YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

At once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history, and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them—in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul—they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation.

With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love—or even the memory of love—that is often the key to survival.

Part 1: (view spoiler)[Wow, I feel so bad for Mariam. First her Nana kills herself then she finds out how terrible of dad she has because he basically marries her off the second he has sole custody of her. On top of that, her husband is a douche bag and I hope he dies. I want to cry for her so badly and somehow hug her.. I guess I'll hug the book instead. (hide spoiler)]
Part 2: (view spoiler)[I liked Laila in this. It was interesting reading about her growing up and how her family acted. Her mom being depressed because her sons went to war is pretty reasonable.. especially since they died. That part was really sad. Then the whole living in the same place while a war is going on sounds terrifying. I always feel bad for people who live near or in war zones because they are always on alert and never feel safe. I feel so bad that her family died while they were packing up to move. So sad. This book is making me cry so much. (hide spoiler)]
Part 3: (view spoiler)[Well shit. A LOT happened in this. Okay Mariam is a fucking bad ass. THANK GOD SHE KILLED HIM! I give her mad props after the way he treated her and Laila. Fuck him. I don't know why she was executed for murdering him..but hey, she went out in style and a freaking bad ass. Also surprised that Tariq is alive but hey.. love is reunited! (hide spoiler)]
Part 4: (view spoiler)[WOW! What a good and happy ending! I'm happy that Laila is preggo again and I really do hope it is a girl because naming her Mariam would be sweet. I was sad when 9/11 was mentioned. Also, I'm happy that they used the inheritance for good instead of greed. What a good book - I'm so happy I got to read it. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ how tragic that nanna hangs herself from the weeping willow because Mariam goes to Jalils cinema!

This is a reread for me and I’m listening via audio. I forgot the storyline and had the kite runner plot in my head haha! So I’m enjoying this reread! (hide spoiler)]

End of part 1 (view spoiler)[ it’s so sad how Mariam just gets married off because her dads wives don’t like her as she reminds them of his unfaithfulness. It broke my heart how they said that she was of marrying age, yet she has sisters the same age who aren’t. Her husband is an arse! I can’t believe how mean he is being to her since she lost the baby and can’t seem to stay being pregnant. Man my heart breaks for woman who have to go through this. Just opens your eyes to how lucky we have it! (hide spoiler)]

chapter 39 (view spoiler)[ oh my god!! That chapter broke me. To be turned away from a hospital because it only services men. To then wait all day in the hospital and be told she had to have a c-section with no anaesthetic. And for the doctors to be on look out so no one came and saw she was operating without her burqa. Oh my gosh! (hide spoiler)]

End of part 3 (view spoiler)[ I agree with you that Mariam is a bad arse! I can’t believe she was executed for murdering that arse! It was so sad how he told her to kneel, and the author said “Mariam did was she was told for one last time”. Oh my dear, powerful stuff! (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ this was soo much better this time around, I think because I’m older and noticed newer things. I will definitely reread again later in life to see if I have even more discoveries. I liked the ending. I wish Mariam got to read the letter from her father. I hope Laila has a girl and calls her Mariam. What a wonderful, wonderful book! I want to read all of the other books from this author now! (hide spoiler)]

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Date changed. Restarting July 15th 2025. Happy Reading ☺

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u starting......now?

Yes! Just finished part 1: (view spoiler)[ Mariam’s story is so sad I actually cannot believe it! Her own mother hanging herself because she went to visit her father! And she was so young! And then it just gets worse from there, her husband is so awful I can’t believe how normal it seems to her! (hide spoiler)]

Part 2 (view spoiler)[ This whole book is heartbreaking. The descriptions of living in a war zone are horrific, and when Laila’s friend died it was so sad! And then the final tragedy just when her family was about to leave, ahhhh! (hide spoiler)]

Part 3: (view spoiler)[ Oh. My. Gosh. That was awful! This story is so sad but so beautiful and so powerful! I love Mariam so much, absolutely devastated about her ending - so tragically brave. I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen to Laila now - really hoping for a happy ending but I'm sure that's too much to ask unfortunately! (hide spoiler)]

Sorry I really zoomed through this one, the pressure of my library due date got to me!

Finished: (view spoiler)[ The ending was so beautiful, absolutely loved it! The orphanage and their family is everything I wanted! I was bracing myself for something else tragic to happen but turns out part 3 was the worst of it. Like it's so sad that Mariam never got the resolution from the letter and video tape, but also I feel like it didn't matter that much to her in the scheme of things, Jalil did miss his chance.

This book was so sad and so beautiful! Absolutely loved it! (hide spoiler)]

13%

(view spoiler)[three words:

What
The
Hell (15/45) (hide spoiler)]

Finished Part II:

(view spoiler)[It was quite a big change and like a completely new story compared to the first part. It now focuses on Laila whos's just a 15 yr old living life but is faced with horrendous consequences such as the ongoing war and hir family leaving. I agree that this is very heartbreaking but it is also very well written! It really shows the suffering and the pain that afghani women go through at that time period and showcases the events that happened in the country. You really learn more things about their culture and their normality through this book which i really appreciate. (hide spoiler)]

Part III

(view spoiler)[I love how this story now just above us the two of them just...surviving the war. It really shows how many innocent people suffer on dark events like this in history. I also felt really bad for her baby especially when she's gonna have a cesarian but also didn't have enough money or funds to be able to purchase the necessities. (Good thing her abusive husband died uwu) But she actually felt bad for it 😭😭😭 (hide spoiler)]

Lara wrote: "Part 3: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I know right???????? That action of hers was really strong and powerful, as much as I'd thought she was going to survive sadly she didn't. Now Laila + Tariq just takes care of ma boi Zalmai. (Oh and Aziza too) (hide spoiler)]

Finished:

(view spoiler)["But the game involves only male names. Because, if it's a girl, Laila has already named her."

WHAT THE HELL THAT LAST SENTENSE IS LIKE SO POWERFULLLLLLLL, WHAT A NICE WAY TO TRIBUTE MARIAM 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 WELL AT LEAST ITS NOT A SAD ENDING ✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊ (hide spoiler)]

Lara wrote: "Sorry I really zoomed through this one, the pressure of my library due date got to me!

Finished: The ending was so beautiful, absolutely loved it! The orphanage and their family is everything I w..."

(view spoiler)[The only thing that saved my hope for it not having another tragic ending IS THE PERCENT BAR BEING TOO SHORT FOR ANOTHER TRAGIC ENDING TO HAPPENN. i was like 'a tragic ending wouldn't happen because we're too close to the end of the book already' 😅. (hide spoiler)]

Gohnar23 wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"


(view spoiler)[ YES absolutely, the last sentence was so powerful! And I'm glad for that bittersweet ending after everything that happened in part 3! (hide spoiler)]