A Thousand Splendid Suns

There is a place in my heart that is awaiting A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Thank you, Mr. Hosseini, for opening my eyes to a beautiful world that is in need of support. I hope that, in a small way, I will make a difference for the Hasans and Amirs of the world.

"For you, a thousand times over."

Mr. Hosseini,
Hello from Cairo, Egypt. I really can't wait to read your new book. I love..love..loved the kite runner and got almost everybody I know to read it.
Actually you have quite a huge base of fans/readers here in Egyt..why don't you consider a visit!!

Regards,
Nermeen

Hi Khaled,

I just finished listening to you read The Kite Runner in audiobook. Listening to you tell Amir's story in first person made it impossible to believe it was fiction. I felt privileged to have you read me your book. Maybe like Hassan felt when Amir would read to him.

I hope you do the same with your new book.

Thank you,
Maeve Maguire

Dear Kahled,

I read your book and it profoundly touched me for the suffering of the people of Afghanistan that to many others are currently a compilation of statistical figures that war brings. I just wanted to thank you for putting this painful subject in such a beautiful story and for teaching the world about life in Afghanistan now and before. Your reader,

Martha C.

Mr. Hosseini,
Thank you for your wonderful novel, the Kite Runner. I have just finished sharing it with 18 students in Advanced English 11 in Nova Scotia, Canada... about as far removed from Afghanistan as it is possible to be! This novel has encouraged my students to think of Afghanistan as a real place, beyond the drama of the news and media coverage. We have had lively discussions about the characters, and how place influences our lives. I will be telling them about A Thousand Splendid Suns tomorrow... You have some new fans on the east coast!
-Libby

Dear sir,
i only recently have came to read your first novel, and considering myself a books lover i have to say that never before i've been touched by a book like i have by yours.
thank you for that.
i would love to ask a thousand questions but is better i dont.
i'll be looking foward to your new novel.
once again thank you
best wishes
Anna

Dear Khaled,

Kiterunner is an experience I shared with one of my close friends. It was gifted by her and as I went through it page by page I could feel the characters breath, cry and speak a thousand words in silence.

But mostly it reminded me of the distant relationship between myself and my dad. A longing I will have forever.....

Sometimes you wish you could say things to people close to you before it is too late.

Looking forward to A thousand splendid Suns.

Rgds
Vipul

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I absolutely could NOT put it down. I really wasn't certain you could write anything that would touch me as much as The Kite Runner did. But you surely DID. The thing that grabbed me so strongly was your ability to speak from a female viewpoint. I learned so much from you through BOTH your wonderful novels, and I hope with all my heart there are many more to come! I KNOW this one will be a huge success! And if ever your book tour brings you to Houston, Texas, I will be there to support you and listen to your words. THANK YOU for another fine book!

About an hour ago, I finished reading The Kite Runner, having had tears in my eyes for just about the entire second half of it. In my enthousiasm, ofcourse I immediatly started searching to find out about this particular question... and I am happy to hear I won't have to wait long at all to read your next novel. I hope it will come to the Netherlands soon after it will be published in America!

Hey Khaled,

Just wanted to congratulate you for your beautiful book "The Kite Runner". Very much looking forward for "A Thousand Splendid Suns".

Sujith.

I'm counting the days overhere in the Netherlands, waiting for Duizend schitterende zonnen. And what a thrill that I'm the first one who's writing here! Dear Khaleid, I wish that this book has the same warming flame as De Vliegeraar. Bye!

dear mr hosseini,
thank you so much for such a wonderful book, i mean, the kite runner. i am halfway through it and havent obviously finished it but i have already recommended it to at least a dozen friends. i hope i do not sound too flattering when i say that i havent read such a touching tale in a long time. it really touches one's heart. and because you call your baba baba (we call our fathers baba too) that is all the more touching. i just came to know that your second book will be out this month. honestly, cant wait. wish you all the best and please keep writing. hope to hear from you.
with warmest of regards,
pallabi,
calcutta, india

I just finished the Kite Runner and I am so impressed. I am very interested in life in the Middle East. I will buy all of his books. Thanks for the hours of enjoyment...........Kimberly PS: I am also from San Jose, CA, shopped at the Berryessa Flea Market. Attended Santa Clara University. Small World when you come right down to it.

I read regularly.From fiction to true stories to blogs.I must say I have never picked up a book as captivating as the Kite Runner. I am familiar with the culture,so I don't think it was the intrigue with different custom or way of life that caught my attention.It was the raw,uncensored human spirit that was captured in the story.I felt I was there with Amir,with Hassan."Great" is not a word to describe it.

Mr. Hosseini,

For the past three years, I've had the pleasure of introducing students in my Contemporary Issues in Literature class (grades 10, 11, & 12) to The Kite Runner. They have been unanimously passionate about it, so much so that this year's class insisted on reading it twice.

For the first time in my 10 year teaching career, I have a class upset and disappointed that school will be ending too quickly. You see, we'll be letting out just two or three days after A Thousand Splendid Suns is due to hit the stores. We've pre-orded copies of the book from Amazon, but fear it won't reach us in time. They've made me promise to get together with them at the end of June for a novel discussion session at a local coffee shop.

Thank you for writing with enough passion to reach off the page and light a spark in our teen readers.

Sincerely,
Sheree Fortney
Teacher

thank you for a great book...i only started reading it this week...last nite i was at the chapter when Hassan and his dad were leaving..past midnight...in dubai...alone...away from home..putting the book aside...i wept for a good ten minutes. Looking forward to your next book as well. All the bests..

I thoroughly enjoyed your first book, and can't wait to read this next one.

I can't wait for the new book! I love love loved "The Kite Runner" and recommended it to everyone, even if they didn't ask!

May 9, 2007.
Greetings and hello,
Not having read The Kite Runner, I did not know what to expect from A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

I have read less than fifty pages of ATSS yet I can say that this novel will be the only one I open until I reach the final page.

Best regards, Linda.

Thx you for writting the Kite Runner.
It is tender sensitive and very informative.
Your work for the refugee organization is to be admired.
kind regards
shana.[melbourne]

Dear Mr. Housseini,

I am Ana Eliza from Brazil, Sao Paulo state. I, as a thousand other people, become your fan. I have already read The Kite Runner two days ago.
I spent a little time to read it, because I just read it at subway (metro). Day by day, during the trip, I transported myself to the Amir and Hassan´s world, Kabul's world. At the end of the book, I found myself very touched, praying to Hassan´s son forget his traumas.
It was a pleasure to known a wonderful writer as you are, Mr. Housseini. The easy and special way to write, to choose the write word, to describe Afghanistan, Afghans lives and culture is a God´s gift definitely.
Now I can realize how Russian and Taliban had stolen the right of living of Afghans during theses years. I pray to God to iluminate you and your people.
I live in a blessed country, Brazil is a free place. Lots of different people live here, I mean, different culture: Japaneses, Germans, Spanishes, Portugueses, Italians, etc.
But we also have a war here. A war that some fight against the poverty, to bring education and health to the poor people, proper place to live etc. But I can not complain, it is a beautiful place, and Brazilians are a peaceful, warm and happy people. It doesn´t need to much to make a Brazilian happy. Musics, a god conversation, a beer, family (not in this order)...Well, thank you very much and God bless you!

i love your book.
i'm from brazil and i think that this is the biggest lesson of humble never seen before.

i am so delighted !!!! im gonna wait for the 22nd!
best of luck khaled

Just a quick note, finished The Kite Runner this AM (to the tune of 1 hour late for work!) This was a very powerful and educational book; we, as Americans are so very ignorant (still) of Afghanistan and the Afghan people. At any rate, I just can't seem to get the characters out of my mind--it was the best story I've read in a long time--will look forward to the new book. Thanks.

Dear Khaled,

Insha'Allah, your new book will be as successful, if not more than "The Kite Runner" which I must tell you I have loved reading. It's so close to our lives here in India and the life I lived in Iraq. Both countries - Iraq and Afghanistan are in a shambles.
We hope and pray that life will be normal there again.
In the meanwhile, your books are there to give the much-needed human perspective to these societies. You are, masha'Allah, a gifted writer, and are making constructive use of your talent, alhumdulillah.
Best wishes and prayers for your future books, insha'Allah,
Sabiha.

I can't wait to go get the book. The subject matter and backdrop of the story seem very interesting from the descriptions.
I was fortunate enough to see Khaled when he gave a talk in chicago in 2005, and hope he will do so again.

Hi Khaled

Have just picked up The Kite Runner, reading it -- in a long time came across a novel as honest and engaging as this one. Good work!

Cheers

My daughter (16) fell in love with your story and your writing style since she was "forced to read" The Kite Runner. She has been searching ever since to find another book was comparable but has not been successful. I'm so happy she'll have some summertime reading with A Thousand Splendid Sunsets and wish you all the success with it's release. Just to let you know the girls in her class have started a group on Facebook concerning the characters of The Kite Runner. The characters had a tremendous inpact on their emotions; they incited both love and hatred. Needless to say I had to read the book and feel the same.Thank you for your enormous contribution to our society.We would love to hear you speak.

My daughter (16) fell in love with your story and your writing style since she was "forced to read" The Kite Runner. She has been searching ever since to find another book was comparable but has not been successful. I'm so happy she'll have some summertime reading with A Thousand Splendid Suns and wish you all the success with it's release. Just to let you know the girls in her class have started a group on Facebook concerning the characters of The Kite Runner. The characters had a tremendous inpact on their emotions; they incited both love and hatred. Needless to say I had to read the book and feel the same.Thank you for your enormous contribution to our society.We would love to hear you speak.

Dearest Khaled Hosseini, Today is May 22 and I've just bought A Thousand Splendid Suns. Mariam Jalil & Nana... wow what a lovely characters, I just cant stop reading it. any ways when is the new book out? this is what I asked when I first read The Kite Runner's first chapter too.
Thanks for spreading Afghan culture.
Khuda Hafez
Fazila
your Afghan Fan

I must mention that "The Kite Runner" was a tremendous and very well written book. When i was in high school, i despised books, because i felt they were boring; but after reading the Kite Runner, i started to enjoy them. At last, i just wanted to thank you for being a superb afghan writer, and writing about those afghans that have suffered in the past 30 years of war.

I have yet to complete a book in high school, but this being my senior year my teacher set up literacy circles. We chose one of six books with yours being among them and we read to a certain page and then discussed what happened within those pages whether it be vocab, illustrations, connections, or research. I obviously chose The Kite Runner. Keeping in mind I haven't finished a book in 4 years, it was pretty much impossible to stop reading. The way the book was written really let me imagine the entire scenery myself. This is honestly the best book I have ever started to read and captured my attention within the first 2 chapters. THIS IS A WONDERFUL BOOK!!!

I read a lot of books. Sometimes three or four a week and have written one novel. As a reader and as a self-published writer of historical fiction, I have seen both sides of a book, and I know how hard it is and how much research is required. "The Kite Runner" is one of my favorite books. I've already read it four times and I still cry each I read it. I can't wait to read your new novel. I am a big fan.

I remember reading the Kite Runner last year and being blown away by the captivating simplicity of Khaled Hosseini's story-telling. Absolutely spell-binding. I picked up A Thousand Splending Suns pretty much the same day it came out at 3:30pm (Ottawa, Canada time) and currently it's 12:34am...finding ways to tell people how utterly amazing and breathtaking this book is.

I don't think that in my history of reading novels have I ever been so emotionally moved by the characters and their unbreakable spirits. This isn't just a yeah-yeah-some-parts-were-sad kind of book: there are moments that make your heart weep and ache.

As a person whose ancestral background is rooted in the Pashtuns and Hazaras of Old Afghanistan, I can find solace in the fact that its great history is being so wonderfully and vividly portrayed by an astounding storyteller.

This isn't a book to miss.

Can hardly wait to read your next book! I, and friends alike, have been waiting not so patiently for this day. Good luck, and God Bless.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I have JUST put down your novel, The Kite Runner, and must tell you how your words have brought back so many memories of an Afghanistan that is no longer.
I was probably one of the "hippies" that were observed by Amir and Hassan as they roamed the streets of Kabul. I traveled throughout your wonderful country in December, 1970, entering via Herat and continuing South to Kandahar, to Kabul, Bamyan, Mazari-Sharif and finally through the Kyhber Pass to Pakistan. My memories are as vivid as they happened yesterday, and of all the 36 countries we visited in our travels, Afghanistan stands out as my favorite.
I cry at what is only a memory now for so many.
Thank you for writing your book. I look forward to reading the next and connecting again to a treasured land.
Jann Seal
Around the World by Land Rover
1970-1971

I am soo excited at the chance of getting to read your second novel. In our school we did a play of Kite Runner in which I played the role of Amir. It was then that I read your first book which I instantly acknowledged as one of the finest books I have ever read. Thank you for providing us with such a detailed insight to life in Afghanistan not once but twice with your second novel. Furthermore I have always beleived that change can only truly be brought about when people are aware. Your novels have been the ideal platform to spread awareness of the way people suffer in Afghanistan and how what was once a rich culture has been destroyed due to senseless conflict. Hopefully now that awareness has been created we can await the change

If the Kite Runner was anything to go by, this should be an excellent read too.

Cheers to a writer with loads of courage !

So so excited for to get my hands on your new book. I have been waiting patiently:)

I first read The Kite Runner during Easter '06 whilst on holiday in Kuwait visiting my family who have lived there for nearly 15 years. I couldn't put it down. No book after that compared to it. It was outstanding. Since then I've read it again, and still it filled me with much emotion. As soon as the new book came out I was there, buying it and couldn't wait to start it. And yet again, you've excelled yourself. Another outstanding piece of writing. Keep them coming!

THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER MOVING ACCOUNT OF AFGHAN
HISTORY AND THE STRUGGLES SO MANY ARE FACING TO SURVIVE

thankyou so much for sharing this beautiful book. I knew nothing of your country before reading it. i will get Kite Runner next

Hi!,I'm Annalisa an Italian girl who has readed his book with the italian title "Il cacciatore di aquiloni"! It's very beautiful and it appasionated me from the first lines! I run in bookcase to buy his second book, I'm a lot interested to the history of Afghanistan. A salute from his faithful fan!

Khaled,

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I finished in just two days. Like The Kite Runner, it has richly-developed characters with whom we laugh, cry, and hope. I had hoped for more for Mariam, but "more" would not have been realistic. Your version of her life was, I'm sure, the way things really would have been for her. I recommended your first book to countless people, and will do the same with your second...and I'm sure your third...and your fourth.... Congratulations. I can't wait for the next one.

I love The Kite Runner, which I read long after it was published. I thought for a long while it was a novel about a uni-bomber. I didn't know why I just didn't pick it up and read the blurb. I remember thinking, I need to read somethind different between historical romance binges I go through. I cannot read enough of this story. I cried and laugh and thought about this book long after I had finish reading it.

I wanted everyone I know to read this book, and so far, everyone who had loved it. I cannot wait to get my copy of this second book. I can't wait to read it! Amazon should have my copy in two days.

Dear Khaled,

Never on an internet site the word 'Home' was so well chosen.

I was very moved by The Kite Runner (and its beautiful translation). Thank you for painting a world that we know so little of. For letting me smell the the flowers, the fruits and the herbs of your youth. For showing also the beauty of your country the way it was before we came to know it by seeing it on tv on a daily basis while it was being devastated and sold. And for telling its terrible story of ruthless killings and display of power from within.

I hope that your new book will be as beautiful as this one.

Warm regards,
Monique
The Netherlands

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns--in two days. I was such a fan of The Kite Runner that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second novel. And it did not disappoint.

The author's heartwrenching accounts, realistic portrayals, and use of imagery, both pleasant and otherwise, truly lets the reader into the world that most of us will never know. Wonderful, wonderful novel. I would recommend it to anyone.

I can't wait for the next by Hosseini.

I just finished reading your second book last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel like I personally knew the characters by the time I got to the end. It was clearly one of those novels that you don't want to end because then, that is it.

I read The Kite Runner a couple of months ago and loved it. So, I was very excited to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. What I didn't know was that I would read it in 5 days, and finish it only wanting to start it all over again. I think it is one of the most moving books I have ever read. I love the book not only because it is a beautifully written story with characters who I genuinely care about, but also because it teaches me so much about Afghanistan, things I might never have known. And with this knowledge, I want to get involved to help refugees. I look forward to meeting you at your signing in Miami. Keep writing and I'll keep reading.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns...as one who knew little of Afghanistan or India or other places nearby, I eagerly read The Kite Runner. I was mesmerized by the story, the author's writing ability and the clear reality that fiction can offer. The men's lives of The Kite Runner will forever remain compelling to me.

This second book, however, provided a story which is a universal story of women. For me, it gave meaning to the picture we have all seen of a covered woman being shot by the Taliban in the stadium...This author has given not only that woman, but millions of woman a gift beyond anyone's imagination..the gift of meaning, of value, of worthiness and, above all, a model of victory...Thank you for using your wisdom and writing brilliance to reach beyond your medical skills and touch the heart of so many.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I work at a library and read "The Kite Runner" last year. I recommended it to anyone who would listen to me, six of whom took my advice. They each called me to ask me what else you had written. Sadly, I had to tell them it was your first book.
Then to my surprise I saw a review on Amazon of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" I put it on hold at my library before we had even processed it. I called my six friends to let them know.

I just this minute finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns". It did not disappoint. I followed Mariam through an unbelievable journey of love, heartache and life so unbearable and yet somehow I know this was life for so many women in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. Thank you for opening my eyes and allowing me to sense what these families experienced. So often I take my freedom and opportunity for a full life for granted. I will always think of Mariam, and Laila as I journey through the life I have yet to live.
Can't wait for you next book!
Thank you.
Barb o

Dr. Hosseini, you touched me again very deeply in a way that is difficult to describe. You are gifted with words; your intricate descriptions of everyday observations are brilliant and right on. You've softened my heart in a time when the world's people need more insight and understanding of one another. Yours is another novel that cautions me to humble myself (along with Kite Runner and another favorite of mine, The Sound of One Hand Clapping), as I have been shown once again, that it is impossible to know the depth and richness of most people, with only a look at their surface. You've said in interviews and in your acknowledgement that you were nervous about writing this novel, that Kite Runner had set the bar so high. Well, I think you managed to match your first novel, and then some. I find myself wanting to know more about your native country, to see pictures and meet Afghanistan's beautiful people. That is the mark of a great storyteller. Thank you for this life-changing experience! I feel like I am richer and yet I feel now, again, that I know more that there is so much I don't know.
Thank you, too, for showing me the true beauty of Islam as it is meant to be, contrasted so jarringly against the Islam so many of us in the West see in the news. How sad that those who would force an ugly form of Islam on the world don't understand that they are doing more to turn people away in horror, rather than woo them with the warm embrace of family and tradition that you show us with your book.
Bt the way, you might be pleased that we at Kaiser still claim you as one of ours! We are so proud.
Thank you. Great work!

Today I purchased my own copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns. I look forward to reading it once I am finished The God of Small Things.

I reviewed the Kite Runner on my blog. You may be interested to read my comments:
http://winstoninwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/04/kite-runner-khaled-hosseini.html

I look forward to reviewing your newest literary addition on my blog.

Dear Mr. Khaled Hosseini,

I just finished reading your second novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and just as your first novel "The Kite Runner", this book has moved me in such a way I cannot put into enough words. It amazes me as to how well you have portrayed the bold and brilliant women of Afghanistan. I am absolutely impressed by your work and I am so glad that writers such as yourself are the voice of so many unheard. I hope that you decide to write more novels, you have truely had an impact on my life.

Sincerely,

Krutika Gulvadi

You have a keen handle on female sensibility. Enchanting!

Dear Mr. Khaled Hosseini

I have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I just LOVED the book, as much as I loved The Kite Runner. It just flows so easily from beginning to end. You make your reader really get into the skin of your characters and all the backdrop to the novel is so vivid that finally I was quite exhausted when I finished it. It is a wonderful educational contribution as both books made me understand and get to know so much more about Afganistan, and understanding is the key to peace. Thank you for your two books and please, keep them coming.

Thank you for an astonishingly beautiful novel. The characters are unforgettable; their lives poignant and tragic. My constant hope for the world is for tolerance and humanity.

I picked up your book before it came extremely popular in the book fair at our school last year. I'm not a huge reader, but I thought it was time I'd pick something up to read. But I read the first chapter, and I found it was one of those books I couldn't put down.

I read for hours- at school, alone, anywhere... and I am such a slow reader, but I was almost thankful because I read every sentance carefully and I swear I enjoyed every paragraph as much as I do candy.
I'm 14 years old, I love to write, and I didn't really like to read that much because I could never find a book that interested me. But The Kite Runner was is my favorite book now. It wasn't just a great novel, but very informative. I really understand the culture better now and I have actually become very interested in it since then.

And when I had finished crying at the end, I looked you up to see if you had any other books. I could barely believe it was your first! Now that your new book is out I am so excited to read it!

Sorry to keep you, just couldn't resist... I admire you so much!
Good luck Mr. Hosseini! : )
-Sara Lydia

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I have just finished your second novel and was deeply gratified. It was at the very least, quite as wonderful as your first, perhaps more so, as I confess I loved the characters just a little bit more. Not only did I find it impossible to stop reading once I began, but also, without pushy political agendas, you created a window into a world that a young woman in Iowa would have no other way of ever knowing. Afghanistan leapt off of the page and the map and materialized into a real placein my mind's eye. I love those books like friends (which, I have to admit is not so uncommon for me, but nonetheless is relevant) and I would so like to thank you and encourage you. Continue your work, please! I'll keep reading.
Sincerely yours,
Thalassa Walter

I have to tell you that I was sobbing, literally, throughout almost the last half of the book. Your female characters in particular are so believable and inspirational in their ability to 'endure' as Mariam's mother pointed out at the outset would be a woman's lot in life.

As one of your Canadian readers, my first thought on completing the book was that every one in my country (but especially women) should read it in order to understand why our troops are presently fighting--and dying--in Afghanistan.

You have done a marvellous job Mr. Hosseini in humanizing the headlines most people scan over. Congratulations on this new book (I loved the Kite Runner too) and I hope you have many more books in you.

I was told by me boss who is the smartest women I know to read the Kite Runner, I kept thinking that I would not understand it. After her persistence I started reading it and I could not put it down I read till past 2AM. The Kite Runner become my favorite book ever, and I have recommened it to everyone, and everyone loves it. I just finished reading a Thousand Splendid Suns and it's just as amazing WOW. Mr. Hosseini has become my favorite author. Thank you : )

Dear Mr.Hosseini,
Just finished reading your second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns"....I was moved,shaken,angered,scared,felt all the emotions one can feel as a father,husband,brother can feel reading such a beautiful work. God bless good women...I am greatful to the women in my life.
Thankyou for your novels and, for the strengh to pursuing your DREAMS.

Sincerely,

John Reissiger.

P.S. I cannot wait for your next one.

Dear Mr Hosseini,

I needed to read your book. That's why I have taken this whole day to spend the time with Mariam and Laila, two very believable Afghan women whose stories must be true, in part, for many Afghan women. I sometimes had to stop reading because the tears blurred my vision. The question that comes to me so clearly is "Why would a man harm family members in the name of spirituality?

Jalil Khan came to the truth of his own actions too late to make amends to dear Mariam. How tragic to die without feeling forgiveness.

We Americans need to ask ourselves how we, with our economic ease, can help refugees who are struggling. Thanks for telling us about UNHCR. Now that I can better imagine the conditions of uprooted families, and hungry children, I will contribute.

Your book is amazing. Keep writing.

M. Bishop
Oregon

dear Mr. Khaled Hosseini
l done reading the kite runner it`s the best novel l read ever keep the good work and good luck
aisha al fadallah

Mr. Husseini - I resisted reading THE KITE RUNNER for many years because (I thought) I was not interested in learning about lands whose culture and history were so foreign to me. I finally gave in when a friend gave me the book for Christmas as a "must read." To say I regret having gone the past few years without experienced your lovely work is an understatement. I learned that every person from every country is a twin in soul and expectation of the worth of their existence. I am so happy to have found you. As an immigrant myself I related to your reflections on family love and interaction. Children are loved and the global common denominator is that people only want to wake up in the morning, embrace their family, earn a living, and return home to share their experiences with their loved ones. It is those who want to destroy that love who should be despised and aggressively challenged. You expressed it so beautifully. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My Mother loaned me A Thousand Splendid Suns on Friday and by 9:00 pm Saturday I had finished the book. I couldn't put it down. I haven't read a book in one day in years. It was beautifully written and touched my heart. I am getting ready to start the Kite Runner. I wanted to begin reading it today but I knew I wouldn't get any housework done because I wouldn't be able to put it down. I can't wait to see what you do next. Thank you so much for writing such a splendid book!

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns," which I brought home from the library yesterday afternoon. I have been captivated since I started it and couldn't stop reading even though I dreaded reaching the end.

To read what you have written in this book is like listening to a well told story while in a loving embrace. I marvel at the understanding and compassion which you convey, the welcoming brilliance of your descriptions.

I have read "The Kite Runner," several times. I was one of the many persons who picked it up because a respected friend recommended it, and I have both recommended and presented it to many people.

Thank you for the work, the heart, the spirit which you let us share in your books.

Dear Khaled

I am a mother and a physician. I read and was moved by your first book, but the second book shook me to my core. That women and mothers went through/are going through so much in some parts of the world, is very sad and chilling. All in the name of religion!!

We read and hear about Afganistan in the news all the time, but your books have made it very real.

Do keep writting
Meeta

I just wanted to let you know that you novel The Kite Runner helped me to better understand the conflict facing Afghanistan. I loved your book it was very entertaining.

Mr. Hosseini,

I just finished "Suns" and I believe I like it more than even "Kite Runner", and I positively loved that. When I think of the resiliency of the human spirit when confronted with catastrophic events, it can bring me to my knees. My own mother suffered similar horrors as a teenager in another place and time, and when I look at her, through fresh eyes for having read this book, and see the kind, decent, charitable, and God-loving woman she remains, carrying herself with a grace and dignity that is warm and inviting, I am struck speechless.
And I am not ashamed to tell you that when I read that last sentence, this grizzled and callused old carpenter went looking for the tissues. I need one now, just remembering.
God bless you.

