Today I am writing about novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by famous Afgan-Americal novelist Khaled Hosseini. His debut novel 'The Kite runner' is the one which is probably most famous and also has been adapted into a film with same name.
Personally, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' affected and left lasting effect on me than 'The kite runner', may be because the former is more feminine oriented.
As an Indian, whenever we hear Afghanistan, we think of it as a dry country that is full of unreasonable religious extremist, gun-carrying bearded men traveling in jeeps and burqa-clad women. All of Khaled's books give a very good glimpse of how prosperous, nature-blessed and rich cultured this country was at once upon a time.
The story gets unfold on the background of era in Afghanistan when the Soviets took over in 1980s through post 9-11 Taliban control.
Mariam and Laila, who are protagonists of this story, are from different generations with no blood relation but their lives meet at the crossroads due to unfortunate turns dictated by their own fates. In a way, it mirrors and reflects back as a metaphor for their country's brutal and bruised history. Along with the story of their lives, you get an outline of socio-political situations that conquered this once beautiful country to devastated conditions.
Khaled's narration is absolutely gripping, mesmerizing and builds a vivid picture which can be easily visualized throughout the book.
Even if you may have heard/read about the oppression of women under the Taliban regime, it will still bring a real shock to get full measure of it through the eyes of Mariam and Laila.
Below are some quotes that I would like to mention here as they provoked my deep thoughts -
"Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter. Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always."
“Marriage can wait. Education cannot...Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated. No chance.”
“A man’s heart is a wretched, wretched thing, Mariam. It isn’t like a mother’s womb. It won’t bleed. It won’t stretch to make room for you.”
This novel is certainly not a fun read but a very deep, incredibly infuriating and emotionally challenging one. It weaves thirty years of turbulent Afghani history through an intensely powerful story of families, friendship and ultimately, hope.
