A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Summary:

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 a person 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.

In One Word: Moving

Plot:

I must admit that this review may be influenced a little by the book I previously read, which was ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman. Both these books are very emotional and also shocking, because you realise that most of these hardships really happened to people somewhere in history. However, the problem with reading these two as close together as I did is that one felt much more real to me than the other. I could identify with the situation of racism in the previous book much more than this one, but I’m going to try to not let that influence this review too much, although it might have an effect on my overall feeling about this book. 

Okay, that being said in an extremely long paragraph, lets continue with this book’s plot. I read this book in one day, literally. This is always a good sign in my opinion, since it means it was engaging at least. I enjoyed this story, I found it easier to read than ‘the Kite Runner’, but I also didn’t find it as emotional. Hosseini’s writing is wonderful, and like many of the blurbs say: he’s a natural storyteller, so there are no complaints there. I like books with more than one point of view, even when it’s not a first-person narrative like this one, since I like seeing how the different characters respond to different events.

Characters:

Just like with the plot, I didn’t connect as much to this book’s characters as I did to 'the Kite-Runner’s', which is strange since this one focuses on women instead of men (I'm a female, if my choices in literature hasn't clued you into that yet...I also have a review for 'the Little Mermaid' on here, so this shouldn't be a surprise...). That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like these characters or don’t think they are well-written. On the contrary, both the main characters and most of the minor ones are very well-rounded and relatable. I didn’t, however, have a favourite character, or one that I really fell in love with. If I had to choose one it would be Tajir, just because I’m a sucker for the romantic heroes.

Who should read this:

13+, mainly for violence, which is quite disturbing, as well as some sexual content. There was not any language that I can recall. If you like emotional books with good characters that is well-written, but easy to read or if you’re interested in the history of Afghanistan, but want something a little more personal then I definitely suggest any of Khaled Hosseini’s books. However, if you want something happy or light then this is not for you.

My rating:

Like I said, I read this book in a day, and I didn’t get bored once. However, there wasn’t that extreme emotional connection that I usually look for in a book like this. 4/5

Quote:

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs. Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”