Tc

West Haverstraw, NY

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I have read your novel "The Kite Runner" through a book group I was part of. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would love it so much. I am so grateful that my friends suggested your novel as our monthly read. It forever has changed the way I feel about great literary talent. Today I have finised your novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns". It took me all of two days to read in between my work schedule. The story you have written is so moving, so real, so heartfelt that I felt all the emotions of your characters within myself. I put myself in their place and experienced your country through the visions you described in your book. Mr. Hosseini, I commend you on your talent as an exceptional storyteller who can truly thread the reader right into your story.

Sue Brownell

I'm brazilian, I read your book, The Kite Runner, recently. This novel is fantastic.
Congradulation you conquered many peoples here with your book!
I do not see the hour of your new book to arrive in the bookstore from brasil for me to read.
Durval

Dear Mr. Hosseini-

I had the privilege of hearing you read at Fitch High School in Groton, CT on Sunday evening. It was a wonderful experience to hear the live reading and listen to the Q&A session afterwards. I very much appreciate that you were willing to sign books and am pleased that my beloved copy of The Kite Runner now has your signature.

There were many people at the event, and I did not want to hold up the book signing line so I thought I would post a comment on your blog. I have had the opportunity to read your first novel with both my high school and community college students. Unequivocally, this is a novel that really speaks to all types of readers. I am grateful that such a high interest, historically and culturally important book exists to share with my students.

The morning of your reading at Fitch, I also had the chance to read Lisa See's review of A Thousand Splendid Suns in the New York Times. While I did feel that in some ways she was complimentary, I did not agree with the overall tone of her review. Her comments about transitions in particular seem unfounded. Additionally, she implied that the female narrative point of view was a bit forced coming from a male writer. I couldn't disagree more with this criticism. As a woman, especially as a mother, I think the narrative style showed great expertise and a truly genuine voice (or voices, I should say) emerged throughout the text. I posted a rebuttal to See's review at http://1percentmoreconscious.blogspot.com/.

As Diane Rehm mentioned on her NPR program, your second novel does in fact rival the first; both show profound ability to show the delicate, intimate personal aspect of a difficult historical and contemporary period.

I look forward to reading more of your work in the future. Thank you so much for both novels; they are a pleasure to read the first time around as well as subsequent reads. Though I teach many reluctant readers, I have yet to meet a student that has not finished your book.

Mostly, I appreciate the fact that you end A Thousand Splendid Suns with the UN Refugees web site. The experiences of your compelling characters could inspire any reader to want to help and make a difference.

Khaled Hosseini

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

I have just completed reading your novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I must tell you that it has been quite awhile since I have been so moved by reading a novel. This novel is one of the most poignant literary pieces I have ever read. Besides the incredible imagery and character development, one learns a great deal about Afghanistan, its past and painful present.

Thank you so much for your unequaled literary effort!

Don McCall

Dear Mr. Hossenini, I thought there was no better book than the Kite Runner until I read A Thousand Splendid Suns. It was so touching. I read it in Two Nights. I work at a library and we now have 350 holds through out the system. We would love to have you speak here in Peabody Ma. if you are ever in the area. I cannot tell you how very much I enjoyed your new book. Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lorraine Peabody, Massachusetts

Dear Dr. Hosseini,
To my regret I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, as fast I read it, I didn't ever want the end to come. Everything else I read pales in comparison to your work. I will never forget Mariam or Lalia and my heart aches for the countless women who I know your characters' lives mimic. It is heartbreaking. The Kite Runner touched me as well. I can't express to you how your stories have affected me. You are such a gifted writer. I have recommended Kite Runner to everyone I know and they call when they finish it and we cry together over Hassan and Amir and marvel at your ability to teach us about life in Afghanistan. Now I have another book to share. Please keep writing.

Hi Khaled
I have just fininished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I can honestly say that it is one of the most profound heart-wrenching stories, I have ever read.
I walked every step of the way with those two women, and many tears were shed for the lives of these two wonderful characters. May this just be the beginning of a wonderful career of a very awe inspiring novelist

hi mr hosseini bravoo ...
can i write persian to you ?
salam baradar mashreghi ketabe avaletoon dar iran be nam badbadak baz targome shode age be estelah ma iraniha pinglish minevisam baray ine ke betoonam ehsasam ro behtar begam ...oonghadr vaghei bood ke nemitoonestam bavar konam amir hamoon khaled nist delam mikhast az shoma beporsam sohrab belakhare harf zad va hal sorayya khoobeh? ....khaled hosseini azaiz man inja dar iran baray yek ketabe sade 3 mah o nime ke montazere mojaveze chap hastam va maloom nist ke taze be man ejaze chap bedan ya na... begzarim ...az khoondan ketabe zibay shoma lezzat bordam va baray avalin bar didam be afghanha avaz shod va ehsas kardam ke ma sharghiha cheghadr be ham shabih hastim ....dar entezar chap ketab dovometoon dar iran mimoonam shad va salamat bashid....

I just finished The Kite Runner this morning. In the last 48 hours I have never been so moved by any book I've ever read in my 37 years.

Reading the booking was definitely more than just entertainment for me. I have become fascinated with the history and peoples of Afghanistan, esp. the Hazara people. You have made history come alive for me, instead of hearing from CNN and AP snippets of coverage about the sufferings abroad.

Thank you for this book. You have a gift and you should continue to tell stories.

Dear Mr Hosseini,
After reading 'The Kite Runner' I thought there was no way your second novel could even come close to being as good. But after reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' in less than 24 hours I take it all back. ATSS is even BETTER than TKR.
You are an amazing writer - what a gift you have.
I will never forget Mariam and Laila - what beautiful, strong women. To think that there are real Mariams and Lailas out there truly breaks my heart - your books have touched my life and I thank you for that.
Hurry up and write your third book!
Best wishes,
Karen

Dear Mr. Hosseini,I enjoyed both of your books and I am anxiously awaiting a third (I hope you plan to write one). I wonder, if Miriam had met with her father, would he have been able to take her away from her husband, or would custom have forbid it? I so wanted her life to be better. Your books gave me a greater understanding of the situation in Afghanistan.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Like so many readers, I was deeply moved by The Kite Runner. Consequently, I found myself eagerly awaiting the arrival of A Thousand Splendid Suns in stores. And honestly, the wait was well worth it! I devoured the book in a single sitting, and could barely contain myself. I didn't think it could be possible to top The Kite Runner, but it seems you have. Congratulations!

But most importantly, thank you. You have used your literary talents to give voice to a culture that is often misunderstood in the United States. And in these turbulent times, it is refreshing to see someone approach the turmoil in the Middle East with honesty and compassion. The humanity depicted in your novels serves to remind us all of what life could be.

And for this reason, colleagues and I selected The Kite Runner (before the publication of A Thousand Splendid Suns) as our summer reading assignment for students entering their junior year at our high school in the fall. We only hope we can do justice to your work in our teaching. So, if you've any suggestions, or would care to correspond with students regarding your work, please let me know. I would be happy to pass information along to my colleagues, and I assure you that our students would delight in hearing your thoughts and sharing comments.

With kindest regards,
Lori Michalec
Tallmadge High School

Hosseini Saheb,

Thank you is not sufficiant so I must explain to you what your writing means to me. After reading your first novel, The Kite Runner,I suffered for months the lingering pain in my heart over the sensitive narration. Somehow, it went deep into my psyche. The language,the prose with farsi phrases expressed the exact emotion in deapth.
Then out came your second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, I finished in a day. I suffered with rhe women characters, their silent pain, sufferings and the sacrifices. Being Indian by birth, how well do I understand the stronghold of tradition in culture? The power of society, customs and relatives perpetuate the authority over women. How women accept it as their lot. How well you have portrayed the inner strength of the helpless women through characters-Mariam and Laila.
I must express my deep gratitude for sharing this powerful gift with us. These characters are real and still suffering in 21 cetury.
I am proud of your involvement with UN project which not only satisfies your work but tells you numerous untold stories of their sufferings.

Thank you,

A fond reader,
Shubh Bala from Austin, Texas

mr. hosseini.

i read your book --THE KITE RUNNER several months ago and i must say that i simply love that book..
the story line grabbed me and would not let go.

i was told of your book by a friend and so i bought your book and i must say ----WOW !!!!

I COME TO TEARS NOW JUST THINKING ABOUT --THE KITE RUNNER !!!!

so you can imagine my surprise and happiness when i read that your second book was out --i was doing a happy dance !!!!!

so know i am in the middle of this book and i cannot let it go-i am already drawn into the womens lives. .
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THEM HOME FOR ME and when you are out doing book signing and what ever you will have me in your lines--if you are ever close to memphis !!!!!

thank you very much
chris higdon

Mr Hosseini,

I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns"; I had also read "The Kite
Runner". Your second novel is as captivating as the first; you are
both storyteller and teacher. Are you a practicing physician as well?

The lack is probably mine for not knowing more about the Afghan
culture, but I was surprised that the intelligent, spirited Mariam so
quickly became a reclusive, fearful piece of property after marriage.
Yet she rediscovered her former self when confronted with crisis.

Thank you for sharing your heritage in such compelling stories with
such "real" characters (even though you draw the males more
convincingly than the females). I look forward to the next story.

Halelani

Hello Khaled,

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" after much anticipation for your second novel. Once again you brilliantly captured the essense of the book's characters and allowed the reader to live through their eyes.

Your writing depicts the true atrocities that have occurred in Afghanistan and in both of your novels I have been moved to tears about the inhumane treatment of women and children.

Lastly, for the sake of all of your devout literary fans, myself included, please never stop writing. While being a physician is an incredibly noble occupation, and you help heal the sick. You're writing helps heal the souls of millions.

Sincerely,

Jill Matthews
San Jose, CA

Dear Mr. Hossein,

Thank you for such an amazing story!

Marta

A Thousand Splendid Suns.... le plus beau livre que j'aie jamais lu. Merci M. Hosseini d'avoir écrit ce livre qui est un hymne à la Vie, à la Femme, à la Liberté.
Et je remercie Dieu? Allah? Bouddah? d'être née dans un pays, la France où la liberté est un droit acquis dès la naissance. Il nous reste encore à espérer en l'égalité....
Encore merci et bonne chance à toutes les Laila, Maryam du monde entier....
Blandine

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I would like to thank you for writing two amazing books. I never really had much interest when it came down to reading a book but when I read your first book “The Kite Runner“, it made me realize that if the topic interests me, I do enjoy reading. But nonetheless, I loved “The Kite Runner”, it brought tears in my eyes many times and I learned a lot. After finishing that book, I realized your second book “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was to publish May 22nd. Believe It or not, I went and bought it that same day it came out at 8am. I couldn’t get enough of that book, I enjoyed reading every chapter and once again many tears were shed as I read along. I have now finished the second book and just want to thank you for your two wonderful books. Your books gave me a better understand of the situation in Afghanistan because I was young when I left Afghanistan so your books have truly touched my heart. I wish hope you are planning on writing another book.

Bravo Khalid jaan

Sincerely,

Raela
Toronto Canada

Hi --

Last Monday, my cousin gave me a copy of The Kite Runner. I confess that I have never read a single English novel in my entire life! Just to please her, I started reading the book. The read gave me an amazing, wonderful and an unexplainable joy, I must say.
If I ever get to read another English novel in my life -- which I hope I will -- it will only be because of you. You introduced me to the joy of fiction. Bravo.

My eyes are droopy today because I finished the second half of A Thousand Splendid Suns at 4:00 a.m. this morning, having consumed the first half last weekend. I winced as I read the accounts of Mariam and Laila. I am amazed at your ability to write from a behind-the-burqua perspective, and disappointed with the trials Mariam had to endure throughout her life. I found myself wondering why you could not have her reconcile with Jaili when they were both still alive. In any case, the vivid imagery and touching story will remain with me for quite some time. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I just read the book The Kite Runner, and I loved it! The plot is absolutely amazing, and the messages are extremely powerful.

Because I wanted to share with my whole english class, how wonderful the book is, and to encourage everyone to read it, I decided that I will do my final project on The Kite Runner.

As I am doing a "step into the shoes of the author" presentation,may I please ask you a couple of questions that will help me find out more information about your thoughts on The Kite Runner, and about yourself.

First I would really want to know what was your intent in writing The Kite Runner, as well as what part of the novel interests you most, and why.I am also wondering which section of the book you found most challenging to write and why.

May I please know what is your favourite song at all times, as I would like to play it softly in the background during my presentation. Also, I would love to know what is your favourite quote at all times or from the book, as I would want to start my presentation with it.

Thank you very much Mr. Hosseini for your help, and for writing The Kite Runner, a very fascinating, and thoughtful story, that teaches everyone who reads it valuable life lessons.

I just got your new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I am really excited to start reading it !

Please answer on my e-mail address andrei_tuchi@yahoo.com . Thank you very much again, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Your fan,

Andrei

Dr. Hosseini,

What a pleasure to read your book. Ilook forward to reading your second. I also appreciated your comments I saw on Book TV on C-SPAN.

I came away at the end thinking I got it. Sohrab IS Afghanistan. I pray that we, The United States and NATO who are currently it's stewards, can help heal the deep and disurbing wounds that exist.

Many of those wounds are certainly self-inflicted but many are a direct result of larger conflicts going on around her and then abject neglect on our part. We were not wise.

Based on your prose it is obvious that the effort is worth it.

Sincerely,
Hurley

Mr. Hosseini,

I am an avid reader, partial to Middle Eastern, African, and Indian novels. I do own your first novel, The Kite Runner, however I have not yet had the opportunity to read it. With so many new books making their debut (What is the What, The Reluctant Fundamentalist ..etc.) I have fallen behind in my reading. When I found out you were coming to Portland in one week, I was forced to jump into your second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

A splendid surprise it was. It is wonderful. The book captures such an rich picture of the characters that I've become so attached to them, as if I know them. I laugh when they laugh, my stomach aches when they hurt, and I'm always worrying about what will happen next.

This is a book I am proud to walk around with and to engage in conversation about.

Thank you, I will be reading The Kite Runner next ..and you have gained a loyal reader.

I've never commented about a book before on an author's web site, but I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and I wanted to let you know that I thought it was brilliant. I'm always surprised when male writers seem to be able to see into the hearts of women characters. I loved The Kite Runner but A Thousand Splendid Suns surpasses it.

Dear Khaled:

Your writing is a universal perscription for understanding and healing. I am looking forward to seeing you in Coral Gables on June 24th. Thank you.

The Kite Runner. Poignant,sad,beautiful,inspiring,and also a terrible truth about what humans do to humans.
A wonderful read. Could not put it down. Thank you. Can't wait to read the next one.

Dear Khaled,
This morning, I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, put the book down, and cried.

Then I went to my computer, logged on to the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website (www.UNrefugees.org), and set up an automatic monthly donation to UNHCR.

I know this is a small thing compared to the enormity of refugee tragedies throughout the world. But it is a step nonetheless. And when many people take such a step, it can become part of a larger journey toward a saner, more compassionate world. That is my hope, at least.

I encourage anyone who reads your books and is moved by them to donate to UNHCR.

Thank you for both of your fearless and compasionate books.
~Tina

Mr. Hosseini,
Shalom from Israel.
I absolutely loved The Kite Runner and I have convinced all of my friends to read it. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on your new book. Based on what I've heard it sounds like in going to love this one too.
Kol Hakavod- Well Done!
Dina

Asalaam Alaikum Mr. Hosseini,

My name is Ms. Tiffany (Mariam) George. I am Muslim by choice, American by nationality and multi-cultural by nature. I am 37. I have spent time in Bahrain for one year. I have traveled to Pakistan (for one glorious month!) and so, needless to say, I am fairly familiar with the cultures. I first picked up your book The Kite Runner in a used book store....not sure if I had come across a "find". The second I read the first page, I knew this would be a book with grace and a powerful message. I want to tell you that as soon as I have the money, I will be buying your new book. My excitement is overwhelming! Your book took me away from reality for a while each day and I believe this new one will too. Kudos to your success! I wish I had the gift of words like you do.

Thank you for such quality writing. I think you should make one of your books into a movie!

Ms. George

Thank you for the two beautiful books you wrote.
This morning i finished your second book, a story, so touching I will never forget.
Susan,
the Netherlands

Mr Hosseini,

I just wanted to say I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns last night, and although I haven't finished the novel yet, I must admit that you have once again delivered a stunning heart warming gut wrenching novel. I was initially skeptical as to whether you would be able to recreate the magic of Kite Runner in your second novel. You have proved that you could. I'm very selective about the books I read and the authors I enjoy reading and you truly are on the top of the list. You inspire me to not just read but also to write. Thank You

Salaam Mr Hosseini,

Im so proud of you and your book. Through your book i kow so much about my country. I love your 2 books and really hope to see u once in my life and just say how great u write.

Betarin Kitab nuwashta kadden!

Best regards Hossai

I just this moment finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and was wishing there were many more chapters to let me stay with Laila, Tariq and the children. Never have I been so moved by characters in a work of fiction and I find myself not believing that these heroic character are simply figments of your imagination. Sadly, there are probably thousands of women for whom Mariam and Laila speak and you have given voice to their plight in such an eloquent manner. How much we Americans take for granted the everyday conveniences in our lives and how much grace your women show in the absence of virtually all of them. The "Kite Runner" is sitting on my desk and I can hardle wait to begin another journey to your birth country that has suffered so at the hands of zealots. Thank you for the marvelous opportunity to have met two such splendidly awesome women.

Salam Mr.Khaled Hosseini:
I cant thank you and praise you enough for what you have managed to create. I have always had a hard time picking up a book and actually finishing it to the end. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is over 300 pgs..in my mind it would have taken me yrs to finish. As soon as i saw it in the bookstore i thought: "My own afghan wrote this"...i have to see what its about, ive heard wonderful things about the Kite Runner(which i did not read yet-sorry to say) so i figured i would go backwards and read this first. I was shocked to finish this book in less then a week! I became so wrapped up into it that when reading at work, i would take a break to use the bathroom and literally tear for few minutes because of the feeling that went through me, the emotions that you were able to exert.
Reading the comments posted to you makes me proud to know that for once, our own afghan man is willing to speak from the woman's heart and soul as well as the heart and soul of the country and its hiostory. the way you were able to bring about some of the history into the book was wonderful because i learned a summary version of things which makes me want to go out and do some serious reading on the details of our history which i havent done yet....
I praise you for your words and way of writing.I have never been so touched by any book that i ever picked up, nor have i ever finished a book in such speed that i did. I'm honored and so happy to know that someone like you is out there, touching and changing lives but also opening up eyes and doors for many others who just dont know or cannot see because it isnt their fault. I cant wait to read the Kite Runner. I hope it doesnt make me cry like this book did. I truly hated the fact that Mariam had to make the sacrifice; i really really wanted her to go with laila, there was a way and i knew she could have taken it...i wished Mariam could have gone back to kolba with Laila and see and experience what Laila was allowed to but then again it woulndt be as powerful as it was if everything ended with a perfect happy ending; it would not have been realistic and probably would not have touched so many people, so i guess i understand. No one ever asks what those women, the innocent children feel, but you were able to reveal that. In our culture there seems to be a disregard for the children's voice and the women's voice, part of the reason why i think we are still a behind. Is it the culture or is the people who run the country i often ask myself. I guess thats a whole different topic thats better left as is for now.
I praise you from the bottom of my heart and i pride myself in afghans like you. I am tired of the afghans who see in one direction, who just cant look at the bigger picture, who are so wrapped up in the negatives of their personal lives and in themselves and forget that they are the lucky ones that got out. I thank you for making a difference and i cannot wait to meet you in Virginia for your book signing. It will be a pleasure and honor to thank you in person and shake your hand!
I hope that the new generation of afghans will learn to look at this culture from a different and more open minded perspective.

You give us hope in the way you make us feel.

May God Bless you. Khudowand as nazare bad negaytonkona!

Omayra

Salamz Khaleed
i only picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns because the author for Kite Runner was same but next thing i know that i finished the book in one sitting. Amazing novel, thankyou for writing such a nice book, which in fiction is so true about how things are.

Khuda Hafiz

Imran

i went to my uni library one night looking for books to occupy my weekend..among others, i found yours..THE KITE RUNNER..i love the cover (here's one cliche..i judge books from their covers)..so i picked THE KITE RUNNER and scan the book after studied the synopsis..well, i loved what i read and decided THE KITE RUNNER to keep me a company the weekend..i just finished reading it now Mr. Hossein and i am stunned..it was a great book..a great journey..a great life..you are a great writer..i fall in love with all the characters..they are so real! THE KITE RUNNER is full of emotion..i cant wait to read your second novel.

Just for the record..i was taken aback to find out that you are still a young handsome man..thought (from the way you write..sagely) you are already 50 or somethin'.

MALAYSIA LOVE YOU MR HOSSEIN

Salaam!!

I cannot believe i just saw you last wednesday at The Bass Hall in Downtown Ft.Worth!! It was just phenomenal meeting you...we took a picture with you too and it will hopefuly appear in the newspapers! I remember i could hardly contain myself upon seeing the creator of the Kite-Runner (my no.1 book beside harry potter).
I started reading the Thousand Splendid Sun (the one that you signed last week!) just last night around midnight and i couldnt stop until dawn broke and the day progressed until i finished it eventually.
I must confess i am a fast reader but i don't remember reading a book as fast as this, because those two women that you created had occupied my mind entirely and it seemed as if i laughed with them, and even cried with them...most of the pages of the book were wet by my tears...
I do not have any more words to describe the prodigious works of yours!!
I await the publication of your other works with great impatience!

Mr. Hosseini,

I have been an avid reader as along as I can remember. I tend to latch onto writers and read all that they produce. I have been searching for a writer as talanted as some of those I remember from childhood. I was ecstatic to find you and your book "The Kite Runner". You are possibly one of the best writers that I have experienced. I am extremely anxious to read your next book. I am a high school librarian at an all girls school and plan to have the them read "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Thank you so much for sharing your talent and your country.

Lauren Hirth

Khaled:
You have written the most touching, feeling and human book I have ever read. Amir and Hassan and the intertwined lives they shared were truly beautiful and heartfelt. You handled your words with great sensitivity and depth. Thank you a thousand times over for it. Maybe God continue to watch over Afghanistan and all of its people and may we all as human beings recognize one day that we all bleed the same color.

Salaam Khaled! I am reading The Kite Runner presently and not a moment goes by that my eyes are not filled with tears. I was born in 1968 and I do not know Afghanistan any other way than how it is today - until your brilliant book. How glorious the Afghani culture is and I'm learning so much more (thus, my greeting to you). How prosperous and rich your country was not too long ago - my heart aches for those who are still suffering in this war-torn country. I pray to God, to Allah, that someday Afghanistan may return to her glory.

May you and your family be blessed with health, happiness and peace.

Barbara

Mr. Hosseini,

I am nineteen years old--a political science and comparative literature double major. However, despite my young age, I have searched for years for an author I can relate to--someone who speaks to me through their writing. The Kite Runner became my favorite book one second after I had finished reading it. A Thousand Splendid Suns has most certainly established you as the writer I hope to someday become.
Your literature has touched my heart in quite inexplicable ways. I cry with your books and I can connect so deeply with your characters. No other book, no other writer has done that for me.
Thank you for your brilliance...your sensitivity...your kindness...your understanding of deep human suffering, of love, of women, of family.
Thank you for your ability to translate the most complex of emotions..
Thank you for making me believe in literature and its power.
I hope to see you at your book signing.
My warmest regards,
Vassi Iliadis

Hi...

At one-thirty last night, I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns...could NOT put it down and when I tried to sleep before finishing it, sleep just did not come.

I read The Kiterunner last year, and immediately went to my computer and tried to find what OTHER books you had written. None! I scanned the best seller lists for news of a new novel by you...and finally, finally, it came out and I immediately got it and read it...

You are a magician with words. Im a 70 year old retired teacher, and only regret I will mostly likely have to wait for the NEXT one...and at my age...PLEASE WRITE SOON!! ( is it presumptuous of me to assume you will be writing yet another one?)

Thank you so much...your books have been the hightlights of the past few years of reading novels.

Walt Seekircher

mr hosseini

i have to send you this quick blog

i was at the dentist yesterday and i was reading your book --"suns"

and i was reading ----chapter 8-----
and i was so over welmed by ---"mariam"
that i was talking out loud and saying --" way to go girl and laughing and could not belive it that she saw him for who he was .
and then i started to cry.

and my dentist looked at me and asked me ---are you crying ---and all i could do was shake my head.
i was so over whelmed --

thank yo sir
chris higdon

Hi...

Just finished reading A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS....I loved the book....It opened my eyes to the reality of life. Your work is spell bounding..I thank you for gifting the world with your great talent of writing.

Hi Mr Khaled,

I have read your "Kite Runner" and I was so impressed with the story and it does until now, never a book can tell a story that made me think such a long-long way country to become so close in my mind. Inspired by your book I learned from many materials about Afghanistan.
Today I found information telling about your new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and suddenly I told to my wife who can't wait your next book in Indonesia.
And also I can't wait for the Kite Runner movie in November 2007. I hope it will be as great as the book.
You have a lot of big fans here, I hope you can visit....

My warmest regards to you and your family,
Reza Ardiansyah
Jakarta

Dear Khaled,
did you realize how strong can be the impact of your books for the hearts of a lot of readers ? We find your novels THOUSAND TIMES better of any hystorical book to explain about Afghans and Afghanistan. Me and my wife Roberta, we are grateful to you to give us this opportunity in reading your Literature (both novels) in a world full of "trash". Go on like this, don't stop in giving us so strong emotions and describing so good your country and your people. Next nobel prize should be your.

We wish you well
Carlo e Roberta, together with many Italian friends

Salaam Kahled,

I am writing you this message to thank from the deep of my heart for sharing with us your spirits in the Kite Runner.

I have heard about your book since it was published but ultimately I started reading it last night and finished it today morning. I had to fight against my eyes for about 24 hours. The Kite Runner took me into an intense journey to be-loved, pained Afghanistan. I do not remember when was the last time my eyes teared from a story, The Kite Runner broke my heart. It is the best I have ever red in years! All the respect to you Kahled!

As soon I finished reading the Kite Runner, I immediately ordered your second book “Thousand Splendid Suns” and cannot wait to start reading it.

Myself, I am from Palestine, another painful spot in the Orient! Many parts of the Kite Runner I could re-call from my own life and memories! Since 2002 I live in the Netherlands and work as a lawyer.

I really hope, one day you will visit the Netherlands and I will be honoured to meet you in person.

