A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
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Book Reviews of A Thousand Splendid Suns
Book Review: This one will suck you in!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first read the description of this book, I admit I didn't think it sounded very interesting. When I finally decided to read it, however, I was delightfully surprised by the engaging and well-written storyline. This book traces about thirty years of history in Afghanistan, first through the eyes of Mariam, a girl wed to a man thirty years her senior. Mariam was born a harami, a bastard daughter born out of wedlock to a household servant and hidden away to conceal the father's shame. When her mother dies, Mariam's father, to escape the wrath of his wives (he has three) forces her to marry a shoemaker named Rasheed and move to a different city. Mariam, who was born to a poor life to begin with, can only watch as her life deteriorates further when she is unable to produce any children for her husband. Ten years later, we pick up the story again through the eyes of Laila, a young girl born to a neighbor of Mariam's. The ongoing wars kill Laila's parents when she is just fourteen, and she is taken in by Rasheed, who is struck by her beauty and has plans of taking her as a second wife. When Laila discovers that she's pregnant by a childhood sweetheart who has also been killed by the war, she assents to be Rasheed's wife, not knowing what she is getting herself into.
This book continues through the eyes of Mariam and Laila, as they form an unlikely friendship and care for each other and eventually Laila's children and try to protect each other from their abusive husband. The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate for women, and watching as life gets harder and harder for these spirited two was deeply moving to me. The language is rich, the characters fleshed-out, the dialogue realistic, and the story heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. I love a book that draws me in so deeply that I have to actively clear it from my head in between reading sessions, and this one had just that effect on me. Reading this book had me smelling the spices they cooked with, feeling the burden of wearing a burqa, and hearing the constant explosions of a seemingly never-ending war. The ending was ultimately bittersweet for me. This book will make you think deeply about the cultural differences that still exist in the world to this day; it certainly gave me a better understanding of Afghanistan, and that's something I feel a lot of people could benefit from.
Book Review: Best novel of the year - must read !
Summary: 5 Stars
After all the glowing reviews received from readers of "A Thousand Splendid Suns (ATSS)", it would seem superfluous to say that Khaled Hosseini has truly surpassed himself and written a book that tops even his superlative debut novel "The Kite Runners". And just how book critics have so unconscionably ignored this gloriously stupendous piece of work in their annual choice of best novels is beyond me. Not quite literary or arty enough perhaps ? Or a tad too melodramatic perhaps for critics from the civilized world who cannot quite bring themselves to believe that the inhumane conditions under which women live (as described in the book) still exists in some parts of the world today ?
For me, the heartbreaking story of Mariam and Laila and the excruciating pain and suffering they haplessly endured under the household terror regime of Rasheed isn't only about endurance, sacrifice and love but above all a literary representation of the social history of Afghanistan. Through their story, the history of Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion years to the liberation then Taleban years comes alive and remains forever etched in the minds of readers. There is never a moment when you doubt the truth of the women's pain or the hopelessness of their plight. There are even rare moments of bathos when you realize that even the menfolk such as Mariam's weak but loving father and the monster husband Rasheed are denied the basic freedom of taking personal responsibility for their actions in the cruel, stifling and suffocating society that these characters inhabit. When the two women eventually overcome their initial feelings of rivalry (for what though ? not love surely but rather the humiliating patronage of their husband) to suddenly realize that only their mutual camaraderie and support can save them, that's when the novel's battlecry for women's rights burn the brightest before transmuting into the most natural of love existing between mother and daughter that would break a million hearts.
ATSS is simply the best novel I have read all year. I would give it 6 stars if I could. It is a must read for any serious lover of literature. Forget about the book critics and their advocacy. Do they know better ? Sometimes though not always. You are better off trusting the judgment of readers when they are SO in agreement.
Book Review: Afghan Dickensian dystopia - The plight of women under Islam
Summary: 5 Stars
I started reading this book and it did not grip me. The chapters were short and self contained. A few chapters on, I was hooked. I finished it almost on the same day, from 11AM to 12PM and maybe 1 hour the next morning. It seemed important to find out what happens.
There are two main female protagonists Mariam and Laila, their lives are brought together by marriage to the same husband. Also featured are Nana, Mariam's mother, a key player who sets the tone for the whole story. Everything she says turns out to be true and we sense it, even though Mariam finds it so disagreeable, that Mariam is actually a bastard child and has no place in that society's system of ethics and hierarchy.
