Book Review : A Thousand Splendid Suns
May 20, 2008
It was a few years ago that I first read about Khaled Hosseini in the Sunday literary review section of a national newspaper. His debut novel, The Kite Runner had won rave reviews. I never got an opportunity to read his first book. His second, A Thousand Splendid Suns has been in the top of the best sellers lists this year. Not reading the debut novel book is sometimes a good thing because you have no expectations on reading the second one - nothing to relate to, no comparisons, no familiar characters or even second guessing the plot.
The image of anything Afghanistan is dark, destruction, violence, oppression of women, terror and a complicated society that redefines conservatism. What subsequently follows is sadness, poverty, hunger and death. The afghan-born author makes women the central theme of his latest book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. It focuses on the relationships between women in prosperity and in adversity, their friendships transcending generations, the plight of women in general and the cultural complexities of this war-torn nation worsened with the Taliban coming to power. What is surprising is that the Taliban are not shown too much in bad light in their dealing with the women as the world knows. Rules are rules to all - men and women, non-compliance of which will be met with punishment. It is the punishment that is extreme for women for ofcourse. It is written methodically with the stories of two women alternating chapters as they finally merge into one in the latter half.
I can’t recall the number of times tears rolled down my cheeks ..there were numerous occasions towards the end when I sobbed uncontrollably and contemplated putting down the book without completing it - a sin I know! At one point after the first two chapters I actually set the book aside for a good 3 days before starting on it again because it was so goddamn depressing and dark. This is ten times the intensity of a Haruki Murakami. But that’s how high it rides on emotions and domestic violence with no hope and justice to these poor women. There were times I wondered how close this must be to the reality of Afghan women and my gut says pretty close from little of what the media shows.
The story starts off as a a narrative between a mother (Nana) and a daughter (Mariam) living in a secluded portion outside the western city of Herat in Afghanistan. Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman in Herat - who is married three times and lives with the rest of his family in the city. The mother is often found telling her daughter to endure things that come her way in life for that’s what women of their class were expected to. Mariam is reprimanded by her mother for expressing a desire to study. Mariam’s exposure to the outside world is very limited during the first fifteen years of her existence. The story moves fast and Mariam soon finds her mother hanging herself from a tree and finds herself being married off in a haste by her step-mothers and father to a old shoemaker named Rasheed from Kabul.
Rasheed well in his late forties, forces Mariam to wear a burqa and expects her not to step out of the house without him. The initial goody goody days are soon a thing of the past. She finds herself a prey to his mood swings, violent temperament, insults and merciless beatings on no end.
The novel takes a twist when the other main character - Laila, a intelligent young lady, becomes the second wife of Rasheed. Laila’s educated father had always encouraged her to study and lead a good life. His faith in education was undying and started home schooling her when the rockets started invading their neighborhood. Laila’s life turns upside down when a rocket hits their home killing her parents as the family was preparing to leave Kabul for Pakistan. This is when Rasheed who lived in the same street as Laila rescues her, gets her home and marries her subsequently.
Meanwhile, Tariq, Laila’s boyfriend, whose family left Kabul a fortnight ago is believed to have been killed along with his parents on the border. The news shatters her but she sees a ray of hope as she realizes she is pregnant with Tariq’s child. This is when she agrees to marry Rasheed in the hope of saving her child convinced she will never make it alone in the streets of Kabul - let alone fleeing to Pakistan.
Circumstances over the years transform the relationship between Mariam and Laila - from enemies they become the best of friends - they find solace in each other in the adversity that follows. Over the years, Laila gives birth to a second child - that of Rasheed’s. In the end, the two women unite against Rasheed. Mariam’s selfless sacrifice is heart-rending.
Certain sections of the story will move even the strong-willed to tears such as the one where Nana hangs herself or the absence of anesthesia or pain killer when Laila is ready to deliver her second baby at the hospital. The fact that was just one women hospital in Kabul during the Taliban rule and that lady doctors were required to operate on the patients with their burqa on was scary that makes one question if we all live in the same world and is there something called human rights. The Taliban patrolling the streets to spot unbearded men does sound real. It also has references to the hanging of President Najibullah. The conflicts between the different factions and changing alliance over the years is a little confusing.
The story is original and gripping but is a depressing read. The characters are extreme - most women very likable and easy going while the rich women and all men except Tariq are treacherous and villainy. The variations in the mood are little with very little scope for optimism and hope; it rides high on oppression, submission, helplessness and making the most with the little they have. But yes, there is always a hope for a better life. And it is this little ray of hope that takes them out of the war-torn Afghanistan. The plot at one point was too hard to believe with the comeback of a certain character - it felt like seeing one of those B-rated Bollywood movies from the ’70s where anything was possible when the dead came back alive and reborn fundas was portrayed. In all the plot is constructed well that you never feel left out or the urge to skip a few pages in between. But that doesn’t mean it will give you the high of a thriller wanting to finish the book at one go. In all if you can stomach some depressing story with a hopeful ending go for it. Else toss it aside!
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I have just purchased this book and look forward for reading. And I am reading it, thanks
Suda,
Welcome! Happy reading
And I hope you finish it in continuous sittings unlike me.
Lakshmi, you are turning into a small version of Oprah like for instance advertising the book!!
Lets hope you do turn out like her tomorrow and endorse the future President of India too!
Aquarian imagination!
That’s a big leap
PT. Thank you! And I know how our imagination works, so don’t you let it run wild.
Thanks for recommending such a splendid book.
I somehow had some apprehensions but went ahead after your review..
All these years what Afghanistan has went through has been captured in the 384
pages of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” in an excellent vivid fashion with an incredible story telling style and the most subtle ‘voice’ which he emphasizes upon so much. As the author rightly puts in his notes, to start with he gives voice to Mariam and Laila’s feelings and plight and gradually the characters guide him
to develop the story. Hosseini has narrated the story of Afghanistan with changing regimes, wars and ruling powers in the background in a masterful way with the story of love, aspirations, passion, heartbreak and a plethora of other human emotions and the play of the human mind in the foreground. For the author to have lived in US after 1978 and still have such have such an objective and clear understanding of the political dynamics in Afghanistan is commendable.
I firmly believe it is this clarity which can solve problems of Afghanistan, Kashmir and the like and not the wrong images that a lot of people host.
I am sure everyone can identify with one character or the other at some phase of life. I totally empathize with the characters built by Khaled Hosseini.
The characters and story is so well etched that it should make the director’s job pretty easy.
It is being adapted to the screen by Steve Zaillian, the brilliant screenwriter behind Schindler’s List and Searching for Bobby Fisher. The film will be produced by Scott Rudin, who just won an Oscar for No Country For Old Men.
The book gives a real insight into the lives of the Afghans and reminds us it wasn’t always a nation in ruins.
Wow! Rhea , I think you have a mini review here
[…] of their books. And, I fell a prey to it. I had just finished reading Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and was in no mood to read more heavy duty stuff. So, I picked up a copy of Superstar India early […]
Hosseini, the author of the Kite Runner, has offered another heart rending and gripping tale. This time the protagonists are two women, whose lives are shaped by the brutal realities of their war ravaged land and by some of the “less than honourable” traditions of their civilization.