanistan and their intersecting lives. It seeks to capture a glimpse of what life for women was like there from the 1960s to the present. The glimpse isn't pretty. One reviewer expressed it this way: "Hosseini's depiction of Mariam and Laila's plight would seem cartoonishly crude if it were not, by all accounts, a sadly accurate version of what many Afghan women have experienced" [1].

As in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Kite-Runner/dp/1594480001/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Kite Runner</a>, Hosseini knows how to tell a compelling story. I couldn't put the book down and read it in about two days. I missed my subway stop on the way to work as I read, I read it while I walked down the street, it's a true page-turner. Also like The Kite Runner (but even more obviously so here), Hosseini brings the story full circle and ties up every loose end, leaving something of a contrived feeling.

That said, as the New York Times review put it, "Mr. Hosseini's instinctive storytelling skills...[mow] down the reader's objections through sheer momentum and will. He succeeds in making the emotional reality of Mariam and Laila's lives tangible to us, and by conjuring their day-to-day routines, he is able to give us a sense of what daily life was like in Kabul -- both before and during the harsh reign of the Taliban.... In the end it is these glimpses of daily life in Afghanistan -- a country known to most Americans only through news accounts of war and terrorism -- that make this novel, like `The Kite Runner,' so stirring, and that distract attention from its myriad flaws" [2].

I found the story to be just as compelling as The Kite Runner but the subject matter here was of even greater interest. Hosseini successfully gives a window on a place few Americans know much about and does so in the context of a compulsively engaging tale.

Note on content: the book has some war and domestic violence and a couple of sexual scenes. None of these are fun, but each plays an important role in demonstrating relationships in this society. I did not find them excessive (just real).

(For an interesting but in no way as engaging non-fiction account of family life in Afghanistan, read&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Bookseller-of-Kabul/dp/0316159417/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Bookseller of Kabul</a>.)

[1] Jennifer Reese, "Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns," Entertainment Weekly, 15 May 2007.

[2] Michiko Kakutani, "A Woman's Lot in Kabul, Lower Than a House Cat's," New York Times, 29 May 2007.
1926819
A Swedish journalist explores the lives of women in Afghanistan who challenge the limits of what a girl can do and accomplish.
2673941
As a journalist who spent two and a half years covering Afghanistan, I've read extensively on the country. In no other book have I found an account as important, informative, and engaging as Anand Gopal's "No Good Men Among the Living." Unlike many Afghanistan books, Gopal tells the story of Afghanistan from an entirely Afghan perspective. Aside from offering a unique vantage point for western readers, the book offers a lucid account of post-9/11 Afghanistan. At it's core the book explains how the Soviet and American occupation of Afghanistan decimated traditional Afghan power and patronage structures, bringing both chaos and a Taliban resurgence.

The greatest strength of the book centers around two of its central characters, a local Taliban commander and an Afghan woman.  While Gopal does not hesitate to show the Taliban's brutality, he also shows its humanity. The story of the commander lays bare many assumptions western readers surely harbor about the Taliban and its motivations. Similarly, the story of the Afghan woman and her rise in the political scene provides sharp insights into the world of Afghan women. It will surprise and inform many western readers accustomed to thinking of Afghan women only as helpless creatures trapped "behind the veil."

Near the middle of the book, Gopal indulges in an important discussion of politics. Although, it's based on in-depth reporting and fascinating anecdotes it can feel like a distraction from the main narrative. I was grateful for his insights, but it was also the only section where I found myself able to put the book down. Even if readers may find themselves wishing for a faster return to the main narratives, they're certain to find these parts valuable and worthwhile.

