A Thousand Splendid Suns

What?  A book review?  Yes, and I'm super behind so there should be plenty to follow.  I was going to write my review for The Kite Runner, intending to provide a link to this review.  I read this book four years ago and somehow, it never got a review on here.  I don't know what happened because I could have sworn I wrote one, but here we go anyway.

A Thousand Splendid Suns takes place in Afghanistan during the occupation of the Russians and the rise of the Taliban.  It focuses on women, both who get dealt a rotten hand at life to begin with,  a situation that is only elevated with their location.  The reader gets to see the reason for marriages in a couple different situations, watching how, as the Afghanistan people are thrilled over the end of Russian reign, they soon realize that what is replacing it may not, in fact, be better. 

I don't know that I have ever loved female characters like I love Mariam and Laila.  Even after four years of having read this book, I could still remember their names, their descriptions, the moments when I experienced such joy for them, along with the anguish and finally complete love.  This is a book written for adults, but I didn't find it to be crass or inappropriate in any of the situations.  And I still remember deciding I was just going to finish a chapter and call it a night, the shock and I still can't believe, that made me reread just to make sure I read it correctly and forced me to finish the book because I couldn't sleep without knowing how it ended.  It is beautiful - truly a must read.