THIS month’s Book Group selection is Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, the second novel from the author of the best-selling The Kite Runner, and like its predecessor, a book that doesn’t relinquish its grip on the reader until the last page is turned. Mariam learns the word harami (illegitimate) when she is just five years old and it is hurled at her by her mother, who has been discarded by Jalil after becoming pregnant. Once a week Jalil comes to see Mariam, taking her fishing, telling her stories and bringing presents, but he will not give her the thing she wants most, his constant presence. Her decision to visit him at his home in Herat will have tragic consequences that affect the course of her life. Married off to Rasheed, an elderly widowed shoemaker from Kabul, a series of miscarriages and her failure to provide Rasheed with a son see the marriage descend into brutality and misery. Laila’s childhood is very different to Mariam’s but when she is orphaned, she finds herself part of Rasheed and Mariam’s sterile household but for reasons of her own, she is quick to accept Rasheed’s proposal of marriage. Mariam is initially resentful, but when Rasheed’s cruelty finds a new target in Laila, the two women forge an unbreakable and life-enhancing friendship. Be prepared though – this is a novel that packs a powerful emotional punch and reinforces Khaled Hosseini’s international reputation as a brilliant storyteller.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Kabul where his father was a diplomat and his mother taught Farsi and history. After the 1978 coup and the subsequent Russian invasion, the family fled Afghanistan for the United States, receiving political asylum in 1980. They settled in San Jose, California, where his father worked as a driving instructor. Hosseini, now a doctor, lives with his wife and two children in northern California. He graduated from high school in 1984, then went to Santa Clara University where he gained a degree in biology. In 1993 he graduated from the University of California’s San Diego School of Medicine and was a practising internist from 1996 to 2004, during which time he began The Kite Runner, writing in the early mornings before leaving for work. In 2006, he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. “Working with UNHCR to help refugees has been one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences of my life,” he says.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

How does Khaled Hosseini create such a credible relationship between Laila and Mariam?

Were there plot developments that took you by surprise?

There is hope amidst the brutality, but where does it lie?

What do you think has made Rasheed the man he is? Is he a product of his environment?

WIN A BUNDLE OF BOOKS

THERE’S a bundle of Vintage Books to be won in this month’s Book Group competition. Simply let us know what you think about this month’s featured title – A Thousand Splendid Suns – and your review could win you the prize. Visit herefordtimes.com and click on the link to the Book Group or write to us at HT Book Group, Hereford Times, Holmer Road, Hereford HR4 9UJ, with your review, name, address and contact details. The winning review will appear in next month’s HT Book Group and its author will win a selection of paperbacks. Usual competition rules apply. Deadline for entries is midnight on Monday, June 30.

HOW TO ORDER

A Thousand Splendid Suns - RRP £11.99, offer price £10.79; The Kite Runner - RRP £7.99, offer price £7.59, post and packing free. To order any of the titles listed, call the Hereford Times Bookshop on 08700 713317 or send your cheque/postal order made payable to Hereford Times Bookshop to: Hereford Times Bookshop, PO Box 60, Helston, TR13 0TP. Allow 7 to 10 working days for delivery. All titles supplied subject to publisher availability. To order online, visit sparkledirect.com