Book: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 367

Price:

Publication: Bloomsbury Publishing

Plot: ‘Harami’, bastard, Mariam heard this word for the first time when she was seven years old. She didn’t know the meaning of it at that time. But it must be something bad, she thought to herself, as the expressions on her Nana, her mother’s face were very furious. After that she heard this word many times, she still didn’t know the meaning of it. Mariam lived with her Nana in Afghanistan, Herat. A small house in which only they both lived, far away from the city. But they have visitors in their house, Bibi Jo an old woman, Mullah Faizullah who teaches her Quran, and her favorite, Jalil, her father. Jalil has three wives and nine legitimate children, and Mariam who was illegitimate. Mariam never understood why Nana always cursed Jalil, he is very nice with her, always brought gifts for her, and she is definitely fond of him and his stories. It’s through Jalil she knows the outside world, the world away from her Kolba, the world which is far-fetched from her reach.

Her life changed when Nana died, she was taken to Jalil’s house. There Jalil and his wives decided her future, without even her consent. She was fifteen when she married Rashid who was thirty years older than her. She spent rest of her life in Kabul, as the wife of Rashid.

Laila, a young girl who lives in Kabul with her parents. But she has known only her father as a parent because her mother is not always in good mood. It’s her father who takes her to school, helps her in homework and all other tasks. Her parents didn’t have a very great marriage. Her mother was disappointed with Laila’s father as he has sent their two sons in the army, to become soldiers. Laila has never known her brothers, she has never seen them. But she had her friends, one of them Tariq, her best friend. But life was not meant to be that easy for her, it changed drastically when her parents died. And her fate took her to Mariam and her unhappy household.

Their lives entangled in such a way that there was no way to look back. From there started the story of their love and bond. Their friendship grew as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. And their story became as beautiful as a night sky, dark and yet shining with the stars.

My Views: A thousand Splendid Suns is a portrait of the wounded country, a deeply moving story of family and friendship and love. As always, Khaled Hosseini again moved the reader to an agonized place but so beautifully that the reader feels every emotion with the characters. I smiled in Mariam and Laila’s happy times, and I cried in their difficult times. A story which shows the condition of women in a place where they are forced to live the way Taliban wants to. It portrays the worst of the time for being a woman in Afghanistan. The shattered hopes, the unfulfilled dreams and the mesmerizing style of writing made this story an unforgettable one. I again fell in love for Khaled Hosseini’s writing style, his dreamy sequence which brings the peace in the midst of a shattered story.

Overall I would say that this story took me to yet another place, in this era, where women or say people still fight for their rights, for their lives.

Recommendations: Looking forward to experience a book with splendid writing style, with an unforgettable story? Give this book a try, you will surely not regret it.

Ratings: 4/5

Komal Bagri

A traveler and a bookworm at heart, Komal Bagri has explored many destinations across India. But that never seems to be enough and she’s always ready to hit the road again. Her obsession for travel is combined with a love for books. She is currently working as a Content Developer at an eminent press.