Mariam is married off to Rasheed to get rid of her, by her stepmothers and stepfather. Classic fairy tale material. She will never find a prince though.
Tariq is Laila's boyfriend, he's a sort of prince though is more a background character. And there are so many educated folk and sensitive people brought to the fore, against the backdrop of a worsening political situation in the country that is narrated fairly faithfully, true to history. We get a commentary from the pre Soviet invasion all the way to 9/11 and beyond.
There is a spotlight of the oppression of women under Islam's strict Sharia laws as imposed by the Taliban and lesser fanatics, though a kinder face of that same culture is also brought forth, in the pre Soviet era in particular.
My special highlight was a tour of the Bamiyan Buddha's when Laila is a young child.
We get an insiders look at life in Kabul and what it may be like to wear a burka. The grim treatment of women and their predicament under sharia is highlighted as they are so powerless against the male dominated justice system. Sadly, the situation under the Taliban is now been replicated in Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Indonesia - the epidemic of Sharia is spreading.
Mercifully here, there is room for hope at the end, but after a lot of suffering and unresolved politics. Hosseini is a brilliant story teller and a credit to his people. I just hope that women like Mariam get the justice and recompense they deserve.
Book Review: A beautiful book. I couldn't stop reading.
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book in a about two days because it was such a page-turner. Although I had also loved The Kite Runner, I think that A Thousand Splendid Suns shows that Hosseini has grown as a writer and produced a piece of art even more beautiful than his first work. I feel that this book may have also been perhaps more difficult for him to write because it is from the point of view of Afghani women and thus is a perspective that he has never experienced himself.
Briefly, A Thousand Splendid Suns follow the hardships of two different women - Mariam and Laila, whose lives become intertwined as they live through the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and then the subsequent rule of the Taliban. The book manages to be extremely successful in mixing together the historical significance of Afghanistan during this time period and the fiction created from Hosseini's head.
I really liked The Kite Runner but I feel as though the character development and humanity of the characters is even better than The Kite Runner. Mariam is enduring, constantly looking for love and approval in her life, timid, and obedient. Laila is the perfect compliment to her - strong-willed, intelligent, and determined. Mariam grows stronger and more confident throughout the book as though drawing energy from Laila. Rasheed, the villian, is a more believable villian than Assef in The Kite Runner. Rasheed is cruel and unyielding, yes, but we see moments of humanity in him when he is with his son. To me, it seems as though Rasheed is mostly the way he is because of societal traditions - he has almost been taught to hate women and treat them poorly. But like most real abusive spouses, his behavior seems to get worse and worse throughout the course of the book.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is almost a borderline feminist book. It exhibits the strength of women and how necessary they are to the progress of society. You will probably need a box of tissues to get through this but the end is bittersweet. It certainly leaves you with thoughts about the future of Afghanistan.
Book Review: Splendid, but not so much
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book before I read Kite Runner his first book. Do we call these kinds of books novels? I have not read fiction for years as all of my reading has been technical books. Years ago I did read good fiction novels but they seemed to have a better structure. His writing about Afghanstan helped me to understand the country better and espcially how poorly women are treated. I have read news stories on some of Taliban horror but this book brought so much of it into focus.
That said, and here it is hard to take the American out of America and to such a desolate land as described in the book for women, I would have bashed the husband in the head probably on day 2, not after 20+ years of torture and abuse. This part of the Taliban and that part of the world and their treatment of women is so foreign it almost makes the book unbelivable to an American woman. Yet I know that much of what he wrote is true. If nothing else I came away with a sigh of relief that I was not born there. I hope that what we are planning to do in this country is not Russia second part, the war lords part three, or Taliban part 4.
I read an article in the paper today about some National Guardsmen from Texas that are trying to grow wheat at 10,000 feet. The Hazara were able to do this in the northern part of the country. This is a peacful way to defeat the Taliban that control most of the grain grown in Afghanstan, probably most of the heroin as well, Ala willing. This is the way to give these people back their lives, not with guns but with bread, the staff of life.
Why do I feel I need to make a political statement in a book review? I think Hosseini is writing these books to help Americans with very limited attention spans and the need for thrills and chills, blood and gore in all their real entertainment to understand what Afghanistan is today. Read both of his books but suspend your need to see this as great fiction. This is one man's hope to get the message out to the world the dire need for help in this part of the world.