Best regards,

Salaam,

Sliman Abu Amara

Dr. Hosseini:

I join thousands of readers of your two books around the world heaping generous praises for your remarkable, soaring story-telling gifts. I just put down 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' after only two days of being transfixed by the beauty of your words and the depth and resonance of the characters you shape and give life to. Spellbinding, indeed. I have never written to an author before - mainly because I have not been as moved by a novel in many years as I have have by 'Suns' ... I have yet to read 'The Kite Runner,' but from all the reviews, I know it will be as thoroughly riveting a literary read as many have already said it is. Your vivid, textured portrayal of individual lives (Mariam, Laila, Tariq, Jalil) intertwined with a rich sweep of Afghanistan's history and struggles is breathtaking. Thank you for giving the world a 'connection of empathy and hope' through your two books. All the very best.

Neric Acosta, Philippines

Mr. Khaled,

I cannot say anything that has not been said. As one who cannot imagine life without books, all I can say is thank god you write......you are god gifted. There are not many who can write like you do. The only othe writer I can think of is Rohinton Mistry. And the only other books I can think of is "The Grapes of Wrath" or "To Kill A Mockingbird"

I read The Kite Runner ages ago. And I cannot bear to re-read it because you made me cry. I bought "A Thousand Splendid Suns" as soon as it came out but I have not read it. I am savouring the wait. I know I will love it. But if I read it, I will finish it in a day, I know. I much rather know it is there and I can read it. It is still not read!!!!

I am speechless and you are the Best. I CANNOT wait to read your second novel.

Hello Khaled,

I ran across your book, Kite Runner, today at the bookstore and paused when I saw your name. It felt familiar to me and brought me back to High School. I believe you to be the same person with whom I shared a few classes. I have already read the first chapter and cannot wait to have a quiet moment to sit and read the rest of the book. Your writing is graceful...I remembered you as always being kind and thoughtful. It's nice to read that your books are being appreciated.
Best of luck with your second novel.

Sincerely,
Bereit Eineichner

2007/06/14

I started reading 1000 splendid suns last Sat. and finished it by next day. I couldn't put the book down. It is fantastic and I am so proud of you for being such an honest and creative story teller. The kite Runner was the story every Afghan Kid living in Afghanistan and abroad in that period of time, but the story of 1000 spendid suns is the story of every woman's strugle in life, no matter where they live. I loved it. Keep up the good work.

Dear Mr Khaled,

Grazie, grazie, grazie ("Thank you" in Italian) for writing such a fantastic book!
The Kite runner has been so moving, so catching, so interesting I simply couldn't manage to leave it apart to study for my university exam...;-)
I LOVED IT, got fond of Hassan and Amir, ofBaba and of sweet Sohrab, and your amazing writing has really touched my heart in depth.
It was also shocking for me to get the sense that Talibans belong to humanity indeed, despite their cruelty, and assisting, though partially, to the growth of one of them (nasty Assef, I've hated him so much!) made me think that the world's future is in the hand of education, and a book like yours should be read for centuries, for all those people whoo still play with racism, not understanding what it could take to.
Thank you so much again, you've been great.
Looking forward to reading "A thousand splendid suns"...:-)
Veronica, Milan, Italy

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Having read The Kite Runner in less than 24 hours, I couldn't wait to grab a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns.I just finished reading it. I have no words. Beeing Bosnian, I've been through the war myself. I don't want to compare our tragedies, however, I need to say that what happened in Afghanistan is beyond belief. I can't wait for the chance to visit your beautiful country.
Your book, Mr. Hossaini, has changed something inside me, forever. Please keep writing.

Azra

Dear Mr. Hosseini-

I just finished your new book which is just as phenomenal as your first. God has gifted you with brilliance, talent and excellence. Thank you for sharing your work with the world. I could not put either of these books down once I started them. Thank you....!!!

I have almost finished churning through "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and am experiencing those contrary feelings familiar to readers when they are completeing an emotionally entrancing story, a compulsive need to know the how the story plays out, yet not wanting the pleasure of reading it to end, leaving a hollow space to be filled where the story once was.

Mr. Hosseini,
I purchased The Kite Runner in the airport on my way to spend a weekend with my boyfriend at his training base in Kansas before he deployed to Kabul for a year. Our discussions were lively for those three days! He has now been in Afghanistan for a few months and has read the book also. I believe your perspective has helped him form his own. He has conveyed that there is a dramatic mixture of beauty and suffering. Your book gave us both more meaning to his mission. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I read The Kite Runner at the time when I have questioned my own personal integrity. In addition to painting a more accurate picture of your beautiful and long-suffering country, you painted an even more accurate picture about the human character. I recognized myself in almost all characters in the book. It was the great comfort to me to be assured by you that we, as humans, contain an equal capability of being devoted and compassionate, and at the same time, inconceivably cruel towards each other.
I loved the book so much because it talks about how a wrong decision to do or not to do something can haunt you all your life. It also shows and confirms the fact that life always gives you a second chance. You can be good again and although the person you hurt may not benefit from your goodness, someone else will.
I consider The Kite Runner one of the greatest acquisitions in this lifetime of mine and for that I am so grateful to you. I already gave it to so many people as a gift and I can tell you that your book changed all of their lives in some way.

Please,please, never stop writing!

Your forever faithful reader

Jelena Glumac

Hey Khaled,

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and it was FANTASTIC!!! You are such a great author and I appreciated every page of that book. I also read Kite Runner and I love the way you captured the culture and language of Afghanistan so that myself and other Americans could understand it. Before reading these books Afghanistan was a scary place to me (due to the Taliban of course) because I am only 21 and most of my academic life they have been in control. Thank you for teaching me the beauty of Afghanistan and sharing a taste of its culture.

Also, for many years I have been against war over seas and the USA intervening in other nations "problems" but after reading this book, I now see the how it has benefited the people who live there. Many Americans like myself dont appreciate our freedom and mostly we worry about how the Taliban, Al-Queda and other terrorits have effected us without thinking of how they affect the people.

Tashkor!

Dr. Hosseini,
Since returning to UGA, it had been several years since I had picked up a book to read for pleasure.
I cannot tell you how pleased I am that my choice was The Kite Runner. Your writing leaves a haunting impression and a lasting reminder that life's struggles know no cultural boundaries. We are all united in the human experience, are we not?
I could not wait to move on to A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was moved on an even more personal level.
Now, what do I read, Dr. Hosseini? I'm afraid that is the problem with writing such as yours. One cannot wait to get to the end of the book, then is sad to have no more to read.
I will anxiously await your next insights into the hearts of those you choose to portray.
Thank you so much.
Cindy
Oxford,GA

Mr. Hosseini,

I read the "Kite Runner" the week it came out and found it to be one of the most touching and brilliant stories I have ever read. I cried and laughed and couldn't put it down until I was finished. I just heard that your second book has come out and can't wait to get my hands on it. As a fellow Afghan (and Kizilbash at that), your talent in bringing stories alive is inspirational. MK,Esq.

Please let us know if you need more paper & pencils to continue your wonderful writing! I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns - it is so nice to see beautiful Afghanistan through your loving eyes - thank you for opening the window to see that we all do have more in common that differences.

May you have a Thousand Splendid Suns!

Dear Khaled,

I just finished to read "Thousand Splendid Suns", which I could not put down once I started, as many other readers.

I read many books, but this is the first time that I feel the need to personally thank the author.

Thank you for telling us in such a passionate, simple and touching way stories from Afghanistan, from women, men and children. Your books enreached the heart and the life of the people who read them.

Grazie!

Katia
(Italy)

hi mr. hosseini,
i was a freshman in college this past year and we had to read your book The Kite Runner in honor of our new president who was from Afghanistan. In my classes we had several projects from the book such as term papers, presenations. And your book became one of my favorites reading it around 3 times. And i got your new book yesterday from Borders, and im on the last chapter already. Your a great writer just thought id share :)

I just want you to know.. I finally read The Kite Runner 2 months ago..
I cried like a child...
I believe it should be required reading in our High Schools... I believe many of our jaded self-involved youth will gain from the read and hopefully learn compassion.

I look forward to reading the next novel. I will not wait a year to read it..

Thank you

Hi Khaled,
you left me speachless and rich inside this time as well. I suffered with your characters but I also felt their joy and love. You say most comes from your imagination. But you can see deep inside people's feelings because the emotions are real!!!!

Thank you for telling me this story!!!
This made me feel good.

I can't wait to read your next book.
Tonia
Altamura ,Bari ITALY

Dear Mr. Hosseini

There is not much I can say really, because everyone who has commented have said exactly what I felt when I read Kite Runner. I did have starting problems with the book, where I started and never went past a certain page. It happened twice but the third time around when I started all over, there was not stopping.

It was love at third sight to be precise. You have an amazing skill of writing. There is pain, beauty, emotions, brilliance, simplicity. Not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes too and when I tried explaining certain incidents from the book to my husband, I just could not do it and was choking.

Have been looking on the web about information on your next book. Just found out yesterday about A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can not wait to get my hands on it.

Thank you for giving us such a masterpiece. I am sure Thousand Suns will be another masterpiece. Like everyone here, let me also say that please do not stop writing.

I will stop here by saying..."For you, a thousand times over !"

Thank you
Jayashree, Melbourne.

Your books have touched me in the way no others have. This afternoon I finished "A Thousant Splendid Suns" and I closed it with tears streaming down my face. Last year the book club I belong to read "The Kite Runner." We were all so impressed by it; everyone agreed that it was an awesome read. I did not want to read a book about war because I read about it in the newspaper daily. You have opened my mind and heart to the people of Afghanistan and I constantly wonder how the USA could go to war under false pretenses. It would not surprise me to see "A Thousand Splendid Suns" as a winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature. Many splendid thanks to you.

Susan, Orange County, California

I just finished A Thousand Spendid Suns. It moved me even more than The Kite Runner. Thank you for introducing me to the history and people of Afghanistan. They now have special meaning for me and a place in my heart.

Thank you,
Candice

Dr. Khaled,

I first saw you on C-span Book TV a few weeks ago and decided that minute to buy both of your books which I did 5 days ago. I gave Kite Runner to my daughter to read first and I chose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. Today, 5 days later, we have finished our respective novels and exchanged one for the other, both of us eager to read the other one.

As I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns I prayed for the Taliban to be somehow swept off the face of the earth forever. I gave thanks I live as a free woman in America. You have captured the very essence of love and courage in this book. And, this may sound rather strange, but I even found myself wanting to taste some of the foods the characters ate, foods which I've never tasted but seemed quite appealing.

My God bless these people of Afghanistan and give them some peace at long last.

Dear Khaled, I have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I'm so moved that I'm sitting here writing with tears in my eyes. I thank you so much for making the people of Afghanistan so real and their awful suffering so believable.I loved The Kiterunner too and could not get it out of my mind and could hardly wait for your next book. You are a wonderful writer and so easy to read and you make the people come alive.
Looking forward to your next book!
Thank you! Lottie, VernonBC Canada

Mr. Hosseini,

I really loved the Kite Runner and have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. They are both fantastic stories. I also hear the Kite Runner film will be coming out in November and I can't wait for it. Thank you for writing such great novels

your fan,
Rohit

Hi Khaled,

Someone gave me the "The Kite runner" and told me it was a good book. I was in the middle of "Catch 22" at the time and i just kept your first book in a pile of other books that needed reading. Last night i picked it up and just read a few pages. Brilliant!. I loved it, finished it in a day. Keep up the good work, looking forward to reading your second novel I'm sure it will be as good as the first, because i know i cant get any better than the first.

Thanks,
Mujahid.

Khaled yo have got that amazing skill of connecting with the readers of your book. I have started reading A thousand splendid suns, but your Kite runner tops my favourite list.... You are simply awesome.

Assalamualaikum Mr.Hosseini,

I first saw the advertisement for 1000 splendid suns in a local newpaper and after reading the synopsis,i thought i must myself one. It happened to be a birthday present from a friend just yesterday. It's something in it that touches the heart, and i do hope u could keep on churning out novels of such a nature and better. There's a part of everyone in there no matter which part of the world one comes from. I hope to write one day too. Thanks a lot and Khuda hafiz.

Dear Khaled,

I am tremendously falling short of words to explain what exactly I felt after reading "The Kite Runner". Its simply fanstastic, sorrowful and truly fascinating in all senses! I found myself in tears so many times when i was reading the novel. A truly touching experiance....indeed!

I was simply unable control my tears when Hassan & Ali leave Baba's House and Amir is watching them from window of his room and then....the unexpected rains. I so much felt like, Amir will surely go and stop them.(Being Indian, I will surely think like a Hindi Movie and would have ran after the car!) And whatever happens later is a sequel to that particular incident.

Baba Jaan characters is simply great and resembles exactly like my Daddy ji. Till his last moment, Baba kept on doing good things for Amir,the way my dad did for me till his last moment. I again saw myself crying when Baba Jaan was on his death bed in the story, I profouldly missed my Dad!
But as they rightly say in Afgan...."Zindegi migzara".....

KHALED, please please keep writing such books. You have every small quality in you what it takes to be a big writer!

Today I shall be starting "A Thousand Splendid Suns" but the problem with your books is,it keeps me totally hooked and occupied and being a consultant dermatologist, my practise suffers!!! (laughs out loud)

I would love to meet you some day and would love to kiss your hands which write such great books!

India is waiting to see you....I will be there for you when ever you visit India

Love you Khaled Jaan and I pray for peace and progess in Afghanistan.....

Tashakor

Dr. AjitSingh
India

Dear Mr. Hosseini

Thank you so much for bringing two new "favorit books" into my life. Actually You are quoting another one of my favorit books in "a thousand splendid sund" - Kahlil Gibrans The Prophet. A book I have quoted in speaches and letters for many years now.

When I was reading "the kiterunner" my 8 year old son asked me what I was reading. Hmmm.. what do you answer a child of that age? I decided to tell him about the part where the Father tells Amir that the worst sin is stealing - the parent of all sins. We talked about that and as the very bright child he is, he thought a lot about it. A couple of days later his teacher told me about an episode earlier the same day. My son and another boy from his class were talking and having fun in the classroom. She asked them to keep quiet...and had to ask a couple of times before she caught their attention. My son looked at her and said with a serious voice "you know that the worst sin is stealing and right now you are stealing our right to behave childish...." She told me that she found it very hard to make a fast come-back on thatone, mainly because she had a hard time holding back laughter... Carefull of what you tell your children :o) Need I say that we had a little mother-son talk that evening?

Actually I bought "The kiterunner" for my husbond, but now I´m having a hard time trying to convince him to read it because he saw me crying so many times when I read it.

Thank You so much for the two wonderful books.

Bine

Denmark

Dear Khaled,

I am a 66-year old Jewish woman living in Tennessee who never gave much of a thought to Afghanistan - that is before I read your books. You have brought to life and made human a group of people many of us never considered before. And, you have done it not only effectively but eloquently. How I treasure your books, and look forward to the next one. You are, indeed, a gifted story teller as well as a great humanitarian, and I thank you for opening my eyes to a larger world.

Judie

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I have been an avid reader of fiction and novels for over 25 years. Never before have I been so furious with and ultimately so proud of a fictional character. I must say that when I finished the last page of The Kite Runner, I was ready to start at the beginning and read it again. Instead, though, I will be reading your new release. I just hope it is as wonderful as your first...

Best of luck to you and thank you for sharing your wonderful talent of writing. You have touched many lives and have opened many eyes to what Afghanistan must have been like when you were a boy.

Carol

A Thousand Splendid Suns- fabulous!!
Hope you are working on the next one already.

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

I stayed up until 1:30 am last night finishing The Kite Runner. It was a beautiful, moving book. You have a wonderful talent and have brought attention to Afghanistan. I think this book would open almost any heart. I look forward to reading more by you.

Best wishes.

Dear Khaled bhaiyah,

i started a thousand splendid suns last night and it kept me hooked till 3 am and on and on till late afternoon today. I wonder how u managed to touch and pull so many strings of the heart with so well defined (sentimentally) but meagerly explained (in physical attributes) characters. So well said in so little words, that's what makes an incredible writer.

this is the first time i cried so many times while not even reaching halfway through the novel. Its just amazing the way u write. Please continue... u have become one of my favourite authors.

May God bless u,
mariam aisha

i've read the italian version od thousands of splendid suns..it's a very beautiful book..compliments

I just wanted to express how great of a writer Khaled Hosseini is. His books are truly a different type of reading experience which cannot be compared to any other novels. I read the Kite Runner when it came out, and just a few days ago, A thousand Splendid Suns. I could not put this book down. Though I was in the midst of exam week and had work, I could not posssibly put this book down and read it every spare second. As an Afghan in North America your books gave me an honest first hand experience of Afghanistan and I feel as if I have actually been there (though I haven't)I'm very pleased that readers around the world can understand the Afghan situation better now, and particualrly those of Afghan women. I hope I can meet Khalid Hosseini one day, and that he reads this comment. Regards

I just finished reading The Kite Runner. I found it to be very moving. My heart ached for Amir and Hassan. Thank you for bringing this story to life for us. I am a moslem, my mother is not. For her whole life she thought of Afghanis, Iraqi, Moslems, etc as less than favorable people. Thank you for letting her see a human side to human people. A glimpse into a land she and I knew nothing about, but a land of people just as proud, loving, protective, and adventureous as we are. I hope you will continue with this gift that God has given you. I look forward to more stories. Thank you a thousand times for you. Lisa Saleh

Just would like to say you are an amazing writer you are. The Kite Runner was a beautiful book. I am so very grateful for such great reading. Your books provide such a vivid picture of people and life. I appreciate all the time and effort you have placed in your work. I am reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I take the train to work every morning which is my reading time. Since starting this book I wish I could stay on the train longer in the mornings to read. I hope to see another one of your books very soon.
Mandeep Smith
BSN,RN

I was in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Peshawar, West Pakistan, from 1968 to 1970. During this time, I visited Kabul many times and grew to love the city and its kind and generous people. I regret that I never saw the giant Buddha statues of Bamyan Valley- now gone forever!

I loved "Kite Runner" and hope that you have the same success with "A Thousand Spendid Suns"!

Khaledjan,
I just finished reading 'The Kite Runner'. Really enjoyed it. The way you combined emotions, cultures, and political events was really interesting and instructive.

Hope to read your new book sometime.

"The Kite Runner" is one of my all-time favorite books - reading it brought out so many different emotions. I was so excited to hear about "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I am near the end of it now - and it is every bit as moving and gripping as "The Kite Runner." I was about an hour late this morning because I could not put it down! Thank you so much for sharing these stories - they have helped me put my own very insignificant "problems" into perspective. I eagerly await your next novel!

I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and I must say, you have outdone yourself Khaled! It was beautiful, poetic and moving. For some reason, I was well into the book before I realized that Laila and I are the same age. To think of going through what her character had gone through in the 28 years of my life was insurmountable.

Thank you Khaled for this spectacular novel!

I have read both of your books and they are wonderful. I hope to see a continuation of Tariq and Liala'a family and their progress in Afghanistan and maybe visions of wisdom from Mariam. Of course you could probably write a whole novel just above Zalmai and even Aziza.

I live in American and your books certainly opened my eyes. I will always have a part of Afghanistan in my heart. Thank you for sharing these wonderful stories.

A friend, Sharon

Caro Mr. Khaled
scrivo in italiano perchè grazie ai suoi meravigliosi libri sento con orgoglio di amare la mia terra e il paese, nonostante le sue contraddizioni. Uso la mia lingua per comunicare quello che il cuore dice in un solo unico linguaggio.
Ho letto i suoi libri e sopratutto il secondo, Mille Splendidi Soli, mi ha commosso, pervaso profondamente, unito intimamente a queste donne sorelle sofferenti e grandi, tanto grandi nella loro dignità.
Grazie di avermi dato emozioni sopite da tempo, grazie di aver risvegliato il mio cuore
Grazie. Con tutta la riconoscenza che posso
Rosella

Dear Khaled
I first wrote to you after The Kite Runner and thanked you for that amazing tale.

I am now reading the last pages of A Thousand Splendid Suns and I do not want it to finish.

I had a vague idea of what happened to Afghanistan but your writings bring the sad reality to life.
You are a born storyteller and I hope you continue regaling us with these harrowing but wonderful tales of human resilience.

Shukran!

Mr. Hosseini,
I do not typically e-mail (blog) authors, however, I needed an outlet to express just how moved I was by your novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I have awaited its publication for so long and when it finally arrived it took me no time at all to read through the pages. I managed to not cry until I finally closed the book and then found it so difficult to stop. Though this was fiction, it is the reality of so many people in war torn countries and when those stories are personalized they are so much closer to ones heart.

Kudos to you on your work with UNHCR. I admire their organization and the work they do. I have been working toward developing a program to educate people in my own community about the plight of refugees and human rights. It is such important work. God be with you on your journey.

Elizabeth

Khaled, Habib, How impertinent of me to
address you in any such personal way, but you have entered my thoughts and heart to a
depth which no other author has achieved.
Like many others, I was swept away by the
Kite Runner, but this last effort should
not be compared to that first. A thousand Splendid Suns was more necessary, more poetic
and spoke of in a man's eloquent voice the
the sad song of women all over this world.
Even though many of us, as Rasheed said, had
to be given some perspective. Our own
little piece of the problem does not compare to those whose shares are doled out in War.
The Kite Runner was full of delight. Suns
had so many tears. I had to stop myself from
crying so many times, lest I fall away in grief. It must have been enormously hard to
write. I am worried about you. This pair of
historical novels is your gift to the world
and hopefully will cause some understanding
to happen. So take care of yourself for a
while and find some good reasons to smile.
I know it's hard to feel entitled when so many people in the world are suffering. You must
though. Your voice is the most powerful
oration for justice we have at present. Your
birth has given Afghans and Americans reason
to celebrate. There is hope for this species yet. Thank-you so much,

Karen

Dear Mr. Husseini,

I just finished your second book, I don't think I have ever been so anxious to buy any other book than yours and finish it within three days. As your first book it was written so beautiful that you can not put it down and that's what happened to me today I stayed home all day to finish the book since you put me through such a roller coaster that I had to find out what happens at the end.
I don't think I can wait for another two years until your next book so I hope you are thinking of writing one in the near future.
Thank you again for such beautiful stories.
atoosa

To Mr. Hossieni~
I just put down "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I don't think I ever cried reading a book-until this one. It is unforgettable... I had to remind myself a man wrote this book (although surely, a man sharing a woman's heart)! It made Afghanistan as well as any war torn corner of the world come to life and their plight. I felt completely immersed with the characters and their world. May a thousand splendid suns rain down on the women of Afghanistan, Darfur, Somalia,etc..."God Bless us every one".

Thank you for two splendid books! WOW! I just finished the second and it was amazing. I was so moved in Kite Runner - cried and grimmaced but it was beautiful. The second was even more wonderful than the first.
Loved it!!
Can't wait for more!
Deanna

Thank you for both of your books, Mr. Hosseini. I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" a moment ago and just had to communicate to you how grateful I am for your writing it. I have learned so much about Afghanistan and the Middle East -- facts that I would never have had the opportunity to, without reading your books. And, of course, Laila, Tariq and the others will take their rightful place in my heart with Amir, Hasan, and Baba. I loved "The Kite Runner," and I was pleased to revisit some of the same sites from that book in your new one (the orphanage, the stadium, etc.) - you are a truly gifted and talented storyteller.

Thank you again -

Beth

P.S. As a native of the SF Peninsula, I loved reading about Fremont (where we lived from 1989-1993), Los Altos Hills, etc. in "The Kite Runner!"

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
As a casual reader, I was quite upset that I couldn't put The Kite Runner down. I read it in two sessions. I stayed up one night to finish it and that really fouled up my schedule for two days! To continue my woes, my wife bought me A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have been reluctant to start it until friday (today) so at least I have my weekend to cushion the anticipated scheduling pitfalls.

For my sake, please make your third novel less interesting so it will put me to sleep like what I am used to.

On the 15th of June, two days before my birthday, I began A Thousand Splendid Suns (a gift from my dear friend and kindred spirit Laura) at 11:00 a.m., and it was finished on the 16th by 11:00 p.m. Because of having to get some sleep on Friday night, errands, gardening, going out for dinner, etc., I had to stop a few times. I am at a loss for words about this great insight you have poetically and compassionately presented. You, sir, overwhelm me and it is indeed a privilege to read every word. I will never look at snow the same way again. A thousand thank yous for blessing our world with your great gift of telling the stories of these two women . . . and teaching us about the horrors of continuous wars and conflicts that the people of Afghanistan have had to endure. At times you literally took my breath away as I was totally lost into these characters' lives. They are unforgettable.

Dr. Hosseini,

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and was deeply touched. Unfortunately, this is the first book I have read in quite a while. But, your gift of capturing stories and souls has renewed my interest in reading and has inspired me to contribute to aide in Afghanistan. Thank you for your wonderful stories. What's next?

Stacy

Thank you, Mr. Hosseini, for the wonderful gift you have given to all of us of sharing the stories of your people and your land. Sadly, before your books I fear most of the world was oblivious, naive, ignorant, uninterested and worse, judgmental about Afghanistan. You have brought Afghanistan to life! I hope this understanding reaches those who could bring positive changes. The Kite Runner was my favorite read of 2006 and Splendid Suns is even better! I could not put it down - it's now 4:30 a.m. and I have read all night till the last chapter - I will put it down now so that I can process it and savor the anticipation of reading that last chapter. I know that all of us who read your books will never be able to look away again.

Thank you for this jewel, this marve[ous window into Afghan culture, so remote to us and yet so close.A Thousand Splendid Sun will provide my students with an insight into Afghan history as well as a deep reflection on the universality of human cruelty, suffering, love and redemption.
This is the book I wanted for them, thank you so much for your talent and generosity.
Warmest regards
Nelly

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

Simply: Thank you for your two beautiful books: Kite Runner and A Thousand Splended Suns. I couldn't help but race through them to find out what happens next. However, I am looking forward to the "second read" when I can savour your glorious way of describing events, environment and feelings.

And, thank you for opening a window to Afghanistan and its people to one who knows only what is written in the papers and magazines by journalists. Clearly, Afghans are strong and independent and I wonder at their fortitude in surviving the centuries of onslaught by outsiders.

In great admiration, I remain, sincerely, Sandra

I just closed A Thousand Splendid Suns and just had to write to you. Thank you for another excellent read. I loved it, just as I loved The Kite Runner.

When will your next book be out?!!! I had the same thought, when I closed The Kite Runner (which, by the way, made me cry out loud).

