Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
16 used & new from £6.85
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Thousand Splendid Suns
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns [Abridged] [Audiobook] (Audio CD)

by Khaled Hosseini (Author), Leoni Atossa (Reader)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £14.43 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.56 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, July 16? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
14 new from £6.85 2 used from £7.97

Frequently Bought Together

A Thousand Splendid Suns + The Kite Runner + The Book Thief
Price For All Three: £22.41

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini
4.4 out of 5 stars (461)  £3.99
Atonement

Atonement

by Ian McEwan
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £8.99
The Book Thief

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak
4.5 out of 5 stars (447)  £3.99
Maeve Binchy: No Nightingales, No Snakes (BBC Audio)

Maeve Binchy: No Nightingales, No Snakes (BBC Audio)

by Maeve Binchy
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £4.84
A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson
4.3 out of 5 stars (225)  £5.97
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition edition (22 May 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1847371167
  • ISBN-13: 978-1847371164
  • Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 12.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > H > Hosseini, Khaled
    #26 in  Books > Audio CDs > Fiction

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
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. A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love.

About the Author
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 34 countries. In 2006 he received the Humanitarian Award from the United Nations Refugee Agency and was named a U.S. goodwill envoy to that agency.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
See all 7 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Thousand Splendid Suns
77% buy the item featured on this page:
A Thousand Splendid Suns 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£14.43
Maeve Binchy: No Nightingales, No Snakes (BBC Audio)
6% buy
Maeve Binchy: No Nightingales, No Snakes (BBC Audio) 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£4.84
The Kite Runner
6% buy
The Kite Runner 4.4 out of 5 stars (461)
£3.99
The Book Thief
5% buy
The Book Thief 4.5 out of 5 stars (447)
£3.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Sins of the Fathers Are Visited on Everyone, 7 Aug 2007
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS tells the wonderful, intensely moving story of how two modern Afghan women overcome the great challenges that have faced women in Afghanistan and rise above their victimization. Khaled Hosseini has succeeded in capturing many important historical and contemporary themes in a way that will make your heart ache again and again. Why will your reaction be so strong? It's because you'll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction that's very rare to a modern novel.

In Part One, you meet Miriam at age five as she learns that she is a harami (an illegitimate child). Miriam's wealthy father, Jalil, had seduced a housekeeper, Miriam's mother, Nana, six years earlier and now provides for both of them in a remote shack where he can keep a low profile. Despite his concern about his reputation, Jalil adores the attention that Miriam devotes to him. All proceeds in an artificial and harsh way until one day Miriam decides to demand her father's attention. The consequences shape her world for the rest of her life.

In Part Two, the story moves to focus on Laila, who was born to Miriam's acquaintance Fariba at the end of Part One. Laila's rearing is almost totally the opposite of Miriam's. Laila is loved by both her parents with whom she lives and has many chances to develop her knowledge and skills. Laila lives in Kabul while Miriam grew up in the countryside outside of Herat. Laila is beautiful while Miriam is plainer. They also grow up in different times: Miriam is old enough to be Laila's mother. Miriam never had a male friend while growing up, while Laila is fascinated by the one-legged Tariq. All is going well for Laila until the war intrudes to send her life off into an unexpected direction.

In Part Three, the two women begin to share a destiny and develop a relationship. Their lives are more fundamentally changed by this relationship than by anything else that has happened to them. The magic of the story is most evident in Part Three.

In Part Four, we come into the present, when Afghanistan is once again opening itself to possibilities.

The time span of the book is from 1964 to the present. In the background, you are kept up-to-date on political events that shake the entire country. In some cases, those political events turn into revolutions and wars. In many cases, the violence intrudes into the lives of the book's characters. It's like reading War and Peace as adapted to modern Afghanistan.

The book also deals with issues of class, religion, sexual roles, child rearing, work, education, and community. These issues are highlighted in terms of the different regimes and attitudes of the controlling male characters. For Afghanistan was a world where the men called the shots, unless they chose not to do so. Although the issues that are raised and the way that they are raised are pretty predictable, it's a tribute to Mr. Hosseini that you won't see them coming. He moves his characters and action around in such a way that you won't see much foreshadowing of what's to come. Part of that skill comes in making each page so interesting and engaging that you are pulled away from thoughts like "I wonder where he's going next with this plot." I found myself deeply inside the story throughout. That's rare for me, especially in a story that focuses on female characters.

It's early in the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS turns out to have been one of the very top novels of 2007.

I highly recommend this book and encourage you to discuss it with your friends. This novel would be a great choice for your book club.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Knowing and loving are born of this same dust:", 18 Oct 2007
By Bentley (USA and England) - See all my reviews
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini is a book that the author researched while visiting Kabul. It is a story of friendship between two very dissimilar women who were ages apart in background and in education. They became close in order to survive and to endure the environment that they were forced to live in. The reader grows to understand that there existed between them a closeness like that of a mother and daughter. This intimacy was built upon much mutual respect and much love which these two (2) stunning characters generated for each other. The novel is really the story of the lives of Laila and Mariam.

The title for this novel comes from a 17th Century poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi which was a beautiful poem written in praise of Kabul. The excerpt from which the title originated goes like this: "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

But the beautiful poem begins its praise of this city with these lines:

"Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust

These lines above symbolize so much of this novel. It is the understanding of their fate and the knowing and the loving of each other; it is the sticking by their heritage and their people which clearly demonstrates how Mariam and Laila were also "born of this same dust". The thorns in their lives which they both had to endure did not silence them and in their own ways they each made a contribution to each other to contribute either to each other's life or to the other's legacy.

In reading this novel, the reader will be stymied by what the women of Afghanistan had to endure in the face of oppression and in some instances complete domination. Mariam's and Laila's story is not, I imagine, the story of every woman, but it is their story, told so eloquently, by Hosseini.

Reading the novel will make you sad, it might make you feel uncomfortable and in some parts you will wish that you could do something; even though you realize that this is a book of fiction. But literature that tells a story as powerful as this one, and possibly with as much truth about circumstances in it...cannot always be happy. The reader must be willing to look into the window of these women's lives and realize that the spirit of these women will not be broken and that both will be able to make decisions that they are strong enough to endure. Giving back to others "born of this same dust" is the ultimate gift that both women can give to Kabal, its people and to each other.

A worthwhile book.

Bentley/2007
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The lives of others, 23 Mar 2009
By Tealady2000 (Edinburgh) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This is a charming yet thought-provoking and moving story from Afghan-born novelist Khaled Hosseini. Set against a backdrop of more than 30 years of troubled times in Afghanistan, it tells of two women, Mariam and Laila, who are thrown together like flotsam on the tide of fate. They have little control over any part of their lives but despite everything they form a remarkable bond, a testament to the endurance of the human spirit in times when absolutely nothing can be taken for granted.

This story provides a remarkable insight into the lives of others and I am not ashamed to say that it made me cry. It is beautifully narrated by Atossa Leoni (who plays Soraya in the film version of The Kite Runner) - I loved hearing all the Arabic/Pashto/Farsi words pronounced with an authentic accent. Highly recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hold on, I've only just got the CD's...tut
arrived on time tho!
5 cd's, fell asleep halfway through first cd but i was genuinely tired. An hour long i think, each cd that is. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Jesra

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

Up to 75% off Shoes

Shoe Clearance - 75% off Shoes
Save up to 75% on shoes for the whole family.

›Shop clearance shoes

  

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates