3.5 
 In short, I would say if you want your books to draw you in right from the beginning and be all go go go the whole time, this probably isn't for you. Otherwise, go for it. It's interesting and I do think it is really worth a read, it just requires a little bit of patience in my opinion. In more detail: 
 "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is about 2 Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, from very different backgrounds whose paths eventually cross, and the 'challenges' they go through. I say challenges for lack of a better word - they are so far from what you or I may experience. The reader gets a pretty clear picture of what life as a women in Afghanistan was like throughout the changing times. 
 I've seen a few other reviews say the characters were one dimensional or overly complex (contradictory?) but I disagree with both of these. Actually that's one of the things I really liked about this book - I thought the characters were very well written, they seemed like real people to me. Even the characters I liked had certain aspects to their personality I didn't like, just as with people in real life. The author, Khaled Hasseini, painted a clear picture of their thoughts and feelings and I spent a lot of this book sad or angry on their behalf. I really did like the language Hasseini used. I had beautiful images in my head of the characters and their surroundings. Although I am uneducated on the subject, it seems to me he described Afghan life and culture very well. I got a feel for what it was like, and we got some lovely insight into the clothing, scenery, architecture and food (I love cooking and there were several foods described I'd like to try for myself!). And the storyline really does get enthralling - the closer to the end I got the more I couldn't stop reading! 
 However, I did find it rather slow at the beginning. Like I said, there did come a time where I couldn't put it down but it took a while to get there, I didn't get really into it until about half way through. I usually get into books a lot quicker than that and there were a few times with this one I put it down and didn't pick it up for a couple of weeks, very rare for me. There's also a lot of very dislikeable characters although they are necessary. Actually even the dislikeable ones have softer more vulnerable aspects to them as well. 
 This was the first Hasseini book I've read, and it was good enough that I have since purchased The Kite Runner.