You have helped me grow so much in my understanding of Afghanistan and its people. I now understand.

And - I will NEVER feel sorry for myself again, when I'm sick and have access to excellent medical care, or am tired from a long day of work and go home to an abundance of fresh food, a nice home, and most of all a loving and respectful husband.

You have changed me forever!

Marie

Mr. Hosseini,

Thank you for giving your readers such wonderful books to read.

I have just started reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and I must say, the begining itself is so intresting that makes me think how would Mariam's life be in the coming pages of the book.

Geeta.

Dear Mr. Hosseini-
Thank you, thank you, thank you! A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of the best books I've ever read. It makes you want to recommend it to everyone you know that is a reader. I will be letting my cousins know about this one too! I already recommended the Kite Runner to them. You are a talented and gifted writer. When reading your books it seems as though I am right there with your characters. I read it in 2 days because I couldn't quit reading it. Now its kind of sad that its over. I loved Miriam the best. Its like my friend Kim said, she was ready to reread it right when she got done with it. But it was my turn to read it next. Thank you again, you have another fan for life. Keep them coming and we will keep reading them. Be Blessed! Clare

Dear Mr. H-
Someting else I wanted to share with you.I am a very emotional person and have cried at quite a few books in my time. I was on the last 2 pages of A Thousand Splendid Suns, I was at work, and was starting to cry. I had to put the book down and finish it alone in my car at lunch. I resumed my reading a few minutes later, said to myself "good no crying now." Oh, was I wrong, I got to the very last sentence and cried like a baby! That has never happended before. The last sentence... That's some powerful words! Clare

I just finished reading this book & it was one of the best books i have ever read. It really opened my eyes to a new world. I laughed & cried. All you ever hear on the news is the negative & this made me realize that most people no matter where they come from just want to live a peaceful, love filled life. This is now my favorite book & the best book i've read in a LONG time. Thank you for writing this book. I really feel everyone should have an opportunity to read this book. I've already passed it on to a couple of people for them to read. I also just finished your second book & that was just as good & can't wait until your next book! Looking foward to it!

I finally had the time to finish the book I bought a month ago. I'm italian, I bought it in english (couldn't wait to get back home)..and my knowledge of english is not so good: generally it takes me a while to read foreign languages books. Your incredibly touching story took me awake overnight. I thought that I'd hardly find another story as good as The Kite Runner, but this one happened to be so beautiful and moving, that all I can say is

I'm truly thankful.

Mr. Hosseini

I was given your first novel by one of my favorite teachers, my senior year literature teacher, and became instantly enchanted and seduced by it. your diction, characters, plots, words, etc made me be completely absorbed into both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. even more now i appreciate the middle eastern culture and see its real beauty through the eyes of your characters. thank you for your books and works in this world that have provided fans like me to see these new perspecitves. Your novels speak volumes...and forces the reader to self-examine their lives and relationships. Please continue to write these novels...you are not only a beautiful writer but an amazing spokesperson and journalist through these novels and i can do nothing but have pure admiration and respect for you because of it.

thank you.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I have read both of your books and I must compliment you on your magnificent story telling style. The characters came to life in my mind as if I knew them. I looked foward to reading about my new friends with each flip of the page. I loved both books and cannot wait for you next masterpiece.

Thank you.

Gloria Ibarra-Dolema

Dear Mr. Hosseini, last year I read the "Kite Runner" and loved it. At one point I had to re-read the cover to ensure it was fiction. Ten minutes ago I finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns." The book was stunning. So real, so sad, so powerful. Your writings are waking up the people of the world. I'll be holding my breath awaiting your third novel...Thank You.

Ken Putnam
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Canada

DEAR KHALED,

GREETING FROM INDIA - MUMBAI.

I THINK I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO STARTED WITH A "A Thousand Splendid Suns" AND FINISHED WITH THE KITE RUNNER.

I AM UTTERLY DISSAPPOINTED THAT YOU HAVE ONLY 2 BOOKS TO YOUR CREDIT TILL NOW.

WHEN WILL I GET TO READ THE NEXT BOOK. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO EXPRESS THE FEELING ONE GOES THRU WHILE READING YOUR BOOKS.

AT ONE POINT YOU ARE ACTUALLY CRYING AND THE OTHER YOU ARE LAUGHING OUT LOUD.

THANKS A TON FOR YOUR BOOKS THEY ARE GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAT.

SHOBHA

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" last night. It's an awesome book, a book that everyone should read at least once in his or her lifetime. While I liked "The Kite Runner" a little more (I'll rate "The Kite Runner" a 9.9 out of 10 whereas I'll rate "A Thousand Splendid Suns" a 9.7 out of 10), I really admire the fact that "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is from the largely from perspective of two women and yet you did such a good job writing it.

Wow. I just finished reading your novel just last night and went to bed with tears in my eyes. i can't tell you of all the emotions that went through my head as i was reading, though im not afghani, i am a american muslim and truly felt that i scence love for this book.

Thank you for writng it, all the way through i was just thinking that it just might be an autobiography. it sounded that real.

thanks a thousand and thousand times over.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns yesterday, and like many others who have posted their comments, I also cried the entire second half of the book. After I read the Kite Runner, it was moved to my the top of my favorite books of all time. I didn't think another book could be as good. After a friend of mine read it, who also had the Kite Runner on the top of her list, she said "I think it could have topped it." I didn't think it was possible, until i finished it yesterday.
It is truly the best story I have ever read. I was partially crying at the end because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the wonderful characters in the book. I am already waiting for the next book of yours!!!! Congrats to you, another outstanding novel.

Dear Mr. Hossieni

Greetings from Washington, DC

I just finished your latest novel and it touched me even more than the Kite Runner. You are truly and amazing writing. I have never cared for characters the way I have with your stories. Sadly I was not able to see you when you visited the campus of George Mason University. I hope one day soon you visit the area again.

I look forward to your next book
Ana

I am a Chinese college student and i'm just about to finish reading The Kite Runner. It's such a great book that i have cried at several lines, when Baba died, when Amir marries....I'm at the point where Rahim Khan is telling Amir about Hassan, i can't wait to finish the book, it's a thrilling and deeply touching experience reading your story. I myself like to write very much, and have written a story in English. It always fascinates me when i read and write. I'm looking forward to reading your new book. I am getting it from the US since we don't have the ENglish in China yet.
Thank you for your outsanding work, i seriously believe you have made a lot differences in the world. I admire your efforts very much.

I just bought your book A thousand Splendid Suns.I read the Kite Runner and enjoyed it very much .I am from Morocco and living in Santa Barbara, California..I am ashamed to say that I didn't know much about Afghanistan you described in your book.Thank you for that.I 'll be going to France next week and coudn't pick better travel companion than your book.
Thanks a mllion
Fatiha

Khaled Jan,

I have read your book and could not believe an Afghan being away for many years from his homeland and could write up a book like this. Absolutely amazing. I am proud of you Khaled jan absolutely proud!!! May God give you more and more energy to write such books as The Kite Runner and keep entertaining and informing not only Afghans and other people about facts of life in Afghanistan in a amazing and great way that cannot be narrated or pictured out by any other means as effectively as you have done it in your book. I must tell you that I am eagerly wait for A Thousand Splendid Suns!

Kamgar was Maufaq bashii Khaled Jan Gul

Ihsanullah Dileri

I sincerely enjoyed your two novels! You transcend time and place with your focus on the strength of the human condition and what it can and will endure. I have a question that I hope can be answered. My son returned from a military tour in Afghanistan and he brought home a couple of artistic creations; one a bull and the other a tea server. He said they were both constructed from the various shell casings that local artisans pick up. The creations are utterly beautiful. Has anyone heard of this cottage industry? It is a powerful image of the ability to use what is at hand to survive.

Mr. Khaled,

I though your book the Kite rinner was brilliant. And then I read a Thousand Splendid Suns and was even more impressed. You are a brilliant writer and will buy anything else you write.
Keep them coming,

Natalie

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I wanted to thank you for teaching the world about Afghanistan and its culture. I think you have raised awareness through your books that couldn’t have been found through media. As an Afghan girl and a teacher, I appreciate that your books have educated the world about the hardships that afghan people face. I love your books, and I am looking forward for the next one.

An afghan girl,
Mary
LA Ca USA

Dear Mr. Hossieni,
As promised I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns on Friday and finished Sunday morning. Now that I have your books consumed , I can go back to my casual reading pattern.

Kirk

Dear Mr Hosseini,

Just finished reading the book. Had read so many reviews recommending it but I never thought I would be able to relate to a story from a world so distanced from mine (India) and of which I knew so little – the people, culture, climate – everything. But reading this reaffirms my faith that human emotions, what we understand of the greatness and weaknesses of character, and things we treasure most – family, friendships, watan, our soil, our childhood home - are the same for people anywhere in the world.

best wishes,
shefali

The Kite Runner was by far the best book I have ever read - I tell everyone about it and have bought it for about 10 people for birthdays etc., I couldn't believe it was a work of fiction - to me it was so real - I felt for the characters , I could visualise them and hardly put the book down from the time I started it. My children who are 17 & 15 have both read it.
Thank you so much for a wonderful experience.
I have just been given a copy of your new book -I am going on holidays next week and will try to resist starting the book before then.
I can't wait !!

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns,oh my gosh what a book! I loved it, I laughed and cryed. I will tell all my reading friends about this book. They have to read it, it is a must read! Thank you, Ronda

Now I must read The Kite Runner and then of course the others to come.

Dear Khaled,

Greetings from Dublin Ireland.

I read the Kite Runner and have since bought it for all my friends and family to read also. Rarely does a book have such a profound impact on me. I cried out loud at an airport while travelling on my own... It is a very rare and special book so thank you for writing it.

As soon as A Thousand Splendid Suns came out I read it as well. I loved every page of it and felt very privileged to have been offered such a beautifully described insight into a world so different from my own. So thank you again. Please keep writing for as long and as much as possible.

And please do consider coming to Dublin, you have a lot of fans here.

Milla

Hi
I'm Imma, an italian girl. I read Kite Runner last summer and I belived it was the greatest book I have ever read... but I was wrong...because I'm reading A thousand Splendid Suns that is giving me strong emotions!
thanksssssssss

I haven't read 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' yet. I bought 'The Kite Runner' a couple of days back since everybody seemed to be raving about it. I wasn't sure if it would live up to its reputation, but yes, 'For you, a thousand times over'...I would say yes. Your narrative is incredibly crafted, as fragile and as bittersweet as childhood itself. There were many moments in the book when I almost knelt down in prayer in my desperation to keep the characters in the story safe. And I am an atheist. You are an amazing craftsman, it must have been quite draining to let your heart bleed to write a tale like this...quite like the man in Amir's first story who must shed tears to get pearls...I am glad you did not smell an onion to fake it.

I can't wait to read your next book, please keep writing.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

In the last four days, I have read both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was awe-struck by the magnificence of these stories. Your characters were not just simply names on a page, but real people, and I was actually a little angry with you when first Hassan and then Mariam were killed. But I knew it had to be so, and it demonstrated how completely you have won your reader's hearts and souls. Being of Armenian descent, and the granddaughter of a genocide survivor, the tragedy of the Afghani people is a story the world needs to know of. You have served your country well.

PS: We Armenians also use the endearment "jan", so at times, it was like listening to my grandmother talk to me, and that is a very warm feeling. Thank you for that.

Terrea

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have never been so moved by any book before. Just like when I finished reading the first book, I can't stop talking about this book and have bought copies for friends. I think everyone should read these two wonderful books. I am African but I cried for Mariam and for Jalil.
Thanks for the story and congratulations. Can't wait to read your next book.

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

Thank you so much for writing such compelling and beautiful book about the plight of women inthe Taliban's Afghanistan. We in the US barely heard the full truth. Your book throws out all the cliches and reminds us that in the name of all sorts of governments and religions,
violence and oppression can thrive, and that women around the world are still suffering today. Yet it is a universal story of love and sacrifice. Thank for being able and willing to tell it to us.

Dear Khaled

your kite runner book was absolutely wonderful.

After I finished reading that book, I was awaiting your next book. Thousand splendid suns did not disappoint me either.
I felt that in kite runner, you did not develop female characters. But in thousand splendid suns, you have greatly captured lives of two women. I feel that you must have researched a lot before you wrote this book

Keep up ur good work
Sree

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" it was as wonderful, beautiful and touching as "The Kite Runner". Thank you for these two amazing gifts, my heart will never be the same.

I spent almost a year in the mountains of the Paktika province as a soldier from mid 2003 until late Spring of 2004. Hosseini's descriptions of the mountains and the hospitality of the people that live in them brought back floods of memories that I share with friends and family all the time. I miss sharing kabobs with Abdul Wakil and Ghaze Marjan at night after a long day on the compound. I pray every day that the fighting will stop there so I can take my family to see the unspoiled beauty that is Afghanistan. I've never felt more at peace or welcomed than I did when I was in Mr. Hosseini's home country. Tashakor

Hello Khaled, Thank you so much for writing this story. I moved me to weeping, so beautifully written. I now feel I have more understanding of what people go through all over this world. I feel I have been to Afganistan, where before it was as romote to me as the moon. I am astonished at the sensitivity at which you became the girl/women charators. What a divine compasion you must possess. My neighbor is reading my copy and I have told at least 20 people about your book since I finished reading it. Please keep writing... and never stop.

Dear Mr.Hosseini

Just finished your second book A Thousand Splendid Suns, about an hour ago......Simply Superb !

Dear Mr. Hosseini -
Like most of the people posting on this blog, I too was moved by both of your novels. I have just completed A Thousand Splendid Suns, gotten up from my chair, wiped my eyes, and started writing to you. Never have I felt complelled to write to an author - or any stranger, for that matter, and express to him how I felt after reading his book.
I saw one of your talks on TV, I read The Kite Runner and now this novel. You bring both the tragedy and beauty of Afghanistan to light in a most personal and moving manner.
My son may have to do duty in Afghanistan soon, and before reading your books, I was, frankly, very frightened for him. Now, when he speaks of the possibility, I am rather encouraged - it is important that we all support the relief being attempted there.
Your writing is superb - moving and matter-of-fact at the same time. I have a new perspective on Afghanistan and its people - as scattered as they are- and pray (as I'm sure you do) that the country can somehow heal itself and return to the glory and beauty you so aptly describe in your novels.
Thank you for two wonderful stories that I will not forget.

Hi Khaled,

You have been splendid in bringing forth the issues that Afghans have been facing since last 3 decades. Believe me you have made people cry with the immense thought provoking "A thousand splendid suns". I wish the predicament of Afghan women improves and life gets back to normal in Kabul. I really appreciate your both the novels which have brought the world to attention about the conditions in Afghanistan and I wish more and more people work towards the reconstruction of Afghanistan. I hope things turn out well.
Baymyan Buddha and things which we used to hear in the news came out alive after reading your novels.

Hats off to you.

Harmeet :)

salam Mr.Khaled..
well it was an awesome experience reading your Noverl "The Kite Runner". As an Afghan i felt proud that we still have some great people that are working for their mother land and Mr.Hosseini ur one of them. i don't know wether i should thank you or my fionce for gifting me such a beautiful experience of my life. To be really honest u can't read it without crying, for it, for every moment that Hassan and Amir has spent together and to be honest sometimes i felt angry that how beghairat Amir was.
well all these words that i wrote and all those words which i m about to write maybe less for this smashing and magnificent story and i m feeling proud saying this that i have read "the kite runner' less than four days so i hope it will be a record and another honor for afghanistan like urs.
At last Mr. hosseini i want to request u and Oprah that please come to the Oprah show and i want to request Oprah to Invite u.
My next birthday is near and i m looking forward that this time she gift me A Thousand Splendid Suns...

because your novels AND..

For You, A Thousand Times Over..

KEEP UP UR GOOD WORK

Haris Ahmadzai
Islamabad....

Dear Mr Hosseini,
i've just finished reading The Kite Runner and i'm still astonished and shaked by the emotions this marvellous book left in my mind. It was a gift by a dear friend and when i started reading it i couldn't imagine i'd have been so emotionally involved in it. Page after page, chapter after chapter i was captured by the story of Amir and Hassan, i could draw their face in my mind, i could photograph the places they were, from Afghanistan to America with my own eyes, i could tremble in their feelings. I loved it. I cried feeling the humble and great fragility of little Sohrab, i could hear the heartbeat of the love between Amir and Soraya in they phonecallings, espelly in the last one. I could imagine the great man that was Baba. I could feel the cruely of Assef long the years...
Today i'm going to buy the newer book and i'm looking forward to read it!

i appreciate your great work. Many many thanks to let me know a world i didn't know except for the news on tv about war and battles, thank you for the foreign words left to let us immerge deeper and deeper in the real soul of your characters, of this not so far away world!

thank you so much!

raffaella from Italy

Dear Mr.Hosseini,
I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns,wow!!!.I can't put in words how much I enjoyed this masterpiece and I told my 11 year old granddaughter that I am saving this book and the Kite Runner for her to read in the future because I want her to learn what went on in Afghanistan and what hardships people endured especially women in those terrible times.
Thank you so much and I will be watching for future books by you Mr.Hosseini,
Salaama ghalikhom.

Dear Khaled:

I just stayed up for the past three nights finishing a Thousand Splendid Suns. Throughout my life, I have heard tales from my mother who spoke about the hardships women in my family faced from one generation to the next generation: early marriages, brute husbands, back-breaking chores, loss of mothers in early childhood, abandoned childhoods, desire for schooling...most importantly a gendered communal space shared by all the women in the household which allowed women the strength to challenge their second class citizens...for women to stand up collectively for each other.

You have been able to capture that female Muslim Otherness which only a fellow Afghani can understand.

Khudahafiz

I've read both of your very well written, eye-opening books. I'm so grateful that you are able to share this information with the world and the american people. I feel that Americans are in the dark about much that goes on in the world and totally appreciate the insite you bring in your books. More, more please!

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I was deeply touched by Kite Runner, and early this morning at 3am I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I could not put it down. You are a gifted writer and I do believe that with this story you have done more to help the rest of the world understand the recent history and issues of Afghanistan and the suffering of its people than any journalist or diplomat/politician has or ever could. I hope your schedule brings you to the Boston area soon. It would be an honor to meet you.

Myra from Massachusetts

Dear Khaled,
"The Kite Runner was the most amazing book I have ever read" are words I spoke to all of my family and friends. This was until I read A Thousand Splendid Suns. Thank you for opening a world that was unknown to me. These books will remain in my heart forever and I will read them again and again. I look forward to many more of your novels!
Sincerely, Sara from New Jersey

Dear Mr. Hosseini, I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" - what can I say? I cried a lot during my reading of it, because I knew that even though it was a novel, every word was true.It was soul-stirring and a lesson so unforgettable, that human beings are so much more alike than they are different with the same hopes and dreams - and that evil exists in this world. It is the 4th of July, and for the first time I bought an American flag to celebrate freedom and in memory of Mariam.

Dear Hosseini,

I'm a afghan living in The Netherlands. I grew up here and know not much from my country. This book is a fiction but i have heard many stories that are almost the same. (THE Good, The Bad, The lies, The Culture). I'm happy to see a afghan with so much creativity.

Thankyou for an amazing book about our country.

Soliman

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

We have recently purchased your new book A Thousand Splendid Suns. Daniel is reading it now and I will after. You have obviously become tremendously successful as a world-renowed, best-selling author, and we could not be more thrilled for you! We miss you terribly as our primary care physician, as you were extremely successful in that arena too. But as someone mentioned above, as an author you have the ability to touch and heal millions and generations to come. What an incredible legacy.

Even my mother-in-law loves your novels and talks to me at great length about them and you. Hopefully she can meet you someday, perhaps as you tour. Her only complaint is that after reading each of your novels in mere days, now she has to wait for the next one!

I look forward to following your career as an author and watching where it takes you. You are such a talented, compassionate, and kind human being - you and your family deserve all the success and blessings.

With kind regards,
Elizabeth (and Daniel) Whittom
Fremont

Dear Khaled,

I am a Jordanian girl who currently lives in San Francisco and till this day loves and speaks of "The Kite Runner". I made sure my uncle and sister read it too. I am from that region of the world where family, friendship, culture and religion come together stronger than anything else on earth including what war brings us all. While reading The Kite Runner I didn't feel I was away from the events that took place, but rather part of what was inside the pages and in between the lines. Your style in writing is just amazing. I'll be coming to your reading session today in Santa Clara...I am sorry I missed the one in San Francisco! I look forward to reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" especially that it came out on my birthday 5/22....and please don't stop here!

Best Regards,
Suzy El Bader

I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" after a short two-day reading. I absolutely loved the book. The characters were so beautifully written and seemed so real that I can't shake the feeling of wanting to know how Laila and her family are doing now. I would love to hear more about Aziza in 10 years. I know you will keep writing, so may I suggest a follow-up in the future that picks up where "ATSS" ends?? It would be great to see where these characters go as the Middle East and the world evolve.

I am already anticipating your next book and hope it's being worked on now~

Thanks for a great read.

Michael Davis
Houston, TX

Mr. Hosseini,

I have just finished your book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I started it 3 days ago. I am a mom and I don't have a lot of time so that tells you how much sleep I went without because I couldn't put your book down. :-) I couldn't believe how riveted I was reading your novel. I read the Kite Runner last summer and I was deeply moved. (You have such a gift for story telling). But this book, this story, it reached into my heart and tore it to little pieces.

I have to tell you what else this latest story did for me, it encouraged me, it humbled me, it even inspired me. I am a native Southern California girl. Born and raised in the suburbs in what could be considered a fairly sheltered life. I have lived literally a world away from the land where your story took place in yet it resonated so deeply. Life has been challenging the last few years due to some life changing health issues in my family. At times we weep and we grieve. Your story helped put it in perspective.

As a woman who has been in love, had children, and lived in a land where I have been free to chose my path and pursue an education, a career and have the incredible blessing to stay home with my children and watch them grow...I was humbled and amazed at what I read that my sisters in humanity suffered on the other side of the globe. I thought about what I was doing at the time in my world and in my life while the women in Afghanistan weren't able to go to the store alone, get a job, receive justice, pick their destiny or even have something as simple as the gentle pleasure of feeling the warm breeze rustle through their hair unencumbered . I wept as I read the story unfold in your book knowing it was fictional but becoming painfully aware that it was a story that probably rings true in the hearts and minds of many women who lived through those years in Afghanistan. I never thought I took my freedom for granted...but shamefully in many ways I guess I have. Thank you for reminding me of this especially on a week where we celebrated our countries independence and freedom.

God bless you for this story and your work. You have a gentle and tender heart….it comes across in everything you write and I sir am a huge fan.

I look forward to a day where my children can read your books realizing that it will help them to see how blessed we are and how much others need our support and compassion. You and your country of origin will continue to be in our prayers.

Dear Khaled,

A Thousand Splendid Suns, like The Kite Runner, leaves me amazed at how you can cover brutality and at the same time beauty and tenderness as well as courage, and instill hope for a better world. Thank you again for a wonderful portrayal of Afghanistan. You make me want to get to know its courageous people.

Paul Demery
Evanston, Illinois

Hi Khaled

Hello from South Africa!
When I read The Kite Runner I was sure I wouldn't find a book like it again. Well I have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and what an absolutely amazing amazing amazing book. I cannot tell you how the story of those ladies has touched my heart, of course we are all now waiting breathlessly for number 3, 4 and more.
Well done on such a brilliant book.
Bonita

Dear Dr. Hosseini,
I am a literature teacher in a small rural Colorado school. I have been the sole high school English teacher for thirty years in this K-12 building. Our community is painfully isolated from world affairs, so I often turn to stories to expose my students to other cultures. I assigned Kite Runner to my seniors last year and a few of my boys said this was the only book they finished in four years of high school! More importantly, they gained a new-found understanding and compassion for a culture half way across the world. I believe that your stories provide the best history lesson we can teach and the most valuable instruction in tolerance and humanity we can provide to our young. Thank-you for providing the teenagers of Peetz Colorado with the opportunity to feel understanding and compassion for the youth of Afganistan at this critical time in both countries'. Educating our children to to recognize the humanity of all people and cultures is the first step to world peace and you, dear man, have given a wonderful gift to all our children by emphasizing the human element in your stories -no agenda, no politics - just genuine humanity that breaks through borders and bridges hearts. I am looking forward to assigning A Thousand Splendid Suns this fall. I just finished it today and I know Laila and Mariam will remain in my heart for a long time. In the end, it is true, only love endures only love can conquer... in all cultures. thank-you again for your stories.

Dr. Hosseini,

Having thoroughly enjoyed The Kite Runner shortly after its publication, I looked forward to reading your second novel, despite thinking that it wouldn't be much of a match coming so soon on the heels of the first. As it turns out, A Thousand Splendid Suns kept me in its grip until the early morning hours, a feat that only Alex Hailey, Margaret Mitchell, and the Internet had previously accomplished. Thank you for sparking the wonder of reading again, and may the Lord bless you in your work with the UNHCR.

To twist a phrase from E. B. White: It is not often that someone comes along who is a noble person and a good writer. You are both.

José
Oxnard, CA

Hello!
I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I am at a loss for words to describe what I feel. I cried and cried- I was overcome with emotion countless times. I was so taken in by Mariam and Laila- so interested in who they were- in the hopelessness of their situations- in every small success of their lives- in Mariam's selflessness and sacrifice. What you have done in giving us this incredible piece of literature is create a new classic- one that will be read for years to come. I am an English teacher in Buffalo, NY. The Kite Runner was added to our required reading list this year. As exceptional as I think The Kite Runner is- I believe A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so- the storytelling is incredible, yes- but the attention given to the lives of Afghan women- their lives, their feelings, their hopes and dreams- the absolute universal concerns that ALL WOMEN share. Then, the life of the Afghan woman under the Taliban. My heart broke for these women.
I have a few works of literature that I call favorites- works I return to again and again- A Thousand Splendid Suns is a new favorite- one that I will recommend again and again. Thank you for such a moving work of literature.

