Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Blurb

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior.

Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household.

Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.

With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings.

Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.

My Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

When I picked up this book to read, so many people told me to brace up, that it is a very sad book and I would be heartbroken for days, and I thought they were exaggerating.

Far from it. It is the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read in my life. And knowing how excellent Khaled’s writing is, you can’t even get enough of it.

The book starts with introducing Mariam as a harami, a bastard. Now this girl would start hearing her own mother call her a bastard at a very tender age. I cannot even imagine how heartbroken she would always feel whenever she hears her mother call her that.

Is it her fault that she was brought to this wicked world by two unprepared people? His father is already married with many wives and many children, and so there is no space for Mariam and her servant-mother.

But Mariam always longs for Thursdays, because Thursdays are the only days her father, Jalil visits. She would love and believe her father’s words more than her mother, and would be shocked when she finally finds out the truth.

She is only fifteen years old when she is married off to Rasheed, a much older widower. She would leave Herat to Kabul to kick off this unrehearsed and unanticipated marriage of hers amidst her tears and pleas.

Life in Kabul is different from Herat. It is in Kabul that most of the depressing incidents in this book happens.

This book is set from the seventies, during the Afghanistan’s battle with the Soviet Union, till the early 2000’s, during the coming of the Taliban.

One thing about this book is that it doesn’t even give you a moment to catch your breath, to absorb one terrible misfortune, before another one throws itself into the ring for you to feel.

Before the coming of the Taliban, Afghan women were important. They worked in important places; teachers, doctors and all what not.

But the moment they came, women became as insignificant as the letter ‘p’ in ‘psalm.’ The Taliban made the rules, and you would be damned not to adhere to them.

…Cosmetics are forbidden. Jewelry is forbidden. You will not wear charming clothes. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will not make eye contact with men. You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten Girls are forbidden from attending school. All schools for girls will be closed immediately… (Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Suns.)

I cannot even imagine how hard it is for the girls in Afghanistan to survive these harsh commandments. As if being a girl is a heinous, unforgiveable crime.

And it shows in the life of Rasheed, who when Laila gives birth to a daughter, treats her and her daughter with disdain, and even refers to the girl as ‘that thing’ and wouldn’t touch her. But treats their son like a king.

Characterization

Rasheed: The wicked, old man who marries Mariam at the tender age of fifteen, and warns her early enough that she has no right to cry, and he can’t stand crying.

He and Mariam would be married for more than twenty years, and she would have to endure these miserable years by herself, with no help coming from anywhere.

Mariam: One of the protagonists of this book. She would go through a lot of unthinkable things in the hands of fate, her parents, her husband and her nation.

This minute she is a little girl always waiting for Thursdays to see her dad, and the next, she is in her husband’s house, being forced to eat and swallow pebbles.

Laila: My favorite character and one of the protagonists of this book. Her parents are liberal, and educated. Her father always reads to her and she is so smart.

She has her own dreams; one day she would become a very important person in Afghanistan, doing great things.

Except that she doesn’t know how tragic her life would turn into. Her love story with Tariq is the comic relief I needed. I rooted for them so hard, and when they finally kiss in the book, I was happy. At least a spell of good thing, after the series of misfortunes.

Tariq: Laila’s one legged childhood friend turned lover. He is a character I cherish so much. His genuine friendship with Laila in the midst of war and every other tragic incident happening in their country, is a delight to watch.

This book is a solid 5/5 for me. And I highly recommend it to everyone. Even if it breaks your heart, at least it ends up achieving something.

And don’t think you can predict the kinds of things that happen in this book. They are way too drastic than you can imagine. And trust Khaled to paint a perfect, descriptive picture.

Have you read the book? What do you think about it? Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.