As I devoured Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” this past weekend, I kept expecting some clever word play on “suns” and “sons,” but one never materialized. At least not directly. One of the book’s foremost themes, however, is the oppression of women, and therefore the superiority of men, in Afghani society and how this oppression has abruptly yet cyclically changed over time, from the Soviet occupation to the period of Taliban rule and post-Taliban recovery. The book’s central characters are women, and although the book delves deeply into their relationships with their fathers, sons, husbands and lovers, it is most prominently a striking portrait of what life has been like for women in Afghanistan for the past 30 years.

“A Thousand Splendid Suns,” released earlier this year, is Hosseini’s second novel and in some ways Hosseini is clearly trying to recreate his successful debut novel, “The Kite Runner,” which came out in 2003. It was part of the three books discussion for freshmen last fall and it was third on the bestseller list in 2005. Just looking at the two books, you can see similarities in the fonts, colors and layouts of the two covers.

Both focus on issues in modern Afghanistan, where Hosseini was born. However, despite these similarities, the two books dramatically and enjoyably differ on closer inspection. But rest assured — if you enjoyed “The Kite Runner,” then “A Thousand Splendid Suns” will likely be at least as much of a treat.

The story opens with the plight of fifteen-year-old Mariam and her mother, Nana. Her mother, then a housekeeper for the most well-off family in the village of Herat, conceived Mariam out of wedlock with Jalil, the head of the house. Already committed to three other wives and their children, he forces Mariam and her mother to live as outcasts in a shack up in the hills above Herat. But Jalil feels guilty, so he periodically sends his legitimate sons with food and supplies to support Mariam and Nana. Every Thursday, he visits Mariam, bringing presents and news of the outside world, to which Mariam has never felt she belongs. Mariam hero-worships her father and his visits are the high-point of her very existence. Nana, however, bitterly cautions her against becoming too attached to Jalil, warning her, “Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle pointing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.” But Mariam finds it impossible to fully heed her mother’s words.

The other central character is Laila, introduced after Mariam’s story has been much further developed, as she is a generation younger than Mariam. So far, Laila’s family life has been much more stable. Her father, a former university professor, encourages her to pursue her education no matter what the current climate for women in Afghanistan is. But when Laila’s brothers, who joined the jihad against the Soviets when she was only a baby, are killed in action, it unhinges Laila’s mother and causes marital tension between her parents. The unpleasantness at home drives Laila into the arms of Tariq, a neighbor boy whom she thinks of as her “true” brother. But as the fighting between rival factions enters Kabul, Tariq’s family decides to flee to the relative safety of Pakistan. The afternoon before his departure, however, Tariq and Laila are powerless to fight against the attraction between them and they make a choice that alters the courses of their lives forever.

And that’s not even close to half of this compelling story. If you want to know the tumultuous and unpredictable ways in which the lives of all these complex characters eventually intertwine, find time to read Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” before classes start up again this fall. You won’t be disappointed.