Dear Khaled:
Hello from San Francisco.
I have anxiously awaited over the past couple of years your next book. After being so moved by the Kite Runner I could not wait to delve into another set of charachters lives set in a region that as Americans we understand so little.
A Thousand Splendid Suns did not dissapoint! It is such an amazing work of courage, dissapointment,loss, hope, cruelty and most importantly love. At times it was so heartbreaking that I did not think I could continue, but I did.
I think it is imperative that readers understand that the Afghani people are the victims in the "war on terror" beginning with the Soviets and continuing on to the present.
Your books have inspired me to look into some sort of volunteer project be it with the UNHCR or another organization. It challenges all of us to find some way to help make the world a better place and leave our mark on someone's life.
Like Mariam did.
THANK YOU for an incredible book!
I hope to see you sometime in San Francisco.
Michelle

Hello!
I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I am at a loss for words to describe what I feel. I cried and cried- I was overcome with emotion countless times. I was so taken in by Mariam and Laila- so interested in who they were- in the hopelessness of their situations- in every small success of their lives- in Mariam's selflessness and sacrifice. What you have done in giving us this incredible piece of literature is create a new classic- one that will be read for years to come. I am an English teacher in Buffalo, NY. The Kite Runner was added to our required reading list this year. As exceptional as I think The Kite Runner is- I believe A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so- the storytelling is incredible, yes- but the attention given to the lives of Afghan women- their lives, their feelings, their hopes and dreams- the absolute universal concerns that ALL WOMEN share. Then, the life of the Afghan woman under the Taliban. My heart broke for these women.
I have a few works of literature that I call favorites- works I return to again and again- A Thousand Splendid Suns is a new favorite- one that I will recommend again and again. Thank you for such a moving work of literature.

I finished reading The Kite Runner less than five minutes ago. In a lifetime of reading, I can't remember ever having been as moved, disturbed and ultimately inspired as I have been by this book. In this moment, the world is for me bathed in the sweet sadness of the Kite Runner; and I suspect I'll carry some of this feeling with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Khaled Hosseini, for a masterpiece of literature.

Mr. Hosseini,
I am an avid reader. In all my 38 years, I have never read any book that has moved me and sat on my mind and heart like Kite Runner. My husband enjoyed reading fantasy and such. He noticed how affected I was by this book, he decided to see what it was that took me by the heartstrings and made me feel every emotion possible. I don't think I enjoyed watching him read more than I did while he read your words. When he finished the book, he understood. He bought me A Thousand Splendid Suns and I cannot put it down. You have done it to me again, and I thank you. As and East Indian Canadian woman, I can somehow relate to the female characters in this amazing story and I am once again moved and emotionally captured by your words.
Thank you, for finding your passion and sharing it with us. A Thousand times over.
Sincerely, Ravi

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

As an avid reader, many novels have brought me to tears - but never before like the heart-wrenching story of Mariam and Laila. I have watched the news, read the accounts, but never truly understood the enormity of the horror Afghan women and children have faced. Your words have brought it to life for me.

A Thousand Splendid Suns has torn my heart and wracked my soul. I have read the blog here and am moved most by the Literature teachers who will bring this fabulous, contemporary novel into their classrooms. This incredible piece of literature is about compassion and the true meaning of love and sacrifice. I am a wife, a mother, sister and teacher, and thought I knew the depth of these emotions - but I didn't until now.

Thank you for all you do for the world.

jms

Dear Mr Hosseini

I'm writng to you from Cape Town South Africa. I finished The Kite Runner this am and I now feel lost. I feel as if I lost my whole family, Amir, Hassan, Sohrab even Farid. I have lots of other books to read, but I feel I want to read this book again. Your new novel is available in our bookstores, but I want to savor The Kite Runner a little longer. What a beautiful, beautiful book!!! Congratulations! You have yourself another fan!

With warm regards,
Wahida

Dear mr. Hosseini,
I've just finished your book 'the Kite Runner.'
I'm so thankfull, because your book have touched me in my heart. And showed me the beautiful culture of Afghanistan.
Thank you for your beautiful story mr. Hosseini.
Sorry for my broken english.

Greetings from Holland,
Jacqueline

Hello Khaled jan,
i'm an italian 19 yeras-old girl, my name is Elisa.
in this week-end i read both "The kite runner" and "A thousand splendid suns". i have no words worthy to tell how much your books openn my mind. Many information were taken about the gravity of the situation of the Afghanistan, but nothing touch you as the fluenty but moving words of your books. i have cried as a baby for both books. "the kite runner" touches particolary me because i ever think such facts can exist. For Hassan i have a tormeting desire to help him, to let forgotten his evil spirits, as his son Sohrab. Also Amir provokes in me compassion, but i don't forgive to him his cowardice. in other hand, i have suffered for him in the travel to safe, as i'm claustrophobic.
In "a housand splendid suns" i, as a woman, don't bear the violence women have to suffer, only for a law imposed by overexcited. i'm no racist, but i think that the excess are alwais dangerous. I admire the life of endurance Mariam conducted with the last sacrifice, even though she could have been a better life. Rashid is the incarnation of the crudelty: to lie to Laila for let marry him is cruel...but the destiny sometimes let a possibility to us...
the character of your book will be always in my hearth...
thank you
Elisa

Knowing this part of the world. I can truly say that its a story of thousands of women who went through what you wrote. Laila and Mariam just might represent so many of the unfortunate women in Afghanistan.

I also appreciated that how you successfully tried to maintain a careful balance in each of your character.

your book humbles me.

I fell in love with your words...

The way the words made me feel the pain, the love,...
I read a Thousand Splendid Suns, now I can't wait to read the first novel!

Thank you Khaled Hosseini!

Hello Khaled,

Recently when I spoke to you I told you how I was enjoying your book "The Kite Runner" and I so truly enjoyed it to the very last page and was sorry to have it end. Immediately I picked up and started to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and could not put that book down either...enjoying it to the very last page as well.

The Kite Runner was an amazing story that had so many lessons in it. Thank you for those lessons.

A Thousand Splendid Suns also was an amazing book...filled with a combination of love and tragedy. Heart wrenching and beautiful combined.

You are a wonderfully talented writer and I very much look forward to your next book and hope it comes soon. Your books have meaning far beyond the entertainment of fiction.

Thank you for books worth reading,

Gayle
San Jose-Evergreen

I just read your new book, A thousand Splendid Suns.

Never before have I cried while reading a story. I am forever changed by your book.

I can't wait until you write another story. Are you still a practicing Doctor?

Thanks,
Mandy

Mr. Hosseini,
I can not express how much I enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns. I read it in about four days, and I was up until about two in the morning each one of those days reading. I think you did an amazing job.
Being eighteen it is hard to really see what is going on in other places in the world, This story really opened up my eyes.
I also read Kite Runner, and I think that I cried just as much as I did reading this book. I was so excited when I saw that you had written another book, and it certainly did not disappoint. Thank you, Samantha

Hi Sir,

This is Amit Anand from India.i read your book.. and i must say ..its really a gr8 feeling ..something mixed ..i don't know.
I liked it !!

Good Luck and God Bless !!

Do you have a speaking schedule that you could provide?
I just finished reading a thousand suns and then the kite runner for a second time and thoroughly enjoyed both.
Carol

Hi Khaled!
Finished "The Kite Runner" last night. Read the whole second half on my boyfriend's couch while screaming! Well done! Going out to buy the next one today. Congratulations on all your success

Dear Khaled Hosseini,

I am a retired Episcopal priest living in California, just below Santa Barbara ---very near the sea. Thank you for the remarkable and touching story of Mariam and Leila and their unlikely friendship of sacrifice and mutual care for children. It is the women, after all, who must demand that these tiresome heartless wars cease. I pray for all Iraqi and Afghanistani women caught up in violence and oppression. You have made them alive for me.

Greetings from New Zealand. This morning I finished reading "The Kite Runner". I only started it yesterday and could not put it down as it moved me so much.

My son lives in Afghanistan, I have seen many photos of Kabul and other places that were mentioned in the book, and have read many other books about Afghanistan in an effort to understand something of the place.

I read the Afghan Online website each day to find out what is happening there. There is a list of recommended reading on Afghanistan on this website, "The Kite Runner" being one of the recommended books, so when I spotted a copy at my local library I decided it was time I read it. How I wish I had read it long ago, but it seems as if I was fated to read it right now. There are many mentions in "The Kite Runner" of "Shahnameh" – I couldn't believe it as I have been working my way through many of the stories in this magnificent work in the last couple of weeks, in English, of course.

I sponsor a woman in Afghanistan through an international organisation, so I hope the little that I can do from a country so far away will be of some help. I look forward to reading your new novel. Thanks so much.

Linda Ward

Dear Khaled Hosseini,

After reading all the blogs below, I don’t know what else I can add. I agree to every single one of them.

I have read ‘’The kite runner’’ after many people recommended me, because it was not really known in The Netherlands. And I must say, it was more the worth it.

When I heard that "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it. I just finished with reading the book. It is the best way of reading a amazing story and to know more about the history of my beautiful country.

All I can say from now on is Tashakor/Manana and I can’t wait for your next book.

Kind regards,

Miss Bormand
From The Netherlands

Hello Mr. Hosseini,

I am about to finish the A Thousand Splendid Suns reading. Great book!

Your talent to tell a story is a blessed gift.

Thank you for writting.

Hey! When are you intending to head South?

Best regards from Brazil.

Cesar

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I have just finished your second novel. I thought your first could not be topped,, but this one took my breath away. Please hurry and write your third and fourth and fifth etc. You are a beautiful storyteller and I have loved every word in your books.
Thank you Rina

I have read both of your books, and found them amazing, as everyone else.

Perhaps your next book could be the fictional tale of how the world helps Afganistan become a peaceful country, how the Afgani people defeat their own reckless violence towards each other, and how a new generation of Afgan men learn to treat women as more than servants.

Perhaps this book could then serve as a guide for what the people of the US and the rest of the world should demand of their governments to help Afganistan.

Perhaps this book will reveal how other countries follow the Afgan model, so more of Asia and Persia can exist in peace.

Perhaps.

Barbar became my father. AmirJohn my brother. Hassan my protector. SurabJohn my child. Thank you for opening Afghanistan to me. I now wish Americans were more like Afghan's. Rich with the bonds of a culture steep in honor, loyalty and thousands of years of history.

I just read the kite runner in one day, it was such an amazing story I could not put it down. Congratulations on writing such a beautiful story. I am still thinking about it, and cannot wait for the movie!

I recently read "The Quince Seed Potion". Call me crazy, but the Kite Runner was strangely similar in so many ways. In my opinion, the Kite Runner was basically the same story, only better written, and more interesting.

I would love to know if anyone felt them same as I did.

D. Pakzaban

I just finished reading The Kite Runner. I read a lot of books and I can truthfully say that this is the most moving reading experience that I have had. I've had the book for some time before choosing to read it. I guess the title was so strange for me, perhaps that is why it took a year for the book to become so popular. I just purchased A Thousand Splendid Suns and cannot wait to begin reading it. I just wanted to say that I know many of us would love to read more about Sohrab. Would you ever consider picking up where you left us???

salaam alekum khaled jan

I finished reading your book two days ago although i started it quite some time back.It was because in a way i dint want it to get over . . . it had such a profound influence on me for days.I kept thinkin of what happens to aseef.and how hasans life turns out just because he was born a 'Hazra' . . and despite betrayal there is still loyalty.
It was only after reading your book did i acctually understand how bad the situation in afghianistan was and still is.I also wanted to know whether this book is autobiographical in some way. ..
Thank you . . devavrat.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Upon finishing "A Thousand Splendid Sunsets" I found myself compelled and inspired to write a small tribute to Miriam.

To those who have not,
I can't feel your pain.
But I can feel your heart,

Be brave for those like her,
For she carries you to the end.

Thank you for this book.

Dear Mr Hosseini,

I just finished your second novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I also read "The Kite Runner" in German. As I didn't want to waint until the second novel is translated into German I bought it in English and read it in about 5 days. I enjoyed the story very much and it is absolutely touching and very interesting. On the one hand I was really impressed by the story of Laila and Mariam and on the other side it helps a lot to understand Afghanistan as a country: it's history and it's development. While reading your book I bought the autobiography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali to get more and detailed information about the situation of Islamic women in general. I hope your book will touch a lot of readers and will be as successful as "The Kite Runner". I also hope that you will go on writing about your your country Afghanistan. Thank you very much

Petra Dienstbach

My dearest Khaled,

The Kite Runner has left a mark on my heart which is difficut to remove... it is etchd in my mind and is one of the best books I have ever read... there is not a person know whom I have not recomended that brilliant book... calling it a book would be belittling what it is... it is actually "Life in words."

Then started a long wait for a Thousand Splendid Suns and I knew I would be the first one to pick it up...
Khaled... I wept, I wailed... I screeched... you raised my hopes and filled the world with possibilities and then brought it crashing down... you broke my heart... how different would life had been if they had escaped on that bus? how different would Mariam's world had been had she listened to her mother that afternoon? Mariam walking to be killed and that line about how some one with an illegitimate start had such an legitimate end... and the vhs of pinocchio... Khaled - thinking, just thinking of your books just gives me goose bumps and tears me up and aches my heart...

your work is pure... and I am the greatest fan of yours Khaled... your book has changed the way I look at life and take it for granted... your books make me think how little am I and my pain... and that there is so much more people endure... and still live... that is the key to all your works - that spirit to live... even when all is gone... people live and hope and above al thing... believe... Thank you once again for eveything... I hold you in the light... always.

Salman Bukhari

Mr. Hosseini,
completed the kite runner last week. The story really had substance. but then thought the coincidences were too a many and hence lost that [b]sudden punch[/b] factor. You could have done without those and still the central story was so strong that it would have still delivered the goods.
Happiness Always, Mahesh

Oh my god, I just finished "The Kite Runner". I'm paralyzed by an array of emotions. The overwhelming one is sadness. I cried almost the entire time I read. Your writing is brilliant. I can't believe how engaging this book is. You transported me to Afghanistan, and I felt I was there witnessing the lives of the characters. The entire time I was reading, I thought I was reading your autobiography. So, I was pleased to learn it was fiction. But pained when I realized that the part of children being abused is not. My heart fell in love with Sohrab. I wish I could hold him and protect him. God, I was moved. I can't get the characters out of my mind. You have deeply moved me. Thank you. I was introduced to your book by one of my patients. I am a dental assistant in Fountain Valley, Ca. Now I will pass the book around. It is story that longs to be heard.

Hi Khaled,
This is gurpreet from INDIA.
This morning I finished reading "The Kite Runner". I had just one word to say about the book 'AWESOME'. I just didnt do anything else , just read your book. Just waiting to get my hands on ur new book.
Regards,
Gurpreet Singh.

Mr. Hosseini,
I have read both the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns and learned much from both books. I am on the BOD of an agency that supports abused women and children in the USA. Your books gave me much insight into cultures where Universal Human Rights are not only not embraced but are in fact opposed by the government. The cause for human rights for women goes far beyond the Middle East. It is my hope that as we understand the root causes for abuse of women and children, both in the USA and Middle East, we'll be able to put in place more effective means to preclude those activities. I look forward to reading your next book. You are an outstanding novelist.

Caro Khaled,
when my step father gave me the Kite runner for Xmas I thought "well,it must be nice"....I couldn't stop reading in the night. "E' un capolavoro!" I repeated to myself. I run to the library to find an other one but I didn't found anything of you so I waited and my time was well paid at the end with A Thousand Splendid Suns. I cried and remember a part of my life that i've tried to forget for so long...I'm just 26 but I passed 12 years living with my mum and waiting at the window for a father that came to visit me jusy once a year if I was lucky. It was like if Mariam and Laila redeemed me...thanks a lot for giving so many emotions and truth all together, and thank you for teaching us the story of a country that scare all those people who don't anything about yuor mountains, your beatiful language and about the pain.
I'll wait for the next book...hope to see it soon!
Con Affetto Marzia (from Rome)

Dear Khaled:

I live in Canada and am aware of some of the struggles of the people of Afghanistan. But after reading The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns my compassion for your native land and people has blossomed.

You have an amazing, God-given gift for story telling and touching our souls with your words. From the first page of each book I found myself swept up into the lives of people in a land about which I knew so little. One moment I experienced the horrors of the terrorist regime, the next a window opened and in that moment my heart soared with your characters to a place of incredible beauty. Your skill at bringing your characters to life and drawing readers into those lives is one that I hope gains you great recognition. I thank you for bringing the recent history of Afghanistan to life for me and so many other readers. I have recommended your books to more people than I have for any book I had previously read.
Actually, I tell everyone that your books are the BEST NOVELS I have ever read! I mean this sincerely.

Like your other fans, I anxiously await your next novel and the movie version of The Kite Runner.

I don't know what I can do personally to help out the Afghani people but I will investigate the information on your website and follow my heart, and I will continue to recommend your novels to everyone I meet.

God bless you in your work and the call on your life.

Dear Mr. Hosseini, I was very privileged to hear you speak about "The Kite Runner" last year at the Santa Barbara Literary and Prologue Society. Your story then was mesmerizing. You told us that the next book to be published was to be about Afghan women, and I have waited - most impatiently - for it to be published. And what a story you have told in "A Thousand Splendid Suns". My congratulations, sir, on yet another masterpiece. I hope you will continue to find the time to write, busy as you are. It would be a true loss should we not hear from you again!

Dear Sir,
You made it possible to tell a most horrendous story into something so beautifully told. I am a fan forever!

Dear mr. Hosseini,
I've read your book "The Kite Runner" and I'm still amazed at it. It really touched my heart.
I can't wait to read your second book, I hope it's not as sad as the first one.
By the way, I'm from Phalestine, so I felt semphathy while reading the book.
Good luck.
Rowaida

Dear Khaled,
Wow is really all I can say after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can honestly say that I have never been so moved by a novel in my life before. This story brought to life a lot of the violence, fear and grief that is happening worlds away from myself, yet your writing made it real and up close. My heart will forever have an imprint of Mariam and Laila on it and my mind will never forget the look into the Afghan culture you have given me. A thousand thanks!!

Lisa from Minnesota.

i have just completed your book " a thousand slpendid suns" --- a real treat! i am an indian and i felt so close to the characters while reading about them. i am a designer and being into the creative field i can actually visualise the characters! it was awesome i broke into tears when Mariam was put into death and when Laila was reading her Mariam's father's letter. God bless you Hosseini for your invincible way of writing and i relly wait for your next book!

I’m a reader voracious, but never it is happened to me to affect me reading a book. In “Thousand splendid suns”, every feeling tried from Mariam was also mine, every her hope was also mine, every her resignation was mine, every her sufferance was mine. “ ..And to think that I adored to you …. That I looked forward you’d came on thursday … ”. These words are carved within me. I distinguished see the sad eyes of Mariam, I feel her desperation, her giving up in order to have accepted a destiny for love of a father who instead shame of her.
But the point is that these histories happen, these children exists. How many times they put hopes in the adults than then come punctually betrayed, because we are engages in our transactions, because we hold our social conventions, because we are ashamed of they.
I read that Hosseini is engaged in one not governmental organization. I ask: how we can help these children, as we can give them love (more than money), as we can make that they are not felt betrayed from the adults? I thank you if you will want to honor me of a kind signal of answer.
Best regards.
Gianangelo Monchieri

dear MR Hosseini
ive just finished reading kiterunners(3hours ago),and i couldnt stop thinking about it since then.through your novel i could feel really how beautiful and influential is Shahname"one of the greatest epic works of my country"u see its the least thing that could have be of an impact to a reader.
im a medical student in iran,i could have never imagined that a doctor would have such a nice way of writing.
maybe sometime i will start to write .although it would never be like you.
thank you for helping thousands of people feel how nice are asian people

My heart is heavy right now after finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns. Maybe it means more that I am in Moscow reading it. Maybe the setting is incidental. I don't know. The story is sitting like a knot in my stomach. I feel full (the stomach kind of full) of anger mixed with profound sadness and helplessness. I need to act and do something, but have no idea where to begin.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Compliments on your beautifully written novels. My mother encouraged me to read the "Kite Runner." That story transformed me.

I am now reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and have only placed the book down long enough to weep for Mariam. Thank you for enlightening me to the struggles of Afghan women and to all who suffer at the hands of such cruelty.

My heart aches but my eyes are now wide open.

Regards,

Lisa
Benicia, CA

Dr. Hosseini,

I just completed "A Thousand Splendid Suns" yesterday and I was privileged to read "The Kite Runner" last year. My wife insisted that I read the Kite Runner, but I was resistant after having spent a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a soldier. Both of these wonderful works moved me in ways I could never articulate. My experience in Afghanistan was complex. There was so much to love and so much to hate. Just as with the characters in your novels. A part of my heart and soul will always be with Afghanistan and her wonderful, resilient people. I am grateful that you allowed me to revisit my experience and feel like it was worth it. The sites, sounds, smells and voices of the people in places like Shkin, Orgun, Kandahar and the Shah-E-Kot Valley are with me every day. Your writing allowed me to give it new meaning. I have now insisted that my wife read your second book! You are a rare talent. Tashakor.

A US Soldier.

Dear Khaled Hosseini
Thank you so much for this sensitive and touchy novel A Thousand Splendid Suns
Since reading your first wonderful book I was waiting for the next one. Your rich descriptions lead us to an interesting world and to interactions between people and generations.

Hi Khaled,

I can't even begin to describe how moved I was by The Kite Runner. It was very touching and at the point where Amir went back home, I couldn't put the book down! I just had to find out what happened and quite honestly-I really wanted to know what became of Hassan's son.:-) It was a phenominal book and I hope that the new one is even better! Keep writing!

Nicole

DEAR MR HOSSEINI
DOROOD BAR SHOMA,Im a farsizaban writing for you.I was deeply moved by THE KITE RUNNER.I was living every single moment with AMIR &HASSAN for weeks&recommend the book to all the people i knew have a good taste in reading books.I read it both in english & the farsi translation.the book changed my look to your fellow people who are living in iran.I try to persuade my fellowpeople that this hardworking people who are our guests,althogh they pay more than their share in constructing our land,have no intention to stay here for long.they have to stay because of the devastating war in their motherland.Taghdir bad
,DESTINY,have made them to do so.
When i finished the book i thought that it was the best book for mylife.i was wrong!ATHOUSANT SPELENDID SUNS shows the unlimited borders of brutality &selfsacrifice on the other hand.The farsi translation havent published yet,so I narrate the story word by word to mymothr who is a great fan of you &THE KITE RUNNER.she is fond of this one evenmore and eager to read it infarsi.As a farsi zaban im proud of your books.looking forward the third one impatianly.
atoossa armin,tehran

Hi Khaled,

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in a marathon reading session over the weekend.Tashakor for a beautifully poignant book !
I must add that it was a very enriching experience.The book is so moving that it brought me to tears - I was actually crying towards the end - when Mariam goes for the execution, when you write that in her end she earns legitimacy and the "Pinochchhio" video.

I am quite a voracious reader but the only time I was touched to such a great extent was earlier this year - when I read "The Kite-Runner". After completing that book, I was emotionally so drained that for many days thereafter, any other novel seemed frivolous.

You are a very gifted story-teller - you manage to strike the right chords in your reader's heart. The image that you sketch of Afghanistan and its people is very endearing - very unlike the pictures that we see of Afghanistan otherwise in the media. You have that powerful talent of painting a blank canvas with words - and not be verbose at the same time.What I like the most in your work is the triumph of the human spirit at the end - the only other writer I know who does a similar job is Steinbeck. As a reader, it's very heartening to know that in spite of all the odds,there still is hope in life. Both your books are the perfect tribute to Steinbeck's legacy.

And I am already waiting for the third one... :)

Best Regards,
Banhi.
Bangalore, India.

Tashakor Hosseini Saheb...
As I go through your comment book,I realise its not just me but thousands of 'em out there,touched and impressed and spellbound and fascinated by your work.But whats different with me is that this is my first read ever..my first ever novel.I had not read a book before.And when I first held 'The Kite Runner' in my hand..as a friend gifted it to me..I didn't know if I would ever be able to finish reading so many pages..in such small printing.But the moment I began reading it..I knew here was something I had been missing all my life.And now as I have finished reading it in less than a week's time,i feel completely empty with no more to read.Dream about Amir and Sohrab all the time..I wonder if anything less than this would ever satisfy me again.Ofcourse 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is going to be in my hands as soon as possible but what after that is a question I find myself asking quite often lately.
Tashakor..for such thought stirring n touching story..

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I have just finished "The Kite Runner" and I am almost finished with "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Thank you for bringing the history of Afghanistan to life in these books. I have recommended them to all of my friends to help them better understand the struggles of the Afghani people.

Many thanks for these books and I look forward to the next one.

Nancy

There are no words that I can use to tell you how much I loved Kite Runner.

I am so proud of you. I am on my way to get A Thousand Splendid Suns from Indigo today. ( can't wait to start it)

I am sure you know how great a writer you are and I really really wish you all the best everyday of your life.

Regards,

Sayeda (Toronto)

This reminded me a lot of what Amir was resisting in Kite Runner

DailyOm July 26, 2007
The Wisdom Of Surrender
Resistance Equals Persistence

We all know the feeling of being repeatedly haunted by the same issue, no matter how we try to ignore it, avoid it, or run away from it. Sometimes it seems that we can get rid of something we don’t want by simply pushing it away. Most of the time, the more we push away, the more we get pushed back. There are laws of physics and metaphysics that explain this phenomenon, which is often summed up in this pithy phrase: That which you resist persists.

Resistance tends to strengthen the energies it attempts to oppose by giving them power and energy to work against. Additionally, resistance keeps us from learning more about what we resist. In order to fully understand something, we must open to it enough to receive its energy; otherwise, we remain ignorant of its lessons. There is a Tibetan story of a monk who retreats to meditate in a cave only to be plagued by demons. He tries everything—chasing, fighting, hiding—to get the demons out of his cave, but the thing that finally works is surrender. He simply lets them have their way with him and only then do they disappear.

Now, this wisdom must be applied practically. We are not meant to get ourselves physically injured. Instead, this story speaks of how, in essence, our demons are inside of us. What plagues and pursues us on an inner level has a way of manifesting itself in our environment in the form of people, events, and issues that appear to be beyond our control. But all these external expressions are reflections of our insides, and it is inside ourselves that we can safely experiment with surrendering to what we fear and dislike. It may feel scary, and we may find ourselves in the company of a lot of resistance as we begin the process of opening to what we fear. But the more we learn to surrender, and the more the demons that plague us disappear in the process, the more courageous we will become.

