Author : Khaled Hosseini
Genre : Historical Fiction
Theme : Love, Friendship, Struggle and above all, Hope
Pages : 419
The story revolves around two female protagonists named Mariam and Laila, with completely different family backgrounds and upbringing, how fate finally brings them together owing to their marriage with an abusive and dominating man, Rasheed, and their struggle in the war- torn country, Afghanistan.
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls”
The novel is split in a dual narrative, and starts with the story of Mariam, an illegitimate child born to a wealthy man and his housekeeper, who is subsequently married to Rasheed who is far older than her. As the story unfolds we are introduced to Laila who at the time is a young child and lives across the street with her parents. She also has a childhood sweetheart named Tariq . At this point in Afghanistan the Taliban have taken over and there is a lot of warfare happening all around which leave the people with an overarching sense of fear, when finally a bomb goes off killing Laila’s parents. This is when, Mariam and Rasheed decide to take her under their wing and as the story progresses Mariam and Laila eventually form a beautiful bond, which is very well treasured and written in this book.
“yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism”
A thousand splendid suns is indeed a splendid read filled with strong emotions, and is definitely one of my favorite books since a very long time not just because of the epic storyline and the way the plot unfolds but because this novel has changed the way in which I perceive books. It has the power to humanize a conflict that takes place in a far away land and makes you realize that even though the stories of these characters are fictional, the same stories were lived by thousands of people in Afghanistan, many of who perished during the war. It also describes how cruel people can be when yielded with unchecked power and how the only thing we have is hope even amid all the darkness.
This book is a must read for everyone especially those who enjoy reading authentic literature and love to learn about the intricacies of a culture through books.
Rating : 4.7/5
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