The File
Book
Debut author Gary Born erupts into the literary scene with a nail-biting thriller centered on...
Thriller Debut Novel
Islam: A Very Short Introduction
Book
Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the...
WorldScales
Music and Reference
App
Not all scales are created equal. This app allows you to break out of the limitations of...
Attempt to Uproot Sunni-Arab Influence: A Geo-Strategic Analysis of the Western, Israeli & Iranian Quest for Domination
Book
In the aftermath of popular uprisings that unleashed the quest for freedom, Arab governments...
Arab Orthodox Christians Under the Ottomans 1516-1831
Samuel Noble, Constantin Alexandrovich Panchenko and Brittany Pheiffer Noble
Book
Following the so called "Arab Spring" the world's attention has been drawn to the presence of...
Jamie (131 KP) rated A Thousand Splendid Suns in Books
May 24, 2017
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a beautiful historical fiction set to the backdrop in a war torn Afghanistan fresh off the fall of Najibullah’s government. The book takes us through the violent struggle between rival militias that eventually leads to the rise of the Taliban. The story follows first a young girl named Mariam, a bastard child forced with her abusive mother to live secluded in the countryside. Later she is forced into marriage with a much older man obsessed with having another son. The story then picks up with the birth of another young girl named Laila. The book continues to switch narratives between the two women until they are eventually brought together by circumstance. Together the girls face immeasurable hardship, vividly showing the dreadful reality for many women in the middle east.
The overall tone of the novel is intense, with the story taking many heart-wrenching turns. It opened my eyes to a part of the world that I had previously known little about. My childhood in the 1990’s was comfortable and safe, a far cry from the horrors faced by women and children during the same time period on the other side of the globe; it was like stepping into another world.
I’ve found that twice now, I liked the first half of Khaled Hosseini’s books better than the second half. The later plot lines usually seem a little far-fetched to me, but it doesn’t change the overall satisfaction I get from the book. The book covers the topics of the relationship between women, a perfect compliment to The Kite Runner‘s themes of relationships between men. This beautiful book is a masterpiece and the very best of Hosseini’s work. Be prepared to cry though, this one is hard on the emotions.
The Evolution of Mann: Herbie Mann and the Flute in Jazz
Book
More than any other musician, Herbie Mann was responsible for establishing the flute as an accepted...
Golf Business and Management: A Global Introduction
Tim Breitbarth, Sebastian Kaiser-Jovy and Geoff Dickson
Book
Golf is big business around the world. With high profile series such as the PGA, LPGA and European...
Insurance Theory and Practice
Book
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, functioning, management and legal...