Dear Khaled,
I just finished the kite runner and i can not explain begin to tell you how captivated i was by the story of Amir. There were times where i just had to put the book down and sob for every Amir and Hassan out there. It really was amazing. Great job!
Ana

Mr. Hosseini,
As I read through the comments of others around the world, I am touched even more by the fact that so many of us from completely different backgrounds are moved in the same amazing way. My 16 year old son who (hates to read!) told me I NEEDED to read Kite Runner. I did, and I was drawn in a way I would never have expected. I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and am forever changed. I have challenged myself to search deeper and learn more about a country that I thought I understood.

Your writing touches, opens, breaks and brings joy to ones heart.

You are truly gifted, many of God's blessings to you and your family!

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

Thank you so much for writing 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. As a 'word person' I treasured the images, times, people and environment you evoked. My head filled with the sights and sounds of the story. I 'saw' Laila and Mariam, felt their pain and shared their profound love. For the first time I had a feeling for what Afghanistan might truly be like, not at all like the p.r. we get in the U.S. from mass magazines and newspapers. I felt the unique beauty of your country, the horrible challenges and courage of the Afghan people and smelled the flowers along with the wind and heat.

I sent an e-mail to your agent requesting that you sign a copy of my book. I received a curt response which I interpreted as rude. In the hope that you will read this, I again request that you can find some time in your very busy schedule to sign my book. Of course I will include return postage and packing.

Thank you for writing this book. You must possess a multitude of mirror neurons.

Bonnie Brody, LMFT, LCSW

Dear Mr. Hoesseini, you captured my heart from the first moment reading "The Kite Runner". What a wonderfully believable, emotional, sensitive, honest and generous writer you are. I've just now read, with such rare pleasure, "A Thousand Splendid Suns". How could it be "The Kite Runner" being equaled, even surpassed? Your written style, fluid, natural, sensitive, allows such ease in following the tragic, yet so very beautiful, story line. The subtlest of description, gives an emotional and direct response. Speaking through the female voice is beyond believable; so honest. References to the poets, arts, and culture of Afghanistan, your apparent concern for the importance of life, love, and the future, gives hope, a glimpse into a wonderful people's struggle. Awaiting your next, and without question, beautiful gift. You must continue, and may you be rewarded by a thousand splendid suns, as we have been so honored through your lovely words.

Khaled,

Moments ago I finished reading your second novel and I don't appreciate you making me cry twice in a row! :-)

Thank you for reminding Westerners that there is both bad and good among all people, and within each of us. And, amid all the darkness we're subjected to, thanks for showing us just a little hope, and just a little brightness. Even a single splendid sun goes a long way.

Terry Levine
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dear Khaled,

I enjoyed reading both novels. They have brought Afghanistan and its people even closer to my heart.
While reading both novels, I found the characters so strong and alive they sneaked into my daily life; whether I was driving to work or taking my children to school I could not detach myself from the story to the point where I caught myself putting the names of Maryam and Baba to faces I randomly came across... This is how haunting your protagonists can be. Through these characters, you have succeeded in highlighting issues that were either overlooked or taboo to discuss, and equally importantly you have brought forward qualities and values that are timeless and universal.

Simply I have never read a story this poignant, and I can't wait to read the next one(s).

Sincerely,
Wafaa

I loved The Kite Runner and I just finished the A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I loved even more. I feel such a connection to the characters that I find myself missing their company once I've complete the books.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

After reading The Kite Runner, I couldn't wait to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. I just now finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and I am practically speechless. What a remarkable, beautiful story! This has made the struggles of the people of Afghanistan so real to me. I couldn't imagine living and persevering after so many years of war. You've managed to show the courage of a culture and gender in a memorable way. Thank you for this book! I can't wait for the next one!

Mr.Hosseni
al slam walekom
i have read your last book that already in sales "splendid thousands suns" it is simply amazing and astounshing book , i hope you will keep in this way and enjoy us with more incredible books . it seems you were born to write books :).
sincere
Nabeel

I have just finished reading your second book. I loved The Kite Runner, have bought about 5 copies to give to friends - I promote the book all the time, it is one of my best reads ever! The second book is right up there with the first one! Congratulations! I have looked for your second book ever since finishing the first one - please don't take too long to write a third one! All the best.

Dear Khaled Hosseini,
Your two books have been illuminating, in particular of the social and political events that unfolded in Afghanistan over the last thrty years. The details of which I was somewhat ignorant of despite being fairly politically aware. But the greatness of your novels transcends the political turmoil. They bring to life the story of ordinary people of a nation that is glimpsed only distantly through news clips and documentaries. They humanise the country and make its devastation that much more real.
But more than that for me, the books brought home the intertwining of cultures of your original country and mine. I am originally from India and have settled in the UK for the last 12 years. During my childhood, (I am roughly the same age as you) I remember the presence of Kabuliwalas on the streets in India, selling Kabuli chana and an assortment of dry fruit. They were known for their big hearts, generosity, great hulking personalities, their unwavering sense of friendship, loyalty and honour. I remember a Hindi movie called 'Kabuliwala', which had a profound effect on me at the time and one song in particular still brings a lump to my throat- 'Ae mere pyare watan,
ae mere bichade chaman,
tujhpe dil qurbaan.'
You might perhaps remember it. So many farsi words have been adopted not only in Hindi but also in Marathi, my mother tongue that the use of some of them in your novels brought a strange sort of identification with your country, your people.
Of course in the last 20 or more years, the close bond between our countries has been undone. There is now suspicion and animosity between neighbouring countries of the region for various complex reasons. It is such a crying shame though. All that cultural history we have shared for thousands of years detroyed mindlessly like the stone buddhas!
I want to congratulate you on the sensitivity you have brought to the depiction of your characters, especially the women. It is a rare acheivement for a man to write through a female perspective so successfully. Your honesty ans wisdom shine through the pages. It would have been so easy to turn these into polemics. May you write many more books.

Anupama Shrotri
Liverpool,UK

Dear Khaled,

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and was once again very moved by your writing and your skill at getting to the heart of your subject. It is important for us Americans to read about and try to understand the effects that war has on innocent people. We got a taste of the horror, destruction and loss that war inflicts during the attacks of 9/11, but many of us have never had to live daily with the horrors of war. To understand the fragile position of women and children is heartbreaking. Also, to give a face (or many faces) to a country and culture that is largely Muslim is so crucial at this time. It is an important step towards peace. Thank you!

I was also very moved by The Kite Runner. Half way through I asked my husband if it got better (meaning less tragic) and he said no. I kept reading and proceeded to cry for two hours when I was done with the book. The next morning I looked up orphanages in Afghanistan on the internet and found Rukhsana Khans's website and made a small contribution to her efforts. I hope to do more. I am a librarian at a small rural school and often talk to the children about the powerful impact that writing can have in the world. Thank you for that too!

Just when I thought that there was no way to out do The Kite Runner....surprise...surprise! You are an amazing story teller!
I was truly engaged in the story and the characters. I found myself thinking about them when I was not reading the book.
Thank you for sharing your story with the world. I have been moved to take action and help in any way I can the people of Afghanistan and the world where people are suppressed.

I just finished reading "One thousand splendid suns". Powerful. The oppression of a people and before that the opression of women that is similar in so many places around the globe.
A story of wasted lives so eloquently written that I thought I was reading the story of my own people.
And maybe I was.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Where do I start? When the US went into Afghanistan in search of Osama Bin Laden, I went to a large map maker to get a huge map to follow the hunt. The map was mostly gray without a lot of information. It only looked like a big gray blob on a 24x36 inch map. During my education here in the US we were not taught much about your country. I picked up the audio book of A Thousand Splendid Suns and you opened up a new world to me before Russia, the Taliban, and the US changed your world. I have told everyone to get the book. I just bought the audio of The Kite Runner and I must say I drive 55 miles round trip to work. When I get there I do not want to get out of the car. When I pull into my garage I turn off the engine and listen until the end of the chapter and cannot wait to start to work in the morning. I can only imagine you will be approached for a movie deal on both of the books. Please, please keep control on how these books are portrayed. They are much too precious to be Hollywoodized. Congratulations on both books, they filled my heart and made it cry and laugh and hope your country can once again find peace. Don’t stop writing. The whole world needs to know about yours.

Hello Mr. Hosseini,
From Puerto Rico here, I just wanted to let you know that The Kite Runner is one of the Best books I have ever read, and believe me I read a lot! I was greatly impressed with the book and what impressed me the most was that no one has ever talked to me about the book until I saw it at Borders and it instanly grabbed my attention. Im just 18 years old and I can definitly tell you that this book has change my perspective as a reader in a good way. Thanks a lot, and I just bought "A Tousands Splendid Suns" yesterday and hope is as good as The Kite Runner.
Diego

Dear Khaled,

I want to thank you for writing both "the kite runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Both stories are splendid! How little do I know about Afganistan: the history, the people, the traditions, the civil war. How naive to think that the Taliban was the beginning of lots of horror. While the people in Afganistan have been living in war for decades, and in the beginning the Taliban maybe even brought them hope (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The more people will read your books, the more it must contribute to understanding between people, contries and religions. I'll recommend your books to everyone I know.

Thank you,
Annemiek (The Neterlands)

Dear Dr. Hosseini.

The Kite Runner had been recommended to me many many months ago, but I thought, oh no it is not what I usually enjoy reading. After having had it recommended again my my sister-in-law I purchased it and read it in one day. It was educational as well as heart rendering. To have it end like it did was a touch of magic.

After finishing The Kite Runner, I immediately went to a local book store and purchased A Thousand Splendid Suns. I must say that I enjoyed it even more than The Kite Runner. I believe that as a woman, I could identify with the characters more readily.

You have truly been given a gift from God, what ever we call him, that you must continue using.

Thank you for sharing your talent and your memories with us, the readers of the world.

Khaled Hossein,

Thank you for writing a beautiful novel. Surely, "The Kite Runner" will be remembered for years and years to come, and will no doubt be taught in classrooms as a classic. Your fiction work has become that which I will judge all other fiction against and I'm excited to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns."

Thanks again for moving me.

Sincerely,
Bryan Catherman
SLC, Utah

I’m a reader voracious, but never it is happened to me to affect me reading a book. In “Thousand splendid suns”, every feeling tried from Mariam was also mine, every her hope was also mine, every her resignation was mine, every her sufferance was mine. “ ..And to think that I adored to you …. That I looked forward you’d came on thursday … ”. These words are carved within me. I see the sad eyes of Mariam, I feel her desperation, her giving up in order to have accepted a destiny for love of a father who instead shame of her.
But the point is that these histories happen, these children exists. How many times they put hopes in the adults than then come punctually betrayed, because we are engages in our transactions, because we hold our social conventions, because we pay attention only to our business.
I read that you are engaged in one not governmental organization. I ask: how we can help these children, as we can give them love (more than money). Is it possible to adopt a orphan baby? I have 3 chidren and often I have a guilt because my children are well being while million of children in the word are mistreated like Mariam.
Best regards.
Gianangelo Monchieri

Dr. Khaled,
I read your second book first, in three days. I love the characters, the setting was so vivid. I find it hard to find good novels these days and yours was better that I had ever expected. It has stayed with me. I have told everyone they need to read it. I also read Kite Runner, in two days...WOW! I love the characters. I eagerly await another and another. You are gifted. Take my advice and write a childrens book about Kite Runners. Inshallah!

Best to you and your family
~Carmela

Mr. Hosseini,

As I finished the last 100 pages of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" last night I felt as if I knew these women personally, and was feeling their grief as my own. I found myself literally crying both for their sorrows, pains and joy - but also for my own sorrow. As I put the book down I felt so sad that these were only characters in a book and not in my own life. I felt as if my closest friend had left me and I would not see her again. I grew to love these characters.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this incredible story and your writing. This story will stay with me forever. I cannot wait to pass this book along to all my family and friends.

Please write another book soon!

Admirably,
Ms. Fox

Dear Khaled,
I have to honestly let you know that after reading Kite Runner, i ran right out and placed my name on thed waitinglist for A Thousand Splendid Suns. Your books give me such a different insight and views of a country that is no longer on everyone's tounge. My heart will always think of women like Liala and Miriam of this world and GOD bless you for showing us what they went thru.
Rohenie

Dear Khaled,
I have to honestly let you know that after reading Kite Runner, i ran right out and placed my name on thed waitinglist for A Thousand Splendid Suns. Your books give me such a different insight and views of a country that is no longer on everyone's tounge. My heart will always think of women like Liala and Miriam of this world and GOD bless you for showing us what they went thru.
Rohenie

Mr. Hosseini--

I first read your first novel, The Kite Runner when I was in eighth grade. I absolutely loved it. Several years later, in my sophomore English class in high school, I read it once more. Now I can't wait for the movie coming out later this year.

Last night, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns in one sitting--I literally could not stop reading it. It is eloquent, heart wrenching, and beautifully written.

Thank you so much for your amazing works...I eagerly await your next novel.

Matt
Chicago, Illinois

Khaled Hosseini,
I have just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I teach in an inner-city elementary school. I have had the honour of teaching children that have come to Canada as refugees from all over the world including Afghanistan. Thank you for writing a novel that helps me to have a better understanding of what kinds of lives our children have experienced. I believe it helps me be a better teacher.
Julie from Winnipeg, Manitoba

I think that after reading The Kite Runner I will never be able to forget it. There is no other book that I could compare it to. The way you wrote it making readers so attached to the story... well, it is one of a kind! Truly unique!

Dear Dr. Hosseini:

You have given Afghanistan women a voice. I am trully humbled to have had found your book-A Thousand Splendid Suns. I seemed pulled to your book, and yet chose to ignore the little voice inside myself. I knew that it would be sad and that it would make me feel every emotion that is uncomfortable to feel. After walking out of bookstores with the same old thrillers, one day I decided to listen to my little voice. I am not sure that I will ever forget Miriam, nor do I want to. Thank you so much for the flood of emotions that I experienced while reading your book. I know that you wrote a book of fiction-however Miriam and Laila were as real to me as the person who looks back at me in the mirror. I am forever grateful to you and to those who inspire you to write from such a soulful place.

Warmest Regards,
Kate.

Dear Mr Khaled Hosseini,

I have had great pleasure in reading your novel'A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS'. i must say i have never ever come across something that was very irrestible to me, from the day i bought that book i didnt put it down , i must say also that you really did make me think about what i have in my life and what around me was so important and so blessful that i hardly took notice of. I have recommended it to my mother and also my siblings, iam sure they will enjoy it as much as i did. There came laughter and joy and also sadness and cries, it made me cry a little just thinking how the characters would have been feeling to have such delimma's thorwn upon them. but i just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful novel. and now iam looking forward to reading your first novel.

takecare,
Khuda hafiz
Ashna from New Zealand.

This is a great work of art.

I read both the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns in less than 2 weeks and I've never been so moved. Your readers are lucky enough to get a history lesson while, at the same time, reading beautiful stories with truly memorable characters.

I hate to admit how ignorant I was about the recent history of Afghanistan. Although your books were heartbreaking, they also give me great hope for the future of your native country.

It breaks my heart to know that the children of Afghanistan only know conflict and tragedy. As the older generations go, it is nice to know there are people like you who keep the memory of their great country alive so that they have hope that someday it will return to its former glory. The Taliban can destroy a lot of things but they cannot erase the memories of those who were there before they or the Soviets did their damage.

Mr. Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns introduced me to your beautiful, proud, and strong homeland. Mariam, Laila, and all their sisters now have a place in my heart and prayers. I love and admire them. Thank you for your deeply moving, beautifully written novel. I am looking forward to reading The Kite Runner and, someday, more of your work. --Patricia

I teach world literature at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and I am wondering which of the two novels (Kite Runner; Thousand Splendid Suns) best captures the geography of Afghanistan, if either does. I look forward to a reply. --Mary

I teach world literature at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and I am wanting to know which of the two novels--Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns--best describes the geography of Aghanistan, if either do. Thanks.

i am abhinav kumar. two months back i got a book name the kite runner. as i think the tittle of the book will make ur heart and mind that much conscious that u cant live without reading a book.
1000 splendid sun , again a great work of literature. mr khalled has a great sense of understanding the human emotions as well as hypocricsy.
a story which start with a line in which a abusive word harami is used.
mariam through out her life was thinking that she is a unwanted creature in this world. i m using word creature not a human being.
and if a creature in human form is so much fortunate that in a birth she became a human
and a light of 1000 splendid sun started radiating in her heart think what a life she has.

mr khalleed i would like to thanks you not only for ur great art work but also u have shown us the world which would have vanished in the darkness of history without a light on this part.
ABHINAV KUYMAR
9967335625

hey,
"the kite runner".one of the best books iv read mr.hosseini.beautifully written.brilliant job.loved the book.gonna start readin "a thousand splended suns".expecting a lot from this one too.keep up the good work sir.
abbas,

Mr. Hosseini,

Few writers have captivated my heart and my mind as you have. I read A Thousand Splendid Suns last week in 36 hours, and I just finished a few days with The Kite Runner a bit ago. I am struck by your capacity to tell such important stories in a most moving and captivating manner. Truly, you have a gift in writing my favorite genre of literature--historical fiction. I was moved to hot tears by your description of Mariam's feelings after her first miscarriage, by her private "funeral ceremony." Having suffered multiple miscarriages myself, I could not believe that you--a man--could vocalize all of my feelings in such an amazing way. Thank you for sharing your gift, Amir, Hassan, Mariam, Laila, and Afghanistan with the world. I wake in the middle of the night thinking of them.

Dear Khaled Hosseini,

I really, really loved The Kite Runner as well as A thousand Splendid Suns. I don't know how you did it but I can't stop thinking about the caracters of the book. I'm really interested in your work at the UNHCR. I would like to make a donation but unfortunattely i don't have a creditcard. Do you have another suggestion?
I'm really looking forward too see the movie! Keep up the really, really good work!

With love, Lauri from Amsterdam

Dear Mr Hosseini

Your book was recommended to me many times. People who'd read it had said, "Karnie, who'll love this book". That was a year ago. I bought your book this past weekend and could not put it down. Never have I cried this much since To Kill a Mockingbird or the Color Purple. I cried for Hassan's display of honour for Amir's lack of it, for Hassan's loyalty, for Sohrab's vulnerability. I cried when Amir became his father's son and at baba's inner strength. I feel like I knew this family, that they exist..in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I cannot stop talking about your book...Thank you for your masterful storytelling.

Sincerely
Karnagie

p.s. I won't wait this long to read your next novel

Dear Khaled,
Many thanks for both your books. Your writing is beautiful and both books allowed me to enter the culture of Afghanistan. Our son served as a chinook helicopter pilot with the 160th special forces. His many missions were in and out of Afghanistan. I had given him a copy of The Kite Runner---He not only read it but so did every other pilot of the 160th stationed in Afghanistan. Unfortunately our son was killed in Afghanistan this past February. He always spoke of the people of Afghanistan and the good that was happening t we Americans are not privy to know.
A Thousand Spendid Suns and The Kite Runner have been so comforting for me. As a mother whi lost a son in Afghanistan your books have allowed me to enter his world and better understand the people he grew to love. Thanks so much.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I was up late last night, then early this morning, devouring "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I finished the last page, closed the book, and I just started to cry. I wept for the people of Afghanistan. For the women who are still enduring such pain, and the children who have seen far, far too much in their little lives.

You have removed the frosted glass through which we have been shown the war. Brief stories, captions, and pictures, shown by the media, somehow allowing us to believe we are informed. But they also allow us to move on, to forget, and to remain ignorantly blissful. Your story is etched in my heart.

Hi Khaled-
I just piked up the Kit Runner a few hours ago and I cannot put it down. I LOVE IT and not wait to finish it so I can start you new book. You are amazing.

Best of luck with your new found passion and love for writing.

Iman
West Chester, PA by way of Egypt

Dear Khaled
I had lost my love for reading but I found it back in so many ways when I read your book page by page. I don't know how you can be so transparent in your books about characters even though I imagine you must have felt a nudge of discomfort addressing "I" for Amir.... I am at a stage when all advice of the wise old men or women ceases to matter.. but in your book I found a strange reasoning.My best wishes for all your writing in the near future. In each book a secret will reveal I can't wait to hold it in my heart. Love a reader.

I have just finished both of your novels and want to thank you for such beautiful and eloquent stories. Although they are both fiction, I believe the basis of a people and the fruitless destruction of lives to be true. I contunue to ask myself "Why is it that I and my family have been so blessed by God to be born where we have been born and live the lives we live, free from persecution and destruction? Is it so that we may bless those who are and have not?" I hope so.
Thank you and keep on writing.
k. greiner

well, i read the kite runner alittle while ago. it started out as something to read to "pass the time", but i fell in love with it right away. i am in the military and stationed in kabul. becuase of this i was able to get a very good visual image in my mind. right down to the way the characters sounded when they spoke in dari! the homes, the people, the streets! it was great!

the military base i work on is very small, right in the center of kabul. there are a lot of local nationals that work with us on a daily basis and i have had the privilage to befriend a young man named omid. the two of us can sit there for hours and talk about our lives. i tell him about growing up in america, and he tells me about growing up in afghansitan. i swear, my heart really really feels for him with some of the things he tells me he had to go through at such a young age. he speaks very good english and i am always helping him learn more. soooo.. after i read your book, i handed it off to him. the words he did not understand he would ask me to explain, but for the most part he got it. he told me about the kite's and said his brother is a kite runner. i then got a great idea to find your address (fan club or something) and send you some picture of the event, but this is all i could find. i guess it was the thought that counted huh? lol all in all i would just like to thank you for the experience you have given me. a chance to see this chaotic world im living in right now a little softer. i look at all of the good things we are doing and are actually here for and it makes me smile. its a shame america cant see the bigger picture. it is beyond me why all that is desplayed is fighting and death. its sad really. but anyway, thank you agian- kerin

Your book -- A Thousand Splendid Suns -- was incredible. So well-written. It had me turning every page in anticipation of what would happen next. You made the characters come to life. I could see their faces and feel their sorrows. Thank you.

Your book -- A Thousand Splendid Suns -- was incredible. So well-written. It had me turning every page in anticipation of what would happen next. You made the characters come to life. I could see their faces and feel their sorrows. Thank you.

I just finished A thousand Splendid Suns and its one of the best books I have ever read. I cried and cried towards the end and am find the Afghan culture so so interesting, I think its important that we raise awareness in the west for these poor women.
Please write more as both your books have been A***** so far!

Good luck with the next one
Holly

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I just finished reading "The Kite Runner". It was so good that I could not stop reading it. Even when I did I was pulled to it. When ever I had a little time to myself I was picking it up. I find myself thinking about it and now I can't wait to get my hands on your new book "A Thousand Splendid Suns". As soon as I get a chance to get to the book store I will buy it. Thank you for such great reading!

Abran

Hi,
I have read both the books. I was bit touched by The Kite Runner. The book was slow in the beginning, but raced too quickly till the end, leaving behind small impacts. After this, I took a Thousan Splendid Suns. I was speechless after completeing the book in one breath. "Moved" would be an understatement. I did know how to judge, how to rationalise what happened, I was having mixed feelings, I was just feeling what I read !! Great composition.

Eagerly waiting for the next masterpiece.

Salam Brother Khaled Hosseini :-)

My name is Aisha, I live in Denmark. November 2006 I found myself in a bookstore, as many times before. I came about The Kiterunner, opened it, read the first line and was convinced that this was going to be a fantastic book! I bought the book and read it in two days. I wasn't wrong about it...

JazakAllah for your gift, for The Kiterunner is the kind a book that stays with you always.

One day I'll make the next generation read it and they too will be touched and take it with them, whereever they may go, InshAllah...
That's the kind of beauty that never fades.

Allah Hafiz & Best Regards,
Aisha Saroya.

Dear Sir,

I was less than a quarter the ways through A Thousand Splendid Suns when I got into bed to read last night. Needless to say, I was awake until 4am finishing it. You write with a connectivity that is unbelievable and I thank and admire for you. I will remember these characters for ever. Both books moved me to tears in your poetic interlace of their stories.

Thank you so much.

Luma

Salaam Hosseini Sahib,

I am originally from India and have read yours "The Kite Runner". Its story really touched me. It was amazing to read such an enchanting tale about brotherhood. I pray with all my heart that your Allah bless your country, Afghanistan, and the people that live in it.

I also can't wait to read your next novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I was really surprised to know that this one is written from women's perspective, in contrast to The Kite Runner. I am very sure that this will bring you and your country more blessings.

I wanted to ask you one thing: How do you really manage to carry two professions simultaneously? Medicine is such a busy profession and yet you find time to write such deeply and moving tales. Hats off to you !

Thank you once again and keep writing. May Allah bless you and fulfills all your desires.
Khuda Hafiz.

Sanya

Dr. Hosseini,

I was entranced by every WORD of both novels you've written. What a rare and powerful gift you've been given. You are a beautiful soul, Khaled.

Anxiously awaiting your third,
MJ (RN, almost CRNA:), from Denver)

PS How on earth is there time to write and practice medicine?!

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Thank you for writing "The Kite Runner".
From the very first page, I journeyed to
Kabul. I pictured Baba's home and the snow
covered mountains and Amir and Hassan.

What a beautiful story told. I am now
so much more enlightened about Afghanistan
and it's people.

While reading it was hard to believe it was
fiction.

A thousand thank you's!

Dear Khaled,

I had loved "The Kite Runner" and was wondering how your second novel would be... second works often deceive.
On the contrary, I was really fascinated by "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and couldn't leave it till I finished it. I can only say THANK YOU... it's a great story, it represents LIFE with all his beauty, injustice, love, hope... and with a close eye on Afghan politic situation and on how it influences everybody's life. It really moved me, also because I'm very involved on how we can make this world better.

Tashakor!

Laura - Italy

It is shocking how your books affected me. You bring these horrid events and the war to life and make them so real for me. I feel as though I am a character in these books. In this way, they have made such an impact on my thoughts about Afghanistan, and i can only hope to be able to make a difference as you did yourself. Thank you for waking me up to the world and its injustices.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
After reading and loving The Kite Runner when it first came out, I listened to your reading of it as well last spring. I was entranced all over again. A Thousand Splendid Suns was not less captivating. You are an incredible writer. Please tempt us again!
Laura
Vernon, NJ

Dear Mr Hosseini,
Salaam
I just finished The Kite Runner.Just wanted to say Thank you for your amazing book.

God bless you.
Best Regards
Nasrin
Belgium

I have read kiterunner and am afraid to finish thousand spendid suns--I just don't want the story to end. You have no idea how much your stories are revered in america. Your stories have touched my life and I feel these are the best books I have ever read, and I have read a lot of books. I feel extremely fortunate not to have been born in a country were women are treated so very badly.
I completely fell in love with Tariq.
Keep writing, plaese!!!!

