A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossini is a heart wrenching story about the lives of two women — Mariam and Laila — in war-struck Afghanistan. Mariam is an illegitimate child who gets married off to an older man in the city after a family tragedy. Burdened with her husbands' expectations and abused by him, she grows older and more resentful of the world. Soon after her marriage, a little girl called Laila is born in the neighborhood. The story follows her through her childhood as she grows up surrounded by war and destruction caused by the civil war. The paths of the two women soon intersect as they fight the terrors of their life and find companionship and peace in each other.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are deep and very realistic, and their experiences and emotions are expressed in such a way that even despite not having experienced the same situations as them, they are very relatable. The character development throughout the book is also really profound and I loved seeing how each character came to terms with their past and dealt with their struggles. The plot is also very interesting and engaging and the twists and turns kept me on my toes. I did not want to put this book down. Also, because of the intricacy and complexity of the themes and characters, this book is also a really good read for AP English Literature students who want to familiarize themselves with books to write essays about on the AP test. I would give this book a 10 out of 5 if I could!