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Afghan-American novelist Hosseini follows up his bestselling The Kite Runner with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny-"There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten"-is endorsed by custom and law.
Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.
暢銷小說《追風箏的人》的作者、阿富汗裔美國作家卡勒德·胡賽尼將于2007年5月22日出版新作《燦爛千陽》。 這部小說以反蘇杰哈德、阿富汗內戰和塔利班專政為背景，講述了兩個女人的一生。
Mariam和Laila生活在一個家長專制的社會里，那里的女人都要服從自己的父親、丈夫和兒子，只有生兒子才能讓她們獲得社會地位。對于她們的丈夫Rasheed來說，“在我這里，不允許詛咒、尖叫、懇求和嚎叫，只有每日例行的打與被打。”而這一暴行是社會和法律認可的。
該書的出版社Riverhead評價此書為一部“阿富汗30年歷史的揪心記錄，一部關于家庭、友誼、信念和因愛得救的極其動人的故事。”
About Author
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in thirty-eight countries. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. He lives in northern California.
卡勒德·胡賽尼出生在阿富汗的喀布爾，1980年移居美國。他的處女作《追風箏的人》暢銷全球，陸續在38個國家出版發行。2006年，他被任命為聯合國難民事務高級專員(辦事處)親善大使，目前居住在加州北部。
(實習生 江巍）
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