Dear Mr. Housseini,

After reading The Kite Runner, I immediately went out to purchase A Thousand Splendid Suns. I cannot thank you enough for having the courage and the insight to share your knowledge of your home country with those of us who may never know it first-hand. In these tumultuous times, your poignant prose brought such a unique image to my mind...one that I will forever cherish. Thank you for giving us such a beautiful story of honor and dignity, one that we can confidently pass on to our children to read. God bless you.

Anne S.
Louisiana, USA

Dear Khaled,

Greetings from South Africa. I have just finished "A thousand splendid suns". I wept during the book and after. What book can I possibly read now that will compete?
You touched my heart as a woman. I live in a country where we have at least 5 different "tribes" if I may put it that way. We have many different religions here too. The Muslim women have always fascinated me and whenever the opportunity arises, I ask them about their lives and their clothing. What astounds me more is that you, as a man have a deep understanding of women and for this (and many other talents) I applaud you. God has given you a rare gift.
If you ever come to South Africa, I would love to meet you and your family.
thank you
Kind regards

Jane Kuzlo

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

You have written a book of unforgettable sadness and beauty and I want to thank you for it.

Stories like those of Mariam, Laila and Tariq are, I'm sure, abundant in Afghanistan's history of the last thirty years. They are important stories and you have given them to us with stunning beauty.

I sincerely hope that the world community has the resolve to help your country prosper in peace.

dear dr khaled
im a girl from iran.one of my best friend pass your book-the kite runner-to me as my birthday gift & you cant emagin how much i thank her & thank u...i dont know if your new novel translate to farsi or not & whats its name.so would you pls tell me the name of your new book in farsi if you stil can speak farsi?
i cant speak english well sorry for my mistakes.

Dear Hosseini,

Greetings from India,

I can't tell you in simple words how happy I felt after reading Kite Runner, I could literally feel afghanistan from here, Its was as simple book but quite close to heart. I just picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns & started reading it now. Hope the wonderful journey continues.

Warm Regards

I am only partway through ATSS but I was reading this blog up near the top and I need to add a suggestion.

KH - Could you please write a cookbook for your 3rd book? I love the every day descriptions of life that transport me through space and time, but I wonder what all these dishes you refer to are. How about just a little one? The Thousand Splendid Suns Cooking Companion. Something like that.

MP

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I just finished reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. I am deeply touched by this novel. I had no understanding of the people from the region. I am heartbroken about my indifference to the suffering these people have endured and continue to endure. I recieved the book by accident. I had not ordered it or wanted to recieve it. When it came I let it sit for awhile. Then I saw someone I truly repect reading the kite runner and decided to give it a try. It took me two days to read it and I couldn't put it down unless I had to. I am now passing it on for someone else to read. You are an amazing writer and I just wish that everyone could be exposed to your books. It is a lesson in our blessing in America and being truly thankful as well as realizing that we all live on the same planet and should help each other. You have educated me in something that we all need desperatly. I am a High School teacher and I will recommend my students read your books.

Thank You for Your book,
Brandi Sanderson

Mr. Hosseini,

I am an American assigned to RAF Croughton in Oxfordshire, England and joined a book club for the first time last year. The Kite Runner was one of our selections and was by far, our favorite book! It was so fantastic to hear about Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion, as I have never known Afghanistan as anything other than a country at war. Although your story was fiction it taught our group a lot about the Afghani culture. I couldn't wait to read 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' and am happy to say that I just finished it and it was wonderful. I was surprised at how you were able to write from a female perspective. I am a huge fan and will look forward to your next book and if I ever get the chance to hear you speak, I will be there.
Thank you for the education,
Stephanie

I am an avid reader of both fiction and nonfiction, and yet I had to keep reminding myself that your novel is fiction. I felt for the characters and wanted to help them. I couldnt put down either novel.

Although I read for my own enjoyment, I also read for I want to be aware of other peoples experiences around the world, good or bad.

By sharing your novels with us, your readers, you have provided hours and hours of reading pleasure. But, I beleive most importantly, you have made many people aware of what happens in war torn countries. As a woman who lives in the States, I realize many people can live their lives oblivious to the problems in our own country and around the world. It is easy here to live in denial, if you just dont pay attention to the news, dont read painful literature, that is, until something very major happens. My hope is that by reading your novels, all these readers will become aware of attrocities that continue and will become active to help stop them.

Congratulations to you on your successes and hopefully stoking the fires to help organizations such as the UNHCR.

Molly
Asheville, North Carolina
United States

Catania ,14 July 2007

Sicily,Italy.

Dear Khaled,

you will find it rhetorical but my daughter Valentina and I , that have devoured your books, feel the need of saying thank you of being, thanks for entering on tiptoe in our life and making us flyng towards Afghanistan.Thank to you the land you loved it has become a country to us, an agglomerate of people , of human being with feeling and not only a country of war.
Those women that I didn’t understand before now I love them.I miss Mariam ,Laila ,Nana and all the other afghans women that see our wonderful world through the little square of the net of their burqa.
From our little corner of world we will pray for them so that they can know the freedom and the democracy that are the rights of every human being.

Yours sincerely

Teresa Panebianco and Valentina Pafumi

From Sicily,Italy

I just finished reading, racing through A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can't express how much I enjoyed your book. It's a brilliant novel, it made me cry and made me think how lucky we are here in the US to be free.
Thank you thank you.
Janice A.

I have just finished the Kite Runner and have asked the library to put A Thousand Splendid Suns on hold for me. I start teaching in two weeks 9th Grade English in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. I am hoping to get permission to have my students read your books.

Thank you for writing your novels. Please write more.
BTW, have you read Deborah Rodriguez' THE KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL?

I have read both of your books within the last two weeks and enjoyed them very much. I recommend them heartily.
Thank you for writing with such substance and meaning.
So much of popular fiction is so trivial, and really a waste of time to read.
The Kite-Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are superbly crafted stories that capture the heart as well as the imagination. I enjoyed learning more about the culture and religion of people so far away from this land of opportunity and freedom.

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

I have just finished reading "The Kite Runner" which I enjoyed tremendously. I must tell you that while reading the book on the train to work, I started tearing for Hassan and must have startled at least a few fellow passengers. That was how big the effect your book had on me!=)

Am looking forward to reading your new book.

Thanks!
Joanne (from Singapore)

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

My adult book club selected your book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns", for our September meeting. I just finished it a couple of days ago, and loved it. More than anything, I must say it was very educational for me. The historical background you provided helped me to better understand what is happening in the Middle East. *We also read "The Kite Runner" a couple of years ago.

I am a middle school librarian, and would love to see you write something for younger audiences, say ages 12 - 15. I am reluctant to share "A Thousand Splendid Suns" with my younger students, but feel that a similar book would be a great way for kids to learn about what has happened in Afghanistan over the past forty years or so.

Thank you for such a great book!
Charlotte

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I read the Kite Runner a year ago and just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns last night. The words and images you have painted on the pages of those two beautiful pieces have touched my heart and transformed my soul. Being an immigrant and refugee myself, I felt strongly connected to the plight of your characters - although I cannot claim to have suffered as the protoganists in your novels did. However, you have reinforced my belief that behind the cultural, religious, ethnic, and geographic boundaries we have imposed on ourselves, we as human beings, are not all that different. We all long for a desire to be accepted, to love and be loved, and to live our lives with dignity. Thank you again, for a magnificent journey. I anxiously await your next novel!
Maria Rivera

Dear Khaled, I read the Kite Runner last year while on holiday, I bought as we passed through the airport, I have to say I bought it not really knowing whether I would enjoy it. I started to read in the mid afternoon and after staying awake through the night as I couldn’t put the book down I had finished it by morning. It was without question the most enthralling book I had ever read. I laughed and cried as I read. I was so looking forward to A Thousand Splendid Suns, I bought this book on the way to through the airport, this time I knew what I was buying and I can say I was not disappointed. It was a fantastic story, excellently told. I wait with great excitement for next holiday reading material. I only hope I won’t have to wait a year. For anyone reading this review who has not read either of the books…what are you waiting for!!

Mr. Hosseini,

I can not possibly tell you how I have been moved by your books. After reading "The Kite Runner", I was barely able to stand the wait for your next book. I couldn't imagine you could write another book as beautifully as your first; however, your second book, in my opinion, is even more amazing! I have told everyone I know to read both books. I have never been so moved or completely engrossed by a book before. Thank you so much for sharing such an amazing world with your readers that most of us would probably never know about.

Please keep writing! I'm ready for book number three!

Stacy Wheeler
Orlando, FL

Mr.Hosseini

Until I logged on to the blog to write a review, I thought I was your BIGGEST fan ...but i'm so unbelievbly happy that the world has loved Kite runner and ATTS....
I'm not gonna rant about how AWESOME the books are....I was almost living Mariam and Lalila ...Amir and Hassan throughout reading....
ALL I WANNA ASK IS ...WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING!!
ure my fav fav fav author !!!
Cheers
Hetal.

Dear Sir, I would like to thank you for such a beautiful and inspiring read. Kite Runner crosses cultural, gender, and racial boundaries and brings us a story that moves us to strengthen our relationships and our resolve. I have shared this novel with everyone in my world and the feeling is unanimous. A million thanks. Debra

Not only did I love Kite Runner, it made me a better person. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

Wow! Your books have touched me in so many ways. We have no room to complain about our lives, we are free and can come and go as we please without fear.

Your books will educate a lot of people as to the situation in other countries. Most of us forget that there are real people with real lives trying to keep their families safe. I hope your family never had to endure these horrors. I am glad I am a woman living where I live.

I wish you all the luck with your future books. I just finished reading both books and am eager to read more!

L. Simpson
California, USA

Hi Khaled,
please stop to write similar books. We have a life to live. I just finished to read "A Thousand Splendid Sunsets", It rapes you from the first page to the last one. During the read, you can't have nothing else to do or to think about. "The Kite Runner" is magic.

Hi Khaled,

We love your books. Could we interview you?

Best Wishes

Claire

www.doodledbooks.com
www.doodledbooks.co.uk

Thank you so much for bringing us these stories! I have read both, just finished A Thousand Suns--I believe they should both be required reading in High School, or at least every English reading classs in college. I don't remember being so moved by any book in recent years, especially knowing that so much of the story is basically true. My heart broke with Miriam and Laila, and I pray that the Aziza's of the world have an easier, safer happier future.
God Bles you, and thank you!
Lori in California

I have a lump in my throat right now as I write to you. Last week I received in the mail A Thousand Splendid Suns as a surprise gift from a friend. I managed to finish the book in one week while taking care of my two small children, a husband, and all the housework - no one and nothing was neglected. I read every little chance I had - while on line waiting for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, waiting for the elevator, starting my car and waiting for the air conditioner to kick-in. The story was absolutely magnificent - I LOVE THIS BOOK! One thing I do want all to know is that Islam truly is a peaceful religion and the reader should not take this marvelous work of fiction as negative representation towards Muslims. Last year I read the Kite Runner and was captivated as well. I patiently await for more reading material from Mr. Hosseini...

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I recently read The Kite Runner and was incredibly moved by it. And then I was so excited to hear on public radio that you had a new book out, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I both started and finished reading it this weekend and once again, was so touched by the struggle, sacrifice, and resilience of the characters. I appreciate your inclusion of the UN refugees website url; I hope all your readers feel as inspired to do something to help as I do. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor of many refugee students, I appreciate the insider's perspective you provide into the experiences my students have endured--something that I could hardly fathom and you have brought to life for me. Thank you so much for these amazing books, and I look forward to more.

Elissa from California

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” Kahlil Gibran

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
There are no words to describe my gratitude to you for letting me see and feel things I never knew existed. The intensity is rather overwhelming at times, but I will emerge a new person.

Thanks You!

Dear Khaled,
Even before I read your books, as an artist, I painted Afghan women as my way to showcase their plight. After reading the Kite Runner, my images took on a vibrancy of their own and now with A Thousand Splendid Suns, I will embark on yet another journey. Thank you for feeding my soul so creatively.
Cheryl Braganza
Montreal

Keep writing. You are on the top of my list of modern authors. Both your books touched me at a deep inner place in my being. And thank you thank you for your part in healing our world.

I do believe your words and humanitarian actions for refugees are doing more to rid our lovely planet of terrorism and violence than any guns can.

Peace be with you and yours.

Thank you Mr. Hosseini,
After Bruce Springsteen “Worlds apart” you have made a great step toward integration between different people and culture.
I knew from your wonderful book there are lot of information I didn’t know about your country.
Information make you free because make you think; The Kite runner give us information and we have all to think that we belong to the same Human Race... we have just different culture and, of course, stupid people from both sides.
About your quality as Author I can say that your book is pure Poetry, especially in the latest pages, and once again I thank you; if the culture of Afghanistan give us a person like you there is a reason to be hopeful for the future.
Just keep on doing your great job!
Charlie

Dear Mr Hosseini,

Till I read The Kite Runner I had no idea how deeply a book could touch you. Usually i'm a very slow reader, however, The Kite Runner was the first book, and now Thousand Splendid Suns, which i managed to complete in a day. I was extremely touched by the story. You in your writings have not only given us a great storyteller but also someone who has portrayed the pain of the people of Afghanistan, their courage, perseverance and character so honestly, that one can't help but fall in love with this beautiful land and its people. I hope that your books will bring people closer to the reality of Afghanistan and soon, very soon, liberate them from the undeserved agony and sufferings. I would also like to see you talk more about your country, its people, and its culture and become a world ambassador of the Afghan people. With all my best wishes. Looking forward eagerly to your third book.

This very moment I finished 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' and said ..... I must write to Mr. Hosseini and tell him how his story telling has moved me.

Please continue to write. You offer me a vision into a culture and life I know little about. May Afghanistan find peace.

Peter from Maryland, USA

Dear Dr. Hosseini,

I've never written to an author before. But after finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns today, I felt I had to. I want to tell you how very deeply you touched my heart - first with The Kite Runner,and now this book. At the end of The Kite Runner I wept like a child. At the end of A Thousand Splendid Suns, I wept like a woman. I've been blessed and have never had to go through the experiences of Mariam and Laila, but all the same I wept for them. Thank you for telling their stories of struggle and, in the end, triumph of the soul. Thank you for making me feel, perhaps, in a small way, what my mother and aunts and grandmother endured in Europe during World War II. This book will stay a part of me. You are a blessed storyteller. Please, continue to share your stories with us.

Yours very truly,
Ingrid Heidrick
New York, NY

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I have lived in Iran for many years as a teenager before the Islamic revolution. After reading “the Kite Runner” in two days, because I just could not put it down, I had to tell you that you made me remember many things that I had observed, wondered about and just plainly forgot.

Your writing style and the context of this book has made remember and wonder about all those playmates that I have left behind. A Thousand Splendid Suns is already on my nightstand and I am looking forward to reading it.

Since I also write book revies on my site, I would also like to know if it is ok for me to link to your new site. You can Email me at artenzie@cox.net

Fondly,
Enzie Shahmiri

Dear Mr. Hosseini

I am almost finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and I can't even begin to explain how this book has made me feel. There are so many emotions running through me for these two women and the children. I have read many books throughout the years but I haven't yet come across an author who through his writing has touched my heart in ways unimaginable.

I want to put the book down because I am afraid for Laila and Mariam. However, I can't put the book down because deep down I am hoping that they will continue to strengthen their courage and make it pass this nightmare they are living.

Your novel has brought me feelings of anger, empathy, sadness, happiness, hope, and helplessness. Nevertheless, it has opened my eyes and heart to the lives of those who have had to endure similar pain and are maybe even still experiencing such anguish.

I thank you for sharing your special gift with us through both of your amazing masterpieces as are-- The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Only a person with a great gift and talent such as yours is able to make a reader feel as if she wants to pull the characters out of the pages and embrace them, help them, and tell them that there is hope and everything will get better. There is so much more I'd like to share but I will end it here and just...

Thank you a THOUSAND TIMES!!

--Denise

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
By Khaled Hosseini

A book Review
(Joseph Pathyil)

Afghanistan and Iraq have become the focal points of the international community. What happens in both these countries will determine the future of civilization, and indeed, the future of the world. In order to make sense of what is happening in these two places, one needs to understand what had happened in these countries, which for centuries had not merited any interest or curiosity of the West.
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s first book, had created some awareness of the struggles in his native Afghanistan over the forces of violence, violence that is endemic to intolerance of religion. A Thousand Splendid Suns, his second book, is not just a sequel, but also the book that Hosseini seemed to have been nurturing in his mind and in his emotion all along. The Kite Runner was a prelude to this powerful, explicit, castigation of fanaticism and extremism.
The scant regard for women, the crude and primitive worship of the male as superior, the callous disrespect for the rule of law, whether natural or of society, the apathy of the general public towards cruelty and injustice – these and much else are graphically illustrated in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The author spares no one. The Soviet Union lorded it over the country, the West armed the Taliban, Pakistan aided and abetted violent Islam, and, after 9/11, America unleashed sheer power and might regardless of consequences. The end-result is for all to see and fear.
Mariam and Laila, the two characters in the novel, typify innocent victims of fanatic Islam and heartless hatred. The story is not melodramatic. The reality of Afghanistan and such places where Sharia law and unchecked, ignorant male authority rules, is unsparingly depicted by Hosseini. In fact, it looks as if the author himself was so overwhelmed by the calamitous present, that he has concluded the story by a contrived and unlikely ending.
The two books, especially the second, is a must read for any one remotely interested in what is happening to our world.

Thank you so much for your amazing "Kite Runner". I told EVERYONE I knew about the novel and I am so looking forward to the new book--- I am going to be traveling to the Bay Area next week and I would love to know if there will be a Book Signing between Aug 25-Sept 2, 2007..... I learned about you, and purchased the "Kite Runner", on the advice of the Bookstore Manager at a bookstore in the Bay area last year, and I am hopeful you will be there this year too. Please respond and if I do not hear from you I will look for you another time !
Thanks for sharing your amazing talents and Please keep Writing!
dantoon@hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Hosseini:
I have just finished reading your wonderful book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I've brought plenty of books, but not many have I actually finished, but I could not put this one down. Such an amazing story of the lives and events of Afghan people and their culture. Mariam and Laila, brought a tear to my eyes, on quite a few occasions while reading the book. What brave wonderful women, we are so fortunate in our lifes, that we quite often forget those who constantly have to live with war, violence and fear. Thank you. I'm a new fan, and can't wait to read the Kite Runner, which I am sure is just a fabulous.

Rgs, Gina from Canada

Hi Khaled,

There's magic in the way you tell a story. The Kite Runner was gripping right from the start. I lived every emotion with its characters. It's so rare to come across a book so complete, so beautiful. Thank you for the wonderful way you have with words - weaving characters and their lives in a far-off land. And thank you for introducing us to your home land in the way you have.

Can't wait to read ATSS.

Warm regards,
Udita
[India]

I am a 47 year old mother of 3 that works 6 days a week. I picked up the Kite Runner on my day off, sat down on my back porch at 11 AM , and began to read. I finished it at 6 PM , when my kids starting begging for dinner. It was one of the most enjoyable days I have ever spent reading. My sister brought over "A Thousand Splendid Suns" yesterday... and once again, your book filled my entire day off. Your writing and vision of life outside of what us Americans are spoiled by, completely enthralled me, and left me humbled. My fifteen year old son is currently reading the Kite Runner, and I truly thank you for giving me the gift of your amazing talent. Please give us more ! There is nothing greater to me than a fantastic book, and I feel blessed that you gave me the gift of a wonderful piece of history, humanity, and understanding of another culture and way of life.... PLEASE keep writing !!

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, and my cheeks are literally still wet with tears. I have not been this touched by a book since I was a little girl reading Charlotte's Web. Back then, I remember grieving the loss of Charlotte the spider who had so lovingly devoted herself to her saving her best friend. Now that I am a mother, I have an even more profound understanding of what love and devotion are all about. The relationships between Mariam, Laila and the children were so heartbreakingly beautiful, I could barely read through my tears. Thank you for writing a story with such powerful female characters.

Jennifer

hey !
I am Rashi Jindal from India !

i must confess it has been a most enchanting experience having read these greeat books . The way you knit the whole story together, how various disparate pieces all fit perfectly to complete a beautiful jigsaw puzzle .. its just mesmerizing !
And most of all the unexpected suspenses that add the thrill to the story !The way you deal with human emotions and bring out to the world the plight of life in Afghanistan !
God u are definitely my all time favourite writer from now on .. cant wait to read more comin from u !
What i love the most however , is the positive note of hope on which the books end .. which compel us to never lose faith and keep doin our li'l bits which may someday make the world a better place for all full of love and peace !
:) Cheerz to such splendid writing !

Dear Mr. Hosseini;

Wow, I was so taken with your first book the Kite Runner. It was so well versed...I couldn't wait to read your next novel. Well, I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns last night...and I couldn't believe how much this book captivated me! I couldn't put it down!! You truly have a gift for writing. I have been enlightened as to your homeland...it's culture and the people. Thank you for reminding me of the blessings I have as a Canadian woman.

I can't wait for a third novel! I'll be first in line for that one!!!

Sincerely,

DW

Dear Khaled,
After reading the Kite Runner and crying not once but twice over the tribulations of the protagonist and antagonist I could not wait for your new book to come out. I just purchased it 2 days ago and have already finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I could not put the novel down. The women in this novel inspire me to be strong, as they both endured so much. Images which cannot escape my mind from this novel are many; the dead bodies, Laila's father's torso lying on the ground, the day when Laila and Aziza were locked in their room for days in the sweltering heat. And amongst all of these obstacles, in the end, you see both women become stronger and more powerful. Even though Mariam was beheaded in the end, I see her as a martyr for taking the responsibility for killing her husband so that Laila could keep her two children safe with her new husband Tariq. This novel was filled with emotions and I could not put it down. I have already started telling my coworkers and friends about this book, mostly women, as I feel that this kind of novel can make a woman feel that they too can endure whatever obstacles may come their way. A SUPERB novel, I cannot wait for your next novel to hit booksheleves; AMAZING!
-Karla, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Just wanted to send you a little "thank you" for writing such awesome books. Both of them had me "addicted" to reading 24-7, I loved it. Please keep writing!!! I await another fabulous book from you.

Dr. Hosseini,

I have read both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I feel like both books have changed my perception of the Middle East and my life. I cried much of the way through both books.

If anyone had told me, before I picked up your books, that I would so thoroughly enjoy a book about Afghanistan, I would have thought they were insane. But the books are so beautifully written, the characters so strong, so pure, and the backdrop so touching, it is impossible not to be affected. I have the sudden urge to do something, to learn even more about this beautiful, and sadly, misunderstood culture, and help the people that experience what your characters experience.

I hope that you will continue to write. I read much of these books on planes, and I cannot tell you how many people commented on how great they were, asking what part I was at, wait til you get to this part, etc. Even the pilots of one of the planes said to me (as he saw me reading The Kite Runner), "Wait until you read A Thousand Splendid Suns. If you can believe it, it's even better!"

Continue to write, Dr. Hosseini. And God bless.

Kara

Mr. Hosseini,

Thank you for your two wonderful novels. I feel so much better informed about the people, culture, geography, and the impact of war on Afghanistan after reading them. I frequently carry books around with me on planes, at lunch, or coffee. Almost every time I have one in my hands some stranger will stop and make a positive comment. You are a great storyteller... looking forward to seeing more from you in the future.

Richard Glass

Dear Khaled,
I recently read your first book "The Kite Runner". Your book made me sad, very sad. I did not want to read it anymore. But it was hard to keep myself away from reading it. I wanted to know what happened to Hassan. I wanted Amir to be free from the burden he was carrying in his heart.

The way you describe the scenes are amazing. Every detail during the war depicted in the book seems close to reality than to fiction. I would die "1000 times and over" unable to take the burden Amir was undergoing through out his life. I can't fathom the depth of his feelings. Thoughts of Shorab are still in my mind.

Now I am not sure how soon I want to read your second book. I don't want to be sad again.

I was glad to learn that you live in my neighborhood in Bay Area. Hope to meet you sometime.

"Kite Runner" was phenominal. I loved it. I give it two thumbs up. It was so emotional and had me on the edge of my seat. I am an 18 yr old living in Fremont Ca and i have a ten month old daughter and I am four months pregnant with a little boy, I'm sure as you guessed I don't have a lot of time to sit down and reada book, but for this book I made time, I even read it to my daughter Lily. This is the best book I've ever read I can't wait to go out and buy "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I think Khaled Hosseini is an outstanding writer and if he ever comes to Fremont I would be ecstatic to meet him. P.S I live off of Decoto Rd. Please Come And See me

"Kite Runner" was phenominal. I loved it. I give it two thumbs up. It was so emotional and had me on the edge of my seat. I am an 18 yr old living in Fremont Ca and i have a ten month old daughter and I am four months pregnant with a little boy, I'm sure as you guessed I don't have a lot of time to sit down and reada book, but for this book I made time, I even read it to my daughter Lily. This is the best book I've ever read I can't wait to go out and buy "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I think Khaled Hosseini is an outstanding writer and if he ever comes to Fremont I would be ecstatic to meet him. P.S I live off of Decoto Rd. Please Come And See me

Khaled,

It took 2.5 days to read Thousand Splendid Suns. I was stunned by the visuals you presented throughout the story. I have traveled and lived in many places in the world and seen first hand poverty, your prose truly touch my soul and look forward to reading next week the Kite Runner. You have a special gift to allow your audience to feel the struggles of your people.

I hope this is only a glimpse into your truly God given talent and you continue to write as your first love. I'm hooked!

Mr Hosseini...never before has a pair of books left such an emotional stamp on my heart. I felt like I was a personal witness to each and every scene on the pages. It also changed my views completely on your country, your culture and your people...I am so ashamed to confess that I didn't really regard your country or people as even part of the human race...I never thought of your country as "beautiful"...I thought of it as one huge wasteland of sand with nothing of any worth saving there...not even people !! ...how incredibly arrogant , ignorant and misinformed I was.
I thank you for opening my eyes...I immediately went to the library and have since tried to re-educate myself on your country and culture. I have also started looking into other countries which I had pre-conceived ideas about. please keep writing...can't wait for your next book.