Gopal's book is certain to endure and be one of the few books people read decades from now to understand what happened in Afghanistan after 9/11.
67296
An inspiring, true story of the women of Afghanistan in the wake of the Talibans fearful rise to power. A view of what women in a terrorist country have to cope with and how the human spirit is undaunted.
4601531
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Book Review)
TLDR : A deep dive into the Afghan society with a human touch 4/5
Book Review :
I read a lot during my office commute and I was looking for some acclaimed books to read when I made up my mind to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns". The novel leaves me with mixed feelings : more sorrow than happiness. The novel covers the stories of two main Muslim Aghan women ( a rarity and unique arc) : Mariam and Laila. Mariam is an illegitimate child who gets married off at an early age to Rasheed and Laila a precocious girl who loses her father and ends up by fate as Rasheeds second wife. The women develop a bond which is the crux of this story along with Lailas love life. This is set against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the infighting post the Soviets leaving, the Taliban (and radicalization), the refugee crisis, a drought and at last the US war on Afghanistan in post 9/11 world. We often see Afghanistan nowadays from the eyes of the West and its media. This gives you an insider perspective as to how these events touch the daily life of Afghan people.
'
Although, at times the pain became unbelievable while reading this novel at the despair and I wanted to put it down to read something cheerful I am glad I persisted because the author ends on a happy note (at least for Laila).
One day, I plan to visit Afghanistan and visit Herat and Kabul for myself slightly more wiser and perceptive for the book.
1455807
A very interesting, fast paced story that revolves around a strong and determined woman who kept her love and promises alive in Taliban controlled Kabul. Threatened by a marriage proposal from the Talib, she plans an escape route via Cricket in Afghanistan. The tale twists around her love from India, her brother, her fiancee, her cousins and above all, her spirit.
3492179
Fascinating look at the difficult lives that women and girls lead in Afganistan.  It's shocking to learn what they have to do to survive.  Well written and absorbing stories.
2248870
This novel is a real experience. It is the well written and gripping story of Tom Gillet, an ex-British army soldier who lost a leg through an IED explosion in Afghanistan. He returns to try to rescue a boy, named Shafiq, who saved his life, but has been sold into child sex slavery in Afghanistan.

This is a dark tale, certainly not for the squeamish, but a story worth telling to expose the corruption and degradation that is present in Afghanistan. It reminded me a lot of THE KITE RUNNER and is as equally powerful in it messages. If your stomach can take it, it is a book well worth reading and will leave you with an indelible impression of the poverty, corruption and evil ever present in this world.

The author deftly deals with a number of issues, including Muslim fanaticism, post traumatic stress disorder, the job done by the military under impossible circumstances in a foreign land and the ongoing fight against oppressive and perverted evil.

There were some editing and proofing issues in the book that caused me initially to knock one star off, but I understand a new revised edition has fixed those errors so I now give it 5-stars. An excellent tale!

Can't say I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I read it. Well done, Roy E. Stolworthy.
3828100
The story is both intensely joyous and painfully sad. The story follows Amir, son of a well-known Afghani, and his fall from grace to his eventual redemption. Glimpses of the Afghanistan tragedy from before the Russian invasion to the rise of the Taliban provide a powerful backdrop to Amir's story.

The prose for most of the story is tight and well-paced. Hosseini's ability to move the story along quickly yet richly is reminiscent of Nabokov, though it lacks the wry humor and cynicism of the latter.

The first half of the book is absolutely wonderful. Amir and Hassan's relationship with Baba is explored in detail. Amir's internal struggles with his own weakness is carefully balanced against Baba's bombastic strength and Hassan's quiet internal peace. The vivid picture of Amir's life in Afghanistan and then California provides a fertile scaffold for the eventual climax of the story.

The problems with this book is the author's tendency to simplify characters to caricatures and his need to provide clean tie ups for all loose ends.

Hassan is portrayed as a perfect angel, as is Ali and Baba's friend Rahim Khan. These characters are so perfect that you'd expect them to walk on water and turn water into wine. Hosseini does manage to provide a very full character in Baba, and his narration through the eyes of Amir infuses the story with life. However, many characters only appear as perfectly good or perfectly bad (Assef). I felt that a more balanced portrayal of the main characters would have lent more weight to the story.

The other problem is Hosseini's inability to avoid the obvious and predictable plotline. Amir's trip to Afghanistan to visit Rahim Khan is so obviously a setup for his eventual redemption that every decision Amir makes is telegraphed from a mile away. His meeting with the man from the stadium is another subplot where Hosseini takes the most obvious and predictable sequence of events and presents that as the story.

Such storytelling becomes boring after a while. Luckily, just as the book starts reaching the heights of cheese, the story wraps up beautifully.

