June opens up with a tough book for the month. ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ was introduced to me by a friend through a social media connect from India. The story opens up in two parts with Mariam (part 1) and Laila (part 2) who were both married to Rasheed, showed sheer strength of love in desperate times. If you’ve wondered about the title just like I did, it means even though only a thousand splendid suns can break up the miserable fate of women, but still it’s the same thousand splendid suns that shine persistence and hope on women.
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
*Khaled Hosseini*
Now let’s look at the summary of this book.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, the #1 New York Times bestseller A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.
Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.
Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.
This book was published in 2007 with 384 pages. The fact that 94% liked this book on Google proves that Khaled can definitely write. His writing is simple and concise to the point where your emotions would be on a crazy roller coaster ride. You might squirm or cry out in outrage but then also come to a realization that you are not even halfway through the book. With only two main characters, you’ll have enough not wanting for more. Now, are you ready to find out how bright does ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ shines?
1. Domestic abuse.
“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. You remember that, Mariam.”
You cannot close an eye on the physical and mental abuse that Mariam and Laila endured throughout their marriage with Rasheed. But what can you do as a reader? You can’t help but sympathize on both of the characters. Even though you will understand how the husband is the way he is, you will hate him every time the abuses takes place. Good luck on that.
2. Love.
“she is the noor of my eyes and the sultan of my heart.”
The love that Tariq and Laila has for each other definitely is the one to talk about, despite of all the years they’ve been apart. Also, Mariam and Laila soon develop a friendship out of love even though they hated each other in the beginning. They became more like sisters and sometimes even act like mother-daughter due to the huge difference in their age.
3. War cruelty.
“War doesn’t negate decency. It demands it, even more than in time of peace.”
Taliban took away women’s rights. They had to wear a burqa all the time and can’t go anywhere without their husband, brother or father. The worst of all, women can’t work. It is during the times of suffering that people are confronted with the choice to abandon their humanity or embrace it. Decency becomes their hope to restore order amidst chaos and be even more resilient.
4. Women power.
“But the game involves only male names. Because, if it’s a girl, Laila has already named her”
Both characters are strong, powerful and smart in their own way. In any life situations that they’ve been put through, they constantly try to bring out only the best. They evolve, adapt and grow from their hardship. Mariam and Laila might have a different upbringing but both suffered long enough to endure whatever that life throws at them even when they had to stick together for that.
5. Education.
“Marriage can wait, education cannot.”
Mariam used to dream of going to school when she was little but she never had the chance. Over the years, she yearns to be accepted and appreciated from others. Sadly, she never learned to stand up for herself or to fight for her freedom. Meanwhile, the story of Laila was different. She had a great father who’ve always encouraged her to get educated and stand up for herself.
The main takeaway from this book is that you should never take freedom, education, kindness and generosity for granted no matter how abundantly blessed you are. You just never know when all these can be taken off from you. What are you reading this month? Share it with me.
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