The Kite Runner was an amazing book, but "A Thousand Splendin Suns"? WOW, what a read, 5 days I finished and that's with an 8 year old running around! I could not put the book down, every struggle mariam and Laila went through, I felt, so many emotions, you are brilliant! I can't wait for the next one!
Alexandra
North Bergen, NJ

Mr. Hosseini,

Greeting from Kabul.

I am proud of you!

Dear Dr Hosseini,
I have just finished reading The Kite Runner. You have influenced me a great deal. I understand it is a very personal tale, drawing support from various first-hand experiences. Thank you for writing such a powerful story. May I add that I am looking forward to reading your second book too...
Nilanjan Dey, Kolkata, India.

Dear Mr. Hosseni,

I just finished The Kite Runner it must have taken me 2 days or like 9 hours to read. Believe me I do not read books that often, a good friend of mine told me about your books. She said it was one of the best she has read, and I know for a fact this lady reads a book a week. I loved this book so much I felt like I was there actually seeing the story unfold. I already ordered A Thousand Splendid Suns and can't wait to recieve it. My sisters are going to read The Kite Runner also. I am eagerly awaiting for Dreamining in Titanic City to come out.

Thank you for writing such a good book it has opened my eyes to some of the pain and suffering along with the happiness some of the Afganhistan people live through.

A new fan Danielle Moorer.

Mr. hosseini, I'm a 78 year old man, living confortably in Connecticut, USA. In the early 50's I spent a few years on a Chain-Gang in Virginia, and spent considerable time in solitary confinment. I"m telling you this because nothing I suffered came anywhere near what you discribed in both your recent books. I now realise a Chain-Gang in Virginia was only a vacation. That was over 60 years ago and I have been on vacation ever since living the good life in the United States of America. I"ll be waiting for your next book. Best of everything

Dear Khaled,

i have not managed to find out a word which can explaine my feeling about "the kite runner".
As you know there are many Afghan in my country but I could not imagine their life in their country.
By the way the book is a new view for me and I am eagerly waiting to read your next book.

If you are intersted you can visit my weblog.

Mahdi
Iran.

Salaam mr. Khaled

reading ATSS opened my eyes to a world i thought only as war loving. i am grateful to you for peeling the wool from my eyes and letting the tears flow for Mariam. a most splendid story told in the simplest form and encompassing a history that's complex and give/take 30 yrs old. no one has done that b4.
thanks alot. hope u continue tto write. pls do.

Dear Mr. Hosseini, I consider myself a bookworm, always on the lookout for new experieces through books. I read A Thousand Splendid Suns first and could not get the characters out of my head after I read it, it was truly an experience, trying to imagine the lives of these women, while we women living in the West take so much for granted.
I am currently reading The Kite Runner and I profess myself a great fan of yours. Thank you for letting the world have an insider view of what it's like to live in an occupied country and to make us aware and thankful of whatever we have. May Allah bless you and help the people who are being oppressed in their own lands.
Looking forward to your next novel.

Mr.KHALED
what else can I say.I've recived as gift a thousand splendid suns and i've red it in few days:wonderful.Immediatly i've bought the kite runner,of course.Amazing.I couldn't say which is better,really! You have a wonderful way to write, describe, communicate emotions.I'd like to talk with you for thousand hours,I'm sure you have a lot of experience and truths I'd like to hear.
Continue in all you are doing.
In Italy we all love you and your books so much.
Good luck

Antonella

Hi Khaled Hosseini.

The Kite runner is one of the best books i ever read (maybe the best).
Im only 13, but there was times when i read were i just could not stop crying.
I cant wait to read your new book.
Right now, im actually riting a book rewiew of The kite runner, to my school.
Good luck.

(sorry the languge but im from Denmark.)

Hello, Mr. Hosseini

I'm Laura, 21 years old, from Brazil, and I'm here to congratulate you for both wonderful books. In fact, I just started to read the Kite Runner because it was so famous, that I had to know what was it about. When I finished reading (crying, of course) I understood. But nothing is compared to the marvelous A thousand Splendid Suns!!
It took me 2 days to read it and now I miss it so much!! I think it's even better than the first one.
Please, do mankind a favor, and write many, many other books :-)
I'm your fan. I'm spreading my joy in reading your books all over my university because I want everybody to feel what I felt reading it.
By the way, you have so many fans in Brazil! We would love to have you here.
God bless you
Laura

Mr. Hosseini,

I'm from China. I was happened to see your book "The Kite Runner" on the internet. I just couldn't help to buy it after I read 100% praise for your book from those readers who read it. They are right, your book caught my heart. I just cannot believe you can notice and describe so truly for those details of feeling and mentalities.

Only 3 days after I finished reading "Kite Runner", it was happened again to saw "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in a book store. I didn't hesitate this time. It's an absolutely absorbing novel. Every night, I couldn't put it once if I began to read.

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" last night. The only thing I cannot understand is that it seems it was not so necessary for Marriyam to stay there after she killed her husband? If Laila could be successful to escape, why could not for Marriyam?

Anyway, thank you so much for your wonderful work.

Yuty from Beijing, China

Wow! I didn't think it could get any better than Kite Runner...that is, until I started on Thousand Suns. I absolutely could not put this book down until I finished it. Your writing is beautiful, heart wrenching and inspiring all at the same time. I have passed the book along to others in hopes that they would also be inspired to open their minds and hearts to a world outside of the comforts we have in the U.S. Just can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Kerrin Kostelic
Gulf Breeze, FL
USA

Hi Khaled,
Greetings from Bulgaria! I feel very proud that the name of my small country was cited twice in your impressionable book. We with my wife read your book during our annual leave on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The Bulgarian version of the book is perfect and I we hope to read your new book in Bulgarian soon. Good luck to You and your country!

Ivan

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.I took 2 days to read it and couldn't put it down.I've never written to an author before but after finishing it i felt i had to.This story brought tears to my eyes like The Kite Runner.Thank you for sharing your talent with us.I'm a your new fan.I anxiously await your next story.

Jaqueline
Brasilia
Brasil

Dear Khaled,

I have just read both your books, and I could not stop reading. Was reading until I could not keep my eyes open any longer. It is a long time ago that a book had gripped me this much. It has made me more aware what has happened in your home country and made me think.
Thank you for sharing your wonderfull stories with us.
I am looking forward to your next book.

Kind Regards,
Denise, UK

I have just finished reading your novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I've also read your first book the Kite Runner. Needless to say I absolutely loved both books! Through reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I feel like I've been to Afghanistan and met its wonderful people. I felt the anguish of the circumstances. (I know that I can never fully comprehend the circumstances,but the way you write, it feels like I can.) You've opened my heart even more, to understanding that circumstances beyond one's control can determine one's fate. You've made me realize that we have to read more authors like yourself to gain a better understanding of people from around the world. There is so much news (TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.) out there that is filtered, scripted and corrupted. Your tales of your people come from the heart - and that is what the world needs - ambassadors like yourself to make us realize how precious life is. You remind us to have compassion for everyone. Your writing shines with such sensitivity - it made my cry. You have natural intuition that you've brought to your writing. The world is blessed to have an author like yourself. Your understanding of humanity is boundless. I am eagerly awaiting your next novel. Sincerely, Your Fan Forever

Mr. Hosseini,

As I sit here typing tears are trickling down my face. I literally just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and am compelled to send acknowledgment of this amazing work of art. I am moved, touched, happy, sad and amazed at the way you were able to portray these women and their lives. Thank you and please continue this amazing work. Sairah

Khaled,

I just got done reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns". My reading for last Summer was "The Kite Runner" and now this Summer it was your second book. After reading your first book, I told everyone I knew about it and told them they were crazy if they haven't read it yet. I got them all to read it and they loved it, just as much as I did. That was the best book I've read in my life. You have a style of writing that really grasps my attention and gets me hooked on it. I literally just finished your second book and am still in tears. It had such a beautiful ending, but everything before that was so sad and reminds me of my own country, Iran. We have gone through so many changes as well and I loved that everything about Afghanistan: the people, the language, the food, reminded me of Iran and makes me want to go back there to live one day. Anyway, I really hope to meet you one day. Please add me to your mailing list and if you ever speak in the east coast (preferably DC), I would love to come hear you. Thank you for touching my heart and giving me a whole new perspective on life. Please write more books, don't let this be your last.

Your Fan,

Linda

Mr. Hosseini:

I cannot thank you enough for writing both, the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can't remember when I enjoyed reading this much. Thank you for the most captivating, vivid and enriching stories. After reading your stories, I get so emotional and my heart goes out to all that have suffered and I find myself sitting and thinking about all the lost lives, uprooted families and complete dehumanization of the country.
But then your picturesque description of Afghanistan plays in my mind and I smile knowing that once upon a time life thrived in Afghanistan!!
Bravo Mr. Hosseini. I look forward to expanding my library with your works. Please pen down some more.

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

Like many others, I had to be convinced to read "The Kite Runner". I was hooked from the beginning and impressed with your writing. I happened to be returning from a vacation in San Francisco at the time, so I could easily envision the environment to which you so accurately described.

I have just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns". You have surpassed my expectations in so many ways. It's one thing to read about the Taliban days, but quite another to feel the pain of the regime. I have never, thankfully, been abused. Reading of the attacks on Laila and Mariam by Rasheed made me cringe and physically ill. I, too, cried when Mariam was executed, but hopeful that she finally knew love, if only from a few people.

You have a God-given gifts that I am grateful you have shared with the world. God bless you and your family and for your work with the UNHCR.

Helen M.
Delaware

I loved both of your books - they are the kind one never forgets, they touched my soul. Looking forward to more!

Dear Mr. Hosseini ,
I have jst found the world's greatest storyteller who can keep a person counting his own griefs in the shadow of all the happiness one is showing......

Jst liked every Bit of your both the books....
Till last day,
THE KITE RUNER Was the Best books i have read ...
bur today, I got A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS to be the one who even get past the best one...

Jst wanted to tell you your are now like one of those moons who are needed to shimmer like the ones in your book..
Once there were countless moons shimmering in the sky,
and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS hide behind the walls...

For you a THOUSAND times over.......

Khalid

I am from Calcutta . My sister ,Sani, joins me to thank u for The Kite Runner . actually we found your book poignant in the was u described ur fathers' last days ...we lost our father earlier this year and certain sentiments , words , sentences and the mood u created moved us deeply and touched a chord deep within .

Thank you

Kindest thoughts

Imtiaz

Hosseini Sahib,

Your haunting tale of Mariam and Laila has changed my life. It has changed my whole perspective of life. I feel soo lucky and thank God every moment for giving me this wonderful life, far away from all the sufferings and unimaginable loss. I feel blessed. Thank you so much for making me realize that.
While I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I could feel Mariam's and Laila's grief as if I was the one who is going through all the suffering. My HEART and SOUL cried for them. Now, they both will remain with me, forever. I will pray with the bottom of my heart to grant happiness and a meaningful life to all the Mariams and Lailas of this world. And may Khuda bless Tariq, Aziza and Zalmai.

Khaledji, I want to help such people like Mariam and Laila. I feel so helpless, sitting here in Canada, enjoying my life where at the same time, there are people in the world who are suffering from loss, hunger, and much more. What can I do to help them? I REALLY want to DO something, to CONTRIBUTE something, just like Laila. I am a first year university student, and an Indian by origin. Please tell me what can I do to help them?
I will be eagerly waiting for your reply.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do reply me.

Tashakor.
Khuda aapko khush rakhe. May God bless you.

Sanya

I cant thankyou enough.

Khaled,i'm from Brazil and i read both of your books.I have 13 years old and you make me interest for Afghan history and culture.Now i now a reality that i never new before.Amir and Hassan,Mariam and Laila are characters that i never will forget, i hope you keep writing books like that for open minds and show that we have to help another people.

Hi Kaled,

I just completed posting the review of Splendid Suns for the book club I belong to (http://diversionoflife.wordpress.com). What a ride it was to read, discuss and write about your books. The Kite Runner in particular took me back home to Ethiopia 20 some years. Growing up with somebody who was neither a sister nor a stranger (the Hussan of my life), drastic political change, power-crazed neighbours, leaving ones homeland and the values and memories that sustain us in a strange land.... There were too many very real parallels. I don't remember the last time tears were burning my eyes because a book moved me so much. Thank you for your beautiful insight & balance. We'll be honored if you visit our blogsite.

Thank you Khaled. I read the "Kite Runner" and did not think you could write any better than that, but "A Thousand Splendid Suns" gripped my soul from the first page. I want to thank you for your heartfelt writing of a country and people you truly love.
Your style of writing and the place that you take a person is amazing. I actually felt the pain and suffering of these two women. The value of the history and the suffering that the Afghan people endured during times of war is forever felt by myself the reader.
I look forward to your next book.

Dear Mr. K -
I wish there was something I could say to you that would describe the connection I feel to your Mariam. I am truly speechless.

Thank you for bringing the truth and reality of such conditions to those of us who take so much for granted every day. God bless you and your work.

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

I finished reading The Kite Runner today. It was the best novel I have ever read. Your manner of storytelling is riveting and heartwarming. I felt like I was there, in Afghanistan, the entire time. It was hard to imagine that this story was not your own biography, although I am sure many parts of it were. You are certainly an inspiration to many writers, readers, and hopefully, your Afghan countrymen. It opened my eyes to a way of life and the culture of a people Americans very rarely try to understand. Bravo, a thousand times, bravo, Mr. Hosseini, for enlightening a world that needs much light shed upon it.

I look forward to your next book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Jean

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
Thank you so much for your book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I read it in less than 2 days and completely kept my non-reading husband up to date every moment. I have to tell you, this is one of the best books I've ever read. It is truly amazing and really made me realize the terrible flight and plight of the Afghanistan woman. Thanks for giving me that insight and knowledge through your eyes. I can't wait to go back and read your first book now!! Thanks again so much from San Diego CA!!!!

Hi! Kahled I read both of your books afirst Kite Runner then a thousand Splendid suns.When I started second book i felt that may its not better than ur first one.But When I finished it I was just astonished , there is no comparisons between them.My husband who is not a patient book reader,I told both the stories to them, and he said how can is this possible, how can anybody is so inhuman to others.Now,I'm eagerly waiting for ur next book.

salam...
dear Mr.hosseini thanks alot for those wonderful books.
I have never read a book that describes everything in a way that ur almost living and touching it.
enshalla one of ur next book tours would be in dubai we really luv and support u.
thanks

Mr. Hosseini,

Both books were remarkable, I could personally relate to both of them.

The golden question that I would want to ask is if there is another book in progress?

Eagerly awaiting,

Naved.

Dear Khaled and his many fans.

I have just read the final 20 pages of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" whilst flying into Jakarta. I found it very difficult as I was constantly drying my eyes with a tissue. Hmmm, I am a 46yr old Australian male. The power of your writing and thorough descriptions of people, places and events brought me to tears for the second time whilst reading a novel. The first being a borrowed copy of "The Kite Runner".
In 1992 crossed into Afghanistan from Peshawar. Pakistan. The border, sort of, opened to foreigners for about a month. I think my visa number was 216. Up the amazing Khyber Pass to Jalalabad. I was taken in by a family for a meal on their floor. They explained they had just taken back their house after it had been occupied by communists. I was also given tea and snacks by a group of Mujahideen that occupied an apartment. The leader was very proud in displaying his pistol that was taken from a slain soviet soldier. With their job seemingly over in Afghanistan (maybe not, as it turned out)they were thinking of going to fight over Kashmir (a place I had been to in 1987). Then my travels to Kabul on the back of a pickup truck. Landmines visible, craters in the road from bombings. Old Soviet tanks abandoned by the roads. The many Mujahadeen checkpoints. The beauty of the mountains, rivers and valleys. The extaudinary road tunneling through and weaving around cliffs. Entering Kabul and seeing the old abandoned containers by the road. To find out later, that they were what the artillery came in from abroad. I wondered why they were burnt out and had gaping holes in them. A year later I was horrified when I read that people were forced into them and then set alight or rocket launchers were fired into them. I saw the river, the stadium, the large central market (which was bomed later), the Intercontinental Hotel, bullet riddled buildings, bomb cratered roads, open drains, plastic covered windows. All the things you described so well in your novels. I met a couple. They were originally from the north. They were teachers. We chatted whist walking in the streets. The wife wearing jeans and a white blouse. Not covering up like many women had started to do at the fall of the communist regime. I had tea in their home. They talked of their dreams for the future. The rebuilding of Afghanistan. I often wondered what happened to them. An educated couple and the Taliban ???

Khaled, like everyone else, I am looking forward to many more wonderful writings. You have certainly touched many people.

John Flitcroft
Australia

Dear Mr.Hosseini
I loved both your books and cant wait to read your next one.I havent read any other book which touched my heart as much as these two books have.I fell in love with all the characters of each of these books, with amir, mariam, tariq and especially laila & hassan.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mahita Aska,
Hyderabad,
India

Mr Hosseini,

I have never in my life read a more beautiful book than A Thousand Splendid Suns. It touched me so deeply, just thinking of the book brings tears to my eyes. You are truly gifted.

Kindest Regards

Idil

I have read both your books. An interesting thing happened with the second. I became so enraged with the plot line that I threw down A Thousand Splendid Suns in disgust. Instantly I realized you had created characters so vivid that I cared about what was happening the them.
You have a marvelous gift.
I enjoyed listening to your dialogue in Santa Rosa!
As always inspired,

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

Dear Dr. Hosseini,
Never in my life have I gone to an author's website or written him/her a note. I read The Kite Runner, and it was beautiful, but A Thousand Splendid Suns is Number 1 on my All Time Favorite Book list. I couldn't put it down, and I can't stop thinking about Laila, Mariam, Tariq and the children. This book has forever opened my eyes to the suffering of people in other parts of the world. Man's inhumanity to man is incomprehensible. There is a special place in heaven for those who have lived their hell here on earth. Thank you for your brilliant, insightful, compelling stories.
Peggy Kollen
California USA

Hi,
I would just like to reiterate all the positive comments I have read on your site regarding 'The Kite Runner'. I am now just about to start on 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' and wonder if there is somewhere I can find a translation of the arabic words used in your new novel?

Thanks
Pat Jones
Perth, Western Australia

Dr. Hosseini:
Thank you very much for the gift you offer to the human kind with your books.
They made me want to be a better person... And they showed me the gray colors in which every person travels through life wondering from good to evil...Nobody is good for good or bad for good, we always have oportunities to redem ourselves and become better and better every day...Every single character in both of your books have the struggles that lead them to make a choice either for the better or the worse...Your books are a work of art in sharing your culture, its political history and the many tribes that share it...The novels itselves are magnificent...Thank you very much and PLEASE keep on writing!!!... My name is Cecilia and I am from El Salvador.

Hello Dr. Hosseni,

I read the Kite Runner during my recent trip to Vietnam with my parents. My family fled war-ton VN in 1978, lived in a refugee camp in Malaysia (where I was born)for two years, and eventually re-settled in San Francisco, CA.

Thank you for a beautiful book that served as a wonderful companion during my journey. I saw countless parallels between war-torn Afghanistan and Vietnam, related with Amir and his father's experience living in America, and connected with many of the characters' ideas.

As a young woman still 'finding herself,' I found the book quite comforting because it showed me how much a person and life can change over time.

With warmest regards,
Nga

PS. if you'd ever like to discuss over coffee, please don't hesitate to email me.

Dr Hosseini,
I have just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" Thank you a thousand times over for this wonderful book. I have held the women of Afghanistan in my prayers for years, praying daily for the women "who must think that the world has fogotten them." Thank you for putting flesh and story to my prayers.
Peace
Rhonda+

Dear Mr Hosseini,
I have recently finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Last year I read The Kite Runner and have recommended it to many people in Ireland bereaved and displaced by our conflict here. Despite being so particular in its setting the themes of guilt, dispair, hope and forgiveness are internationally relevant.
Your new book is even more relevant to countries torn apart by conflict and for the people affected by trauma and violence. And the message of hope of renewal despite horror, grief and pain is a wonderful gift to impart.
Thank you
Andrée

Dear Mr. Hosseini,

You have an image in ATSS when Miriam uses the 11 stones to
depict her family situation. She is the lone 11th stone. I think this image can be aptly applied to you as a writer. You are definitely
alone( or at the least, rare) in being able to draw your reader in and
through tragic history with characters so lovingly and poignantly rendered.

Thank you so much.

Holly

I just finished reading A thousand Splendid Suns. I didn't know how it would be possible to cry harder from a book than when I read The Kite Runner. Your book literally had me crying for hours. I didn't know I had so many tears. What do you have inside of you that is able to channel such sadness and pain onto the pages of your books? An incredible gift.

Kite runner doesn't need another endorsement from me but your writing skills do. I loved reading it and can't wait to get my hands on a thousand splendid suns.
I like your writing style, simple, clean and crisp.
thank you for another book....keep writing!!!
Indu

Mohtaram Hosseini Saheb,
Asalam u alaikum
Mosbat: In ke dar hardu ketabhaye shoma cheqadar zebayee mawjud ast , fekr mekonam ke shoma khodetan khabr daaren.
Az har chiz kada zyaat man az nazaryaate betaraf e siyaasi shoma dar mawrede Afghanistan ke dar hardu ketabha zikr shoda khosh astom.
Manfee: dar ketab e „kiterunner“ yak gap ke man raa chorti mekard goftar e da baine Amir wa baba bud. Hardu Pashtoon hastan, az qese ketab maloom ham meshawad ke aslan da baine yak degar pashto gap mezanan. Leken loghate ke dar ketab naweeseeda shodan Dari hastan. In maa ra hamesh chorti mekard ke „wey yaa Pashtoon nabudan?!
Ager dar aienda shoma dar ketabhaye khod etor benaweesen ke Hazara amu hazaragi raa begoyad, Uzbak uzbaki, Tajik dari wa Pashtoon pashto baz lezate Ketab dega ham zyaat meshawad wa ba haqeqat nazdeektar meshawad. Dar Ketab e 2 shoma Mariam wa fameelash lahje Herati megoyan, mesle „Lailo jo“. In sare ma bessyar khub mekhord. Ametor ager dar ketab e kiterunner Hassan wa Ali hazaragi wa baba o Amir Pashto sohbat mekadan bessyaar khub mebud.

Az Khoda baretan sehat e khub, awsela wa khoshhali mekhwaaham.
Tashakor,
Wranga Khpalwak

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

I am an academic librarian who has now read both of your books. Being a woman, I empathized moreso with the heroines in your second book "A Thousand Splendid Suns". At the moment I work at two Catholic colleges: St. Vincent's College (an institution founded by the Daughters of Charity) and Manhattanville College. I was wondering how I might distribute books that our library can't use to help build libraries in Afghanistan to aid the girls and women of your homeland - if you will permit me to call it that. I thank you for any suggestions you might be willing to offer.

Sincerely,

Martha Johnson Kruy

This is probably one of the best books I've read. It has enlightened me to the people of Afghanistan. I could not put this book down.
When can we expect another book?

Bonjour Khaled,

I’m not even finished “the Kite Runner” yet. I read half last night and can’t wait for my son to go to bed tonight and finish the other half. I’ve never even written in a “blog” before! I felt compelled for some reason to say bravo! The way you transfer emotion into words is unreal. I spent some time in Iran and Pakistan back in 1998, I made it to the Khyber Pass, but that was the end of the line for this blonde blue eyed 23 year old Acadian gal. I saw the refugee camps near Peshawar and I use a picture I have of three of the most beautiful young boys selling gum as my bookmark. I often wonder how to rekindle that passion to change the world and truly make a difference, instead of adhering to the comfortable easy norms of society.

I’m off to find a copy of your new one! Keep up the great work with your mind and your heart.

Claire Poirier
Shediac, New Brunswick
Canada

As a coincidence, I chose to read One Thousand Splendid Suns on Sept. 11, 2007. I learned so much from it and used some of the references to learn more online about the people and circumstances that have shaped Afganistan.

I loved this book and have already passed it on to my friend hoping that she will get as much out of it as I did.

When you can have an enjoyable read and learn something about history and gain new perspective on your own life that is a fabulous book. Thank you for this gift.

Jeanne

I was turned on to your book THE KITE RUNNER at the airport in Anchorage AK. I was flying to San Fransisco to see my ill father when a man walked up to me at the terminal book store and asked meif i had ever read THE KITE RUNNER and i said "no" but needed a book for the flight so i bought the book and could not put it down. I also enjoyed the story so much i turned everyone i knew on the this book and bought your new book yesterday and can't put that down either. Thank you for the wonderful stories you give us. can't wait for more.

Dear Mr. Hosseini,
I have never been as moved by a book as I have been by both of your novels.
You have given the world a true gift, your stories will stay with me for years.
Please continue writing.

Inge Strack
Virginia

Saalam Mr.Hosseini

Hi my name is yalda... i read your first book ..The Kite Runner>>it was amazing..i loved this book and always will..this book had amazing words tht blown my mind..its words were so strong and heartbreaking. after readin the kiter runner i waiting until you wrote another book.. now im reading your new book..A Thousand Splenid Suns...everything you say in this is so true and u explain them so well.im not finished with it yet..i love your writing style... Good Work!!

Dear Mr. Hosseini:

I have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have to say it is at the top of my list. I can't wait to share the story with my friends and pass on this wonderful written story. I felt so close to the characters, felt their emotions as I read, tried to understand how they could endure so much. I want to thank you for the history of a country I really didn't know anything about. It was a wonderful story and I can't wait to read The Kite Runner. Going backwards but I figure that won't matter. You're a talented writer and I'm very excited to read more of your work. Continue the wonderful work.

Sara Hall

Dr. Hoosinei,

I have just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and I wish to thank you for such a wonderful piece of literary work. I had hoped that this novel would be just as good as the Kite Runner, I was not disappointed. Please continue bringing us these amazing stories of a land and of a people that have been overlooked by our fast paced world.

James Hammer
Mangilao, Guam

Hello Mr. Hosseini,
I'm from Brazil and I read yours two books and they're just fantastic! Thanks for bring us your stories.

Denise Lima
Curitiba, Brazil.

Hello Mr. Hosseini. I don't know if you'd even read this comment but I just want you to know that I absolutely loved both of your books. Both of them brought tears to my eyes...especially the endings.
I finished reading 'The Kite Runner' yesterday and I can't tell you how happy, at peace and content I felt after reading it. You made my day. Hust after finishing the book I messaged my friend 'Awesome book. I can read it a thousand times over!!'. Thanks a lot. You dont realise what difference you've made in my life!