Khaled Hosseini 9. Amazon. com Books. Its difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseinis second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseinis compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope. We wanted to spread the word on the book as widely, and as soon, as we could. See below for an exclusive excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns and early reviews of the book from some of our top customer reviewers. The Editors. An Exclusive Excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns We have arranged with the publisher to make an exclusive excerpt of A Thousand Splendid Suns available on Amazon. Click here to read a scene from the novel. Its not the opening scene, but rather one from a crucial moment later in the book when Mariam, one of the novels two main characters, steps into a new role. Early Buzz from Amazon. Top Reviewers We queried our top 1. March 6, 2. 00. 7, and asked them to read A Thousand Splendid Suns and share their thoughts. At Business Insider, we believe capitalism can and should be a force for good. With this inaugural edition of Business Insider 100 The Creators, we are. The Hollywood Reporter is your source for breaking news about Hollywood and entertainment, including movies, TV, reviews and industry blogs. High School Scholarships. So, youre a high school student and youre in the process of finding scholarships to help pay for school your freshman year of college. 2012900. Weve included these early reviews below in the order they were received. For the sake of space, weve only included a brief excerpt of each reviewers response, but each review is available for reading in its entirety by clicking the Read the review link. Joanna Daneman His style is deceptively simple and clear, the characters drawn deftly and swiftly, his themes elemental and huge. This is a brilliant writer and I look forward to more of his work. Read Joanna Danemans review. Seth J. Frantzman Khaled Hosseini has done it again with A Thousand Splendid Sons, presenting a new, dashing and dark tale of two generations of women trapped in a loveless marriage, bracketed by great events. Read Seth J. Frantzmans review. Donald Mitchell Khaled Hosseini has succeeded in capturing many important historical and contemporary themes in a way that will make your heart ache again and again. Why will your reaction be so strong Its because youll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction thats very rare to a modern novel. Read Donald Mitchells review. Lawrance M. Bernabo All things considered, following up on a successful first novel is probably harder than coming up with the original effort and Hosseini could have rested on his laurels in the manner of Harper Lee, but as A Thousand Splendid Suns amply proves, this native of Kabul has more stories to tell about the land of Afghanistan. Read Lawrance M. Bernabos review. Amanda Richards There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you wont be able to put it down. Hosseinis simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, A Thousand Splendid Suns is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed. Read Amanda Richardss review. N. Durham All that being said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a bit more enjoyable than Hosseinis previous The Kite Runner, and once again he manages to give we readers another glimpse of a world that we know little about but frequently condemn and discard. However, if you were one of the many that for some reason absolutely loved The Kite Runner, chances are that youll love this as well. Read N. Durhams review. John Kwok Khaled Hosseinis A Thousand Splendid Suns is a genuine instant literary classic, and one destined to be remembered as one of 2. It should be compared favorably to such legendary Russian novels like War and Peace and Doctor Zhivago. Read John Kwoks review. Thomas Duff Normally Im more of an action adventure type reader when it comes to novels and recreational reading. But I was given the chance to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini author of The Kite Runner, so I decided to try something out of my normal genre. I am soglad I did. This is a stunning and moving novel of life and love in Afghanistan over a 3. Read Thomas Duffs review. Charles Ashbacher This book manages to simultaneously capture the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years and how women are treated in conservative Islamic societies. In many ways it is a sad book, your heart goes out to these two women in their hopeless struggle to have a decent life with a brutal man in an unforgiving, intolerant society. Read Charles Ashbachers review. W. Boudville Hosseini presents a piognant view into the recent tortured decades of the Afghan experience. From the 1. 97. 0s, under a king, to the Soviet takeover, to the years of resistance. And then the rise and fall of the Taliban. An American reader will recognise many of the main political events. But to many Americans, Afghanistan and its peoples and religion remain an opaque and troubling mystery. Read W. Boudvilles review. Mark Baker I tend to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I found the first half slow going at times, mainly because I knew where the story was going. Once I got into the second half, things really picked up. The ending was very bittersweet. I couldnt think of a better way to end it. Read Mark Bakers review. Grady Harp Hosseini takes us behind those walls for forty some years of Afghanistans bloody history and while he does not spare us any of the descriptions of the terror that continues to besiege that country, he does offer us a story that speaks so tenderly about the fragile beauty of love and devotion and lasting impression people make on people. Read Grady Harps review. Robert P. Beveridge When I was actively reading it, the pages kept turning, and more than once I found myself foregoing food or sleep temporarily to get in just one more chapter. When I had put it down, however, I felt no particular compulsion to pick it back up again. Its a good book, and a relatively well written one, but its not a great book. Enjoyable without leaving a lasting impression. Read Robert P. Beveridges review. B. Marold While the events in Afghanistan and the wider world create a familiar framework for the stories of these two women, it is nothing more than a framework. The warp and weft of everyday life, and the interaction of the two women and their close relatives is the heartbeat of the story. Read B. Marolds review. Daniel Jolley Khaled Hosseini has written a majestic, sweeping, emotionally powerful story that provides the reader with a most telling window into Afghan society over the past thirty odd years. Its also a moving story of friendship and sacrifice, giving Western readers a rare glimpse into the suffering and mistreatment of Afghan women that began long before the Taliban came to power. Read Daniel Jolleys review. This text refers to the Hardcover edition.