One of the most important emerging novelists today, Khaled Hosseini has enjoyed critical success and popular accolades. His first book, The Kite Runner, was voted Reading Group Book of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and was made into a major motion picture. His second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, seems destined to follow the same path. Written for book club members and students, this guide overviews Hosseini’s works, themes, characters, and contexts and relates his fiction to current events and popular culture. Sidebars present interesting information, and chapters contain questions to stimulate book club discussions and student research. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources.

The book begins with a glance at Hosseini’s life and his use of the novel form. It then looks at his novels, summarizing their plots and discussing his characters, themes, and contexts. The book gives close attention to his handling of current events in his works, and to the presence of his fiction in popular culture. Chapters include sidebars of interesting information, along with discussion questions designed to promote book club discussion and student research.