Play Audiobook Sample
A Thousand Splendid Suns: A Novel Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.00) - 385,879 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
After more than two years on the bestseller lists, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel of enormous contemporary relevance.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment.
Download and start listening now!
"Wow! This book is going to stick with me! If The Kite Runner was the burley and A Thousand Splendid Suns was the hook, line and sinker! I have a new earned respect for the “real” Afghanis. Having just read The Kite Runner and been introduced to life in Afghanistan, I thought I’d follow on with the author’s voice in my head to his next book. Previously, I had only known Afghanistan and it’s people through news reports from around the time of the Soviet invasion. This book happened to references the movie Titanic. That turned out to be a metaphor for how much I actually knew about the history of Afghanistan and it’s people. Khaled was able to put me in the room with Mariam and Laila. I didn’t just understand and follow their story, I “felt” their joy and pain. This book was a whole level up from The Kite Runner. Written in 2007. The events of August 2021 only make this a more powerful, must-read book! "
— Em (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“[Love] is the emotion—subterranean, powerful, beautiful, illicit, and infitely patient—that suffuses the pages of Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Spectacular…Hosseini’s writing makes our hearts ache, our stomachs clench, and our emotions reel.”
— USA Today -
“A brave, honorable, big-hearted book.”
— Washington Post Book World -
“Hosseini has the storytelling gift…[He] offers us the sweep of historic upheavals narrated with the intimacy of family and village life.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Hosseini’s bewitching narrative captures the intimate details of life in a world where it’s a struggle to survive, skillfully inserting this human story in to the larger backdrop of recent history.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
Awards
-
Winner of the 2008 British Book Award for Best Read of the Year
-
A #1 New York Times bestseller
-
A 2007 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Fiction
A Thousand Splendid Suns Listener Reviews
-
" Understanding our involvement in Afghanistan requires that we understand something about its culture. The author provides a spellbinding glimpse at living in the war-torn, tribal culture. "
— Bruce, 8/27/2017 -
" As riveting as The Kite Runner and just as touching. "
— Debbie, 2/6/2014 -
" It pulls the reader to be more more curious! "
— Zonah, 1/31/2014 -
" I didn't think Hosseini could write better or even equally as well as The Kite Runner. I was mistaken. A Thousand Splendind Suns is beautiful, heart-wrenching, and it made me cry not once or twice, but several times. This is a must-read! "
— Aneta, 1/25/2014 -
" Too cruel. Couldn't finish reading "
— Conny, 1/5/2014 -
" I loved loved loved this book. It is very intense at times. I cared about the characters. This is a story that is an important story. "
— Caitlin, 11/30/2013 -
" fantastic, I cried a couple times... soo good "
— Andrew, 11/27/2013 -
" It was the first time I was reading from Khaled Hosseini. Book gives you a glimpse of Afghan women in their daily life. "
— Javad, 11/15/2013 -
" This book was closer to 3.5 stars. There were just a few too many parts that seemed to drag on; this could be because I have just also finished the Kite Runner...maybe too much of one author at once. "
— Renee, 10/27/2013 -
" Even better than The Kite Runner. A devastating read that gives a picture of what it would be like to live under those circumstances. "
— Jan, 10/19/2013 -
" Remarkable story... a true reflection of a woman's status in a country that has little value of women. "
— Angela, 9/15/2013 -
" I think I liked this better than The Kite Runner. What a story! "
— Gwen, 9/15/2013 -
" Not nearly as compelling as The Kite Runner.... "
— Susi, 9/10/2013 -
" Incredible. I couldn't put this down and I've never felt so emotionally tied. "
— Stacie, 8/22/2013 -
" This is a beautiful piece of literature. Hosseini has completely opened my eyes and heart to Afghanistan. I wish he would write something new. "
— Emily, 7/25/2013 -
" Interesting story. Sometimes dry, but overall worth reading. "
— Cindy, 6/28/2013 -
" Deeply moving and intimate. Really sad I've finished it. "
— Lucy, 4/3/2013 -
" Very interesting (shocking) view of perception of women in Afghan society and how things changed (for the worse) once the Taliban came into power in the mid-2000's "
— B, 2/12/2013 -
" what a book.... "
— Jayant, 12/30/2012 -
" Incredible and beautiful. "
— Louise, 4/23/2012 -
" I would rate it higher for its importance, and the fact that it is not poorly written. But the descriptions are too vivid and the conditions described too horrid. This book gave me nightmares, that's how well it gets under my skin. I much prefer stories that are less true and less gruesome. "
— Lene, 3/3/2012 -
" Extremely moving!!! Gives a great perspective on life in the Middle East. "
— Kelci, 11/27/2011 -
" A good follow up book to The Kite Runner. "
— Marylu, 11/22/2011 -
" This is a hard book about hard things. But it is a wonderful read. I strongly recommend it. I read it a number years ago and re-read for my book group. And it was just as good the second time. "
— Mary, 10/15/2011 -
" The Kite Runner was much better... "
— Swati, 7/26/2011 -
" I said thank God I didnt born in Afghan after reading this book. "
— Shweta, 5/24/2011 -
" This was one of the best and most heart-wrenching stories I've ever read. I could not put it down! "
— Sarah, 5/24/2011 -
" Sad and touching- a must read! "
— Erika, 5/24/2011 -
" The ending of this book made me cry and have a renewed sense of hope and strength. "
— RoseAnna, 5/24/2011 -
" I can't wait until his next book. I hope he keeps writing.... "
— Jackie, 5/24/2011 -
" Outstanding isn't a good enough word for this one. "
— Dana, 5/23/2011 -
" Could not put this book down. Probably one of the best books I've read in a really long time. I cried through the last several chapeters. AWESOME "
— Crystal, 5/23/2011 -
" After the Kite runner, one would think that he cannot do a better job. Yet, as you read a thousand splendid suns, the author never stops to amaze you. A book you cannot leave till the very end. "
— Rula, 5/23/2011 -
" One of those books that I started before going to bed one night and ended up finishing it sometime early the next morning. Made me cry about a million times - such a good book!! "
— Stacey, 5/23/2011 -
" a good read. i thought "The Kite Runner" was better literature, though. "
— Kristi, 5/23/2011 -
" Hosseini is a good writer, and though I may have preferred The Kite Runner, this is a very good book. "
— Kelly, 5/22/2011 -
" So....I only gave it one star. I mostly just skimmed right through it. I had a really hard time with the subject matter, which is maybe why I didn't really sit down and really read it through. "
— Laura, 5/22/2011 -
" An overwhelming description of oppression of women and how they survive despite incredible odds and still maintain their integrity as human beings. What resilient women. "
— Elizabeth, 5/22/2011 -
" definitely one of my all time favorite books. so far. "
— Anna, 5/22/2011 -
" An outsider's view about insider afghan. "
— Abhishek, 5/22/2011 -
—
Dolly Parker, 11/27/2010
About Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in forty countries. In 2006 he was named a US envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. He lives in Northern California.
About Atossa Leoni
Atossa Leoni has been working internationally in film, television, and theater since childhood. Atossa played the female lead “Soraya” in Marc Forster’s film The Kite Runner, based on Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling novel. She currently resides in New York City.