My friend suggested this book by Khaled Hosseini because he is really good in creating strong characters and she said she had learned so much about writing from reading this book that she felt she could apply on her own work. Has someone read this book? I have found my own ex on a second hand book store for 2 euros so im going to read it and im really curious about it. Have any one read any other books that have given you an "Ah! Now i understand everything" -moment about writing/storytelling? It would be interesting to hear your experiences.
Khaled Hosseini's debut Kite Runner a masterpiece , simply freakin' epic , however his follow up Ten Gazillon Splendid Suns pales in comparison.
One of the best books I have read in years. Constant taunt dramatic tension, evocative above 9th grade reading level prose, a twisting plot, complex characters ,a non trite ending. The books made me examine my ideas about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, redemption
a thousand splendid suns didn't grab me as much as the kite runner did, but certainly was a tragic and inspiring commentary on the lives of women in countries that are behind with regard to equality among the sexes...
Same here. I enjoyed reading both, but found Thousand Splendid Suns, in places, a disturbing read. It made a lasting impression which I think good writing should. For a while my absolute favourite book, for the way it was written rather the storyline, was God of Small Things. But more recently I read The Book Thief - amazing.
I have not read A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I have read The Kite Runner and it didn't really grab me. It surprised me, because everyone I knew who read it raved about it. It's a powerful book. I am glad I read it, and it's definitely worth the effort, but it's not for me. A.
Oh wow, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I honestly learned so much from that book. The fact that a cried during it says to me that the character development must me so strong in it - I rarely cry unless something tugs and my heart strings. Evelon, I'm glad you've read "the Book Thief" as well! Gosh, I love that book. It's ridiculously good. One of those books where you read and think "jeez, why couldn't I have written that?!". Has anyone read "I Am The Messenger" by Zusak as well? I'm wondering whether to get the book or not...
Oh, I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I wrote my A Level literature coursework about the two of them. Kite Runner had a much more intricate plot, and I felt a lot more influence of destiny wandering around in the background, which was why all the plot elements worked together so well. A Thousand Splendid Suns had great characterisation, but the characters carried the story rather than the story itself, so it was far less epic... But very good all the same. A Level literature had quite an impact on me - it was the book we did in our first year that had this effect on me. I was writing my first novel I ended up really really liking as we studied, and I could see it, from the beginning of the course through to the end, actually maturing before my eyes. And that was because we ripped apart Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier in class. It's a pretty good book - not the best I've ever read, but it carried its own weight rather than ever seeming over-done, and that was really all that mattered. I don't write anything like it as far as I'm aware (haven't read it for about 5 years since we studied it) but it was studying it that opened my eyes. However, I think it is mostly the act of studying a book that helps, so really if you grab any book and take it apart like that - chapter by chapter, image by image, theme by theme, word choice by word choice, character reactions and emotions and all those little bits you might not have understood if you were breezing through it - then you realise what the writer has done.
Thanks for that tips, Melzaar. The only thing about it that disturbs me so far is the constant use of forein words, like, in two pages I found 12 strange words in italics, and that sort of irritates me, it sort of interrupts the flow every time they appear. But i will try to ignore that and get into it better.
I generally pick them up quite quickly, or read over them without worrying too much what they mean because the context says enough. A lot of the words - particularly food and clothes - are used in our language anyway, or are at least familiar to me because I've read more than just this one book on the subject. In any case, I've read a fair few books by middle eastern/asian authors, and never has a foreign word stopped me from understanding the story or hampered anything else. They're always just texture words rather than something that comes up all the time in a sentence, and if they do then the author won't leave you floundering with no hints as to what they mean. My mum had a large stack of books by Indian authors that I read through as a kid, and even at a young age I had no problem understanding them despite the deviations into other languages.
I like the use of words in different languages in books. I've read The Kite Runner, but A Thousand Splendid Suns is on my 'to read' list and I look forward to reading it.
Yes! Loved it. It's different and I had to get through the first couple of chapters before I really got into the book. Well worth the read.
