A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan American author Khaled Hosseini, following his bestselling 2003 debut The Kite Runner. It tells the story of Mariam, an illegitimate teenager from Herat forced into marriage after a family tragedy, and Laila, born a generation later, whose lives intersect when a similar tragedy forces her to accept marriage to Mariam's husband. Hosseini has described the book as a mother daughter story in contrast to The Kite Runner's father son focus, continuing his interest in familial dynamics while centering female characters in contemporary Afghan society. The novel became a number one New York Times bestseller for fifteen weeks after its May 2007 release, selling over a million copies in its first week, and a stage adaptation premiered at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater in 2017.