So today, I am back here with another book review. I just finished reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” And needless to say that this one has been marked as the best-selling book around the globe. Thence, it was on my list for a long. Now that I am done, I always find it a good idea, sharing my thoughts about it here with everyone. If you are someone with human instincts, the novel definitely leaves you with some sense of compassion and empathy.
Let’s begin with the review now.
What’s the book? A Thousand Splendid Suns
Genre: Fiction
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Good Reads: 4.4/5
Thumbs Up/Down: Always Up.
What is it about?
It is a story about the fate of women in Afghanistan. Mariam is an illegitimate child. She lives with her mother and her father visits them once a week. They spend some precious time together but she never lives with him. One day, without acknowledging to anyone, she goes to visit his home. On this act of hers, she returns to know that her mother has hung herself to death. Now as she got to live with her father, his wives determine that she will secure a place in their household. So, they marry her to an elderly widower named Rasheed in Kabul. So far away to be easily forgotten. It is a marriage that soon deteriorated into brutality. And the misery worsened for her when Rasheed later marries the orphaned Laila. But then again, he also targets Laila of his cruelty when she disappoints him by bearing a daughter. As time passes by, a friendship between these two women grows out of this unhappy household. And that binds them in a union as close as any marriage, which even endures beyond death.
My Review:
I believe, women in different parts of the world suffer differently – though in anyway, the SUFFER remains constant. And this novel has given me an insight to the struggles of women in Afghanistan. They don’t only undergo the bombings and indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas like everyone else, but also bear the lack of fundamental human rights and gender-based abuse to its peak. Each of them has their stories comprise of survival(s), happiness(es), sorrow(s), hope(s), longing(s), disappointment(s) – and even much more. The author attempted to explore the inner lives of those who look for ordinary humanity behind their veils. And for that, he has very interestingly curated the fictional characters of two women to success.
P.S: Despite the fact that I am not into fiction much, I think I have started to liking it a little bit now. If the storyline is good and you are making (read: learning) something out of it, then it deserves a read – at least once.
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That’s it from this review. You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more raw and relatable content.
Peace out.