<P> A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan - American author Khaled Hosseini . It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner . Mariam is an illegitimate child, and suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth along with the abuse she faces throughout her marriage . Laila, born a generation later, is comparatively privileged during her youth until their lives intersect and she is also forced to accept a marriage proposal from Rasheed, Mariam's husband . </P> <P> Hosseini has remarked that he regards the novel as a "mother - daughter story" in contrast to The Kite Runner, which he considers a "father - son story". It continues some of the themes used in his previous work, such as the familial aspects, but focuses primarily on female characters and their roles in Afghan society . </P> <P> A Thousand Splendid Suns was released on May 22, 2007, and received favorable prepublication reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, becoming a number one New York Times bestseller for fifteen weeks following its release . During its first week on the market, it sold over one million copies . Columbia Pictures purchased film rights in 2007 and confirmed intentions to create a movie adaption of the book . The first theatrical adaptation of the book premiered on February 1, 2017, at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California . </P> <P> The title of the book comes from a line in the Josephine Davis translation of the poem "Kabul", by the 17th - century Iranian poet Saib Tabrizi: </P>

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