A Thousand Splendid Suns vs Mockingbird: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Family relationships, Families, Fiction
A Thousand Splendid Suns
“Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.”
More
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the…
Mockingbird
More
In Caitlin's world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That's the stuff Caitlin's older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon's dead and Dad is no help…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate A Thousand Splendid Suns highest: A Thousand Splendid Suns 4.4 · Mockingbird 4.2.
- Mockingbird is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 7 for A Thousand Splendid Suns.
- Mockingbird has the widest readership — 36094 ratings behind its score.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.
How to choose
Scores by source
| A Thousand Splendid Suns | Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.2 (36094) |
| Hardcover | 4.3 (1082) | 3.7 (35) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (3184) | 4.5 (636) |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Reception
| A Thousand Splendid Suns | Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 3184 | 36094 |
| Editions | 61 | 9 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 25946 |
| Reading it now | — | 1099 |
| Written reviews | — | 5088 |
| Wikipedia attention | 23679 | 342 |
| Pages | 404 | 256 |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Thousand Splendid Suns or Mockingbird?
A Thousand Splendid Suns has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Thousand Splendid Suns 4.4/5, Mockingbird 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Thousand Splendid Suns or Mockingbird?
Mockingbird is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Mockingbird (256 pages, ≈ 4 h 44 m); A Thousand Splendid Suns (404 pages, ≈ 7 h 29 m).
Which is harder to read: A Thousand Splendid Suns or Mockingbird?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Thousand Splendid Suns: Moderate; Mockingbird: Light.