Khaled Hosseini

In The Kite Runner, winner of the 2003 Borders Original Voices Award for Fiction, Khaled Hosseini explored the friendship of two boys from different social classes in Kabul, in the days before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. After the phemomenal success of this poignant debut novel, Hosseini delivers an equally piercing and memorable follow-up. Spanning 30 years of Afghan history, A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of Miriam and Laila, two women of different generations and backgrounds who are thrown together through dire circumstances. They develop a strong bond in the face of the tragedy that surrounds them outside, and the brutal, socially accepted misogyny they endure at home.