You might not realize how lucky you are to live in the United States, a land of freedom, until you read A Thousand Splendid Suns. This book excellently portrays a saga of Middle Eastern families. It’s like Khaled Hosseini is telling his own experience and remembering every moment, even though he isn’t.

Hosseini easily details the ­inhuman character­istics of Rasheed, Mariam’s and Laila’s husband. I liked this book because the ­author gives you background on the characters and makes you wonder about them. ­Toward the end it all begins to make total sense.

The book is so unpredict­able; you think you know what will happen next, but you never do. The characters don’t have the opportunity, like Americans, to live in peace and freedom, and every day Laila and Mariam face a world of tragedy and the fear of being beaten to death by the husband they once trusted.

I enjoyed this book very much and strongly recommend it to anyone who likes dramatic, well-thought-out stories with plot twists. Hosseini makes you appreciate being an American, especially for women, but the best part is really the way he writes – it is simply heart-­stopping.