Hosseini writes with a genuine love for the story and the characters. This love is infectious and far overshadows the shortcomings of the story. This is a wonderful book and well worth the time to read.
1568383
Since the author was born in Afghanistan, I am completely impressed with his writing and the English language. The characters were people that I really felt I knew and I was rooting for them the whole way. (Except some obvious ones, being most of the males). Although at times, very saddening and disturbing, the author does a great job of describing what it was like to live there during these times. The female friendship was so touching and I even really loved the last sentence of the book. I don't know why it hit me so strongly. But after reading the last line I really felt a sense of love and closure and it hits on the relationship of the two women so well. Great job on your second novel!
4704280
I bought an unabridged audio copy of Khaled Hosseini's novel at Costco. At first, I had trouble keeping track of all the characters that at first didn't always seem connected. Eventually I discovered that the characters were not the real story.

The novel starts and ends with a young rural Afghan brother and sister who are devoted to each other. Soon, they are separated when the father sells his young daughter to a wealthy Afghan couple living in Kabul.

As the scenes and chapters move along, there is a kaleidoscope of characters that may be confusing at first, but the real story is a multi-generational history of Afghanistan that covers decades with a multitude of characters linked to one another--even when they do not know each other there still is a tenuous link of some kind--starting well before the Soviet invasion and ending with the American led Afghan occupation and conflict that still rages today.

If you are interested in the transformational and violent history of Afghanistan and its traumatized culture, I highly recommend this story.

I found that the accents of the actors who produced the audio book were sometimes hard to follow but that did not stop me from enjoying the story.
316503
If you are only going to read one novel this year, let it be this one.

Hosseini is the author of the famous Kite Runner, and then A Thousand Splendid Suns. And yet I think this is a much better book.
The structure of the book is masterful, he manages a whole screed of characters, interwoven with the main storyline in such a way that it is a fabulous read. It could have easily been a confusion, meandering mish-mash.

The story starts with Pari and Abdullah, two children in Afghanistan. They are with their father, a poor labourer who works tirelessly to be able to survive and keep his children fed. The three of them are walking to Kabul to see Uncle Nabi, who may have work for them.

We read between the lines and sense there is something more sinister going on, which remains hidden from the children until it is too late.

We follow the children as they grow up and this is where the structure of the book is so well managed. Pari and Abdullah's story is the hub of a wheel and the spokes are made up of other Afghanis who are expats or locals, living through the difficult history of that nation and who come in contact with the hub of the story.
3590565
Such a compelling story... I could not put it down. The author has an amazing ability to narrate. I don't have much knowledge of the conflicts in Afghanistan, and reading this novel provided very good insights and understanding while telling the story of one man and one family. I want to read more from Mr. Hosseini.
2316768
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is an unforgettable and heartfelt story of an Afghan boy's search for redemption. Even after Amir's move to California following the fall of the Afghanistan monarchy, after the Soviet Union's invasion, and after the Taliban's takeover, The Kite Runner still offers the possibility of redemption for Amir. Hosseini fuses love, honor, and loyalty with lies, betrayal, and sacrifices into a compelling novel that depicts the power of shame and salvation while opening a window into the trials and tribulations of a country wracked by a civil war, foreign invasions, religious tensions, and ethnic cleansings. Through its unfailing rendering of Amir's journey to redeem himself, The Kite Runner hints that the individual, as well as mankind, can free itself from its past, and that it is only when it stands by and watches can evil claim its victory. Most importantly, through the intertwining lives of its characters and their haunting pasts, The Kite Runner offers hope where it is least expected.

The Kite Runner begins in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul in Afghanistan, and transits through several locations, including Peshawar in Pakistan and San Francisco, California in the United States. While the settings of Afghanistan and the United States differ markedly, they provide a vital contrast that helps to hone in on Khaled Hosseini's attempt to depict the harsh political and social climates of the Afghanistan monarchy. While the Pashtun Baba, Amir's father, is a close and loyal friend of Ali, Baba's Hazara servant and the father of Hassan, the circumstances surrounding their friendship are more than just the consequences of a society ingrained in its religious beliefs. This camaraderie is adopted by their sons, Amir and Hassan, both of whom are so naturally connected that it leads the readers to suspect that there is something more to what Hosseini is willing to reveal. The important idea is not that the friendship had developed, but that it did so in such a severe environment where if society had found out, it would have led to Baba's and Amir's excommunication. It is only later on in the United States is Amir able to freely contemplate the repercussions of his mistakes, his lies, and his past.

