Bought at Ringerike and Hole Red Cross' flea market.


"Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.

With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle againt starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is an unforgettable portrait of a wounded country and a deeply moving story of family and friendship. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love."


I've started a bookray for this book: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/530338

Participants:
*ritao - Finland (Prefer EU shipping, but can send everywhere)
*Clairby11xxx (UK - prefer UK shipping)
*Icila - France (can send anywhere)
*Olivia_Lo - Taiwan (can post anywhere)
Ray finished, book is continuing its journey.

Here's the bookray book. I hope you'll enjoy it!

I was off traveling so I only got the book yesterday. Thank you CatherineB for organizing the ray and sending the book to me! Will start reading it asap.

Finished the book today. It was an educational, although many times quite depressing, read but I liked it nevertheless. The topics of the book are still very relevant in today's world and the book did give me much food for thought. Thank you CatherineB for organizing the ray!

Will now contact the next reader and send the book to them next week.

The book is on its way to the UK now. I got a bit stingy in the post office and chose the Economy shipping, but hopefully it won't take ages for the book to get there. So sorry if it does!

Thanks for the book I can't wait to read it :)

I think I should start this review by saying I might have had unfair expectations of this book, I had seen some great reviews and everyone told me I would love it. Well I didn't dislike it, I found the plot engaging and the prose was beautifully written. I think my main problem was that I did not connect well with Mariam and I found it hard to put myself in their situation and understand why and how they put up with what they did for so long.

Perhaps it is because my life has been blessed with happiness and tolerance that I found it so hard to empathise with Mariam, I could see nothing of myself in her or her experiences. I didn't have the same problem with Laila and I really admired her stubborn resolve throughout. Rasheed I ended up pitying, how someone can hold that much hate and malice is beyond me and as we are given little of his background this remained a mystery to me.

The political situation and culture of Afghanistan I found really interesting to read about as I know so little about it, it's left me with a much more liberal view of the country which sounds beautiful. I found particularly interesting Mariam and Laila's views on wearing a burkha, something I have always thought of as degrading and inhuman. Both characters, while at first unsure, find wearing it a kind of release, they can be anonymous and it provides a physical barrier between them and a very cruel world.

This is one of the few books that I think I would find more affecting as a film, while I will definitely try Hosseini's other novels and I did not dislike this one I don't think it really lived up to the hype, it certainly left me with a lot to think about though.

This book is on it's way to the next reader, safe travels!!

The book arrived safely. Thank you.

Self reminder : Olivia_lo w'll be away till July !!!

On its way to Taiwan. At last. :o)
Enjoy !

Wow, it's a huge book! Can't wait to read it :)

ETA: Reserved for wishlist tagging game. Will send it to the next reader by Christmas.

Enjoy the book and don't forget to journal it so that people have an idea of where it is going :)

Safely received with thanks! It was very fast in arriving - it's been waiting for me in the post office for more than a week - but I only returned on Friday from my trip. Thanks and cheers to all who made possible this book's journey :)

This book was a reminder of how much of the history and ways of life of other nations and communities is still unknown to me. The wars they fought, the way they build their families and choose their friends, the joys they find and their culture, art, and religion, what they eat and how they cook it, what clothes they wear, the houses they live in. There is devastation and human cruelty and so much injustice in this world, but people struggle on, they love their children, they leave their mark on the world. Can a book speak about tragedy and still be beautiful? Can you read it like a modern fairytale, like a star-struck love story? Can you accept that some people find joy, comfort and fountains of kindness in a religion that other people may use to justify cruelty and abuse? There are choices to be made on every page.

Going out to dacejav today, one book a month RABCK.
Will add my review "upstairs" in a few weeks.
Thank you so much for sharing, and happy travels!

Received in Latvia. Thank you for sending it!