A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), was inspired by his observations of women wearing burkas during a 2003 visit to Afghanistan, his first since childhood. Continuing in the overtly topical vein of The Kite Runner, the book depicts the radical shifts in the political and social climate of Afghanistan through the relationship between two women, Mariam and Laila, the first and second wives of an abusive husband.