While The Kite Runner is centralized around Amir's struggle toward his personal redemption, Hassan, Amir's friend/servant, is an enduring character whose silence speaks ten times the volume of his actions. Born in a shack as the son of a Hazara servant, Hassan is the epitome of what a true friend is. Despite his inherent social inferiority to the Pashtun Amir, Hassan never expresses any contempt or jealousy towards Amir, even when Amir betrays him at his weakest moment. Hassan's undying loyalty, childlike innocence, and immeasurable honor define him to be a character whose impression remains upon the story's characters and the readers long after he is gone.

  "I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought. There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything."

Khaled Hosseini has a remarkable ability to draw the readers into the story, and to feel the pangs of guilt, the bursts of joy, the tremors of anticipation, and the agonies of regret that the characters feel. The Kite Runner takes the readers on an emotional coaster ride through the various dimensions of human emotions, and leaves them off balanced and hungry for more. An important element of The Kite Runner is the gradual suspense that Hosseini builds into each chapter, each sentence, and each word, only releasing it at the very end. Hosseini constantly alludes to the consequences of what a life surrounded by social, political, familial, and economic conflicts can bring about, but it is through Amir's eyes that the readers become inevitably identified with the story's message.
725701
This is truly an inspirational story of the  women of Afghanistan during the time the Taliban were in control of Kabul.
1106412
In a world where we probably all need to spend more time understanding people whose lives are different than our own, this is an important book.

Co-written by the founder of a women's embroidery project in Kandahar, Afghanistan and an American writer, and embellished with beautiful photos, this is an intense story.

Like most people, I knew Afghanistan has a lot of mountains, and wars and a very traditional culture, but I didn't know much more.  While I found this book painful because women's lives there are so incredibly restricted by law and tradition, it is also a hopeful book about resilience and consciousness raising and women's power.  It is a book about incredibly detailed embroidery that I may have seen in Afgani clothing, but certainly never examined nor thought about the process involved in designing and embroidering these elaborate and demanding patterns.

Highly recommended for people who love beautiful textiles, those who care about women's empowerment, and anyone who wants to learn about a society where the US has been so involved for decades but about which most of us know so little.
4382252
Khaled Hosseinis, The Kite Runner, was one of the most captivating novels of 2003 and still is today. The book starts in Afghanistan and tells the story of a young boy, Amir, and his best friend, Hassan, who is the son of Amirs fathers servant. As the two boys grow up together, they face numerous events that test their relationship, and one event in particular, is life changing. Not only is this book intriguing from the very first words to the very last, it also offers a connection for everyone. The Kite Runner, which is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, is a story of guilt, love, redemption and familial bonds.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Hosseini took a realistic approach in writing this book, which effectively and clearly portrayed the Afghan life style. The backdrop of Afghanistan is eye opening to the harsh realities that the Afghans had to face and gives the novel an even more meaningful edge. Along with being a very well written and understandable novel, the reading level is just right for the high school age, even beyond. The Kite Runner stayed constantly engaging and kept me wanting to read on. The one thing I did not like as much about the book, was the parts about the background of Amirs life, though they are necessary to understand the story.
 This book is a beautiful story of friendship and love, tied into betrayal and tragedy. It kept me guessing as I was reading. There were many unexpected plot twists. I think it was very creative how the end connected back around to the beginning of the novel. It was an intelligent way to bring the story full circle. The part I enjoyed most about The Kite Runner was seeing how Amir changes and develops from a selfish child to a selfless adult.
I most definitely would recommend The Kite Runner to students and adults. I believe this book tells a very powerful story and has many lessons that can be learned from it. Also it highlights how bad destruction and circumstances are in other parts of the world that many people most likely don't know about. This book deserves very high praise, it is one of the most emotional and thought-provoking books I have read in a long time.
The Kite Runner has received generous amounts of praise from people all over the globe as well as sources like People, Chicago Tribune and The Denver Post. Hosseini has written a couple of other novels, the most well-known one being A Thousand Splendid Suns which also received great amounts of praise. Hosseini is a fantastic writer and I believe everyone should experience reading a piece of his work!