A man's heart is a wretched thing

A Thousand Splendid Suns is the latest creation from the imaginative pen of Khaled Hosseini who gave the world The Kite Runner, a novel that was an international bestseller in 2005 (see Mmegi, April 22, 2005) and was published in 34 countries. Recently 35,000 Exclusive Books customers voted for the books they wanted people to read before they died. Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner came second (Lord of the Rings was first and Pride and Prejudice third).

 
The tremendous success of The Kite Runner presented a "hard act to follow" for the novelist who was born in Kabul, but moved to California in 1980. The story of Amir, who grew up in Kabul with Hassan, the son of his father's childhood friend Ali, a Hazara (a minority like the San) ethnic Shi'a Muslims was brilliantly told. Amir felt his father, Baba, hated him because Amir hated the national passion, Buzkashi tournaments. Its violence was terrifying and he got sick at the sight of death.