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July 12, 2007
Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns
Have just finished reading a book which I must mention. It is rare to find a novel so well written, so well edited, with such careful and beautiful craftsmanship.
Ever since I read Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, I thought he was a gifted writer, so I was delighted when Thousand Splendid Suns was published. Hosseini is such a marvellous storyteller, and he is the true artist, who knows precisely when to stop, precisely when even one more word would be superflous. His narrative is extremely elegant, coherent, tailored with greatest attention to detail. I cannot say enough in praise of the construction of this narrative. And the images he conjures, the details he chooses to include, are so powerful
that they stay with the reader, and stay and stay and stay. It was the kind of book that had me glued to it, turning page after page irresistibly, and carried on with strong momentum. I am not going to spoil the plot by providing any kind of synopsis here unless specifically requested to, but I will just say it is set in Afghanistan in the period leading up to and including the Taliban rule, and Hosseini manages both the personal stories as well as the epic background
magnificently.
It is the kind of book, which when I finished and closed it, I look up and the world around me returns, and I look at people on the streets and think, how lucky they all are, those who have not yet read this book, because if/when they do come to pick it up, such a tremendous reading experience awaits them! And even luckier are those of us who HAVE read it - we are so enriched.
Posted by Lisa Lau at July 12, 2007 10:26 AM
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Posted by: Anonymous at July 12, 2007 10:26 AM
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