每个布满灰尘的面孔背后都有一个灵魂。献给阿富汗的女性。
2003年，重返喀布尔。我看到穿着传统蒙面服装的女性三三两两走在街头，后面尾随着她们穿着破烂的孩子，乞求着路人施舍零钱。那一刻，我很想知道，生命已将她们带往何处？她们会有怎样的梦想、希望与渴望？她们谈过恋爱吗？丈夫是怎样的人？在蔓延阿富汗二十年的战争岁月中，她们究竟失去了什么？
我与许多在喀布尔的女性谈过，她们的故事都是真实且让人心碎的。当我开始写《灿烂千阳》（A Thousand Splendid Suns）之际，我发现我自己不断想起这些充满韧性的阿富汗妇女。虽然她们不见得是引发我描写莱拉或者玛丽雅姆故事角色的灵感来源，不过她们的声音、面容与坚毅的生存故事却一直萦绕着我，而且关于这本小说，我有一大部分的启发是来自阿富汗女性的集体精神力量。
——作者的话
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years-from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding--that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives--the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness--are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made TheKiteRunner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love--a stunning accomplishment.