In ATSS, Hosseini weaves together the stories of two women, Mariam and Laila. Mariam grew up in a rural hovel, the illegitimate child of a wealthy man in the city. Her lifelong dream is that her father would one day acknowledge her as his daughter. On the other side of the country, Laila lived with her progressive and erudite parents, who supported her education and had hopes of a bright future in which she could make her own choices. The Afghan Civil War dashes Laila’s dreams, but brings these two women together as they both find themselves unhappily married to the same man.

My initial impression was that the story was somewhat predictable, but the climax was pleasingly surprising. Hosseini’s works, in addition to being engaging reads, provide enthralling peeks into Afghan history.

A definate “read in one sitting”

I did, well in 2, but they were in the same day and I had to cook dinner. But Fantastic all the same. Many thanks to my lovely Mom-in-law for lending it to me.

I loved reading this book. It’s beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed The Kite runner and I was really looking forward to reading Hosseini’s second book.
More than once I was moved to tears.
What kept coming back to me was, as much as this is fiction, this tale is based on real life incidents. And this is just one story, I can’t imagine the number of similar more tragic stories out there.
I found Mariam and Laila’s strength and friendship very inspiring.