A Thousand Splendid Suns
Summary of the Plot
Written by Khaled Hosseini in 2007, A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan between the 1970's to 2000's time period. The story arc concerns the life of Mariam, who had a bad childhood and got also married at a young age. Though the marriage and her relationship with her husband, Rasheed, was good at the beginning, it slowly deteriorate and things got worse for her as women of those times in Afghanistan were not allowed to have their own say.
Then, the book slowly shifts to the life of Laila, a girl in the same neighborhood as Mariam. Laila, who was born in the generation after Mariam, had a good childhood and as she reached adulthood, a stray rocket blasted her house, killing her parents and severely injuring her. Rasheed and Mariam found her and treated her wounds. Just as she was getting better, a man informed her that her best friend from childhood named Tariq got killed in a bomb blast. This gave her a shock as she was planning to go meet him. By this time, Rasheed started liking her and asked her hand for marriage; as Laila had nowhere else to go to, they married each other. In due course of time, they had two children.
One day as Laila was walking along the street she saw Tariq!! Tariq had not died and had actually come to meet Laila. What actually happened was that Rasheed, in order to marry Laila, had paid a man to convey the false news to her. When she understood what happened, she confronted Rasheed on this matter. Rasheed, on discovering that his secret is out, got very angry and started choking Laila. Mariam, who realised that Laila was about to die, took a shovel and mustering all her courage, hit Rasheed hard on the head twice thus killing him. Mariam, who wanted Laila to have a good life with Tariq and her kids, admitted her crime to the government and got publicly executed, thus saving Laila. After these events, Laila took her kids along and started living with Tariq while never forgetting the sacrifice which Mariam made.
Timeline of the Book
The timeline of the book plays a major part in the events in it. What astonished me the most was the way in which Khaled Hosseini covered 30 years through the eyes of two women. Another big factor was the governments that ruled Afghanistan during the thirty years. First was the Soviet Union which nobody liked. Then after few weak governments, came the Taliban. That was when it got unbearable for Mariam and Laila. After killing Rasheed, Laila and Tariq moved to Pakistan for a brief period and returned back to Afghanistan when the Taliban fell. I was very impressed by the way Hosseini has seamlessly mixed the real world and the proceedings in the story. Throughout the book I had the feeling that I was reading the real life account of two women and not that of fictional characters😊
Women's education and the Afghanistan Cricket team
During the early 1970's Afghanistan had many wonderful universities in which women studied and the country was rapidly progressing. Even in the book, Hosseini had mentioned girls going to schools and women going to colleges but after the Taliban came on, the country came to a standstill. What I admire the most about Afghanistan is the way they are slowly rebuilding themselves now. Take for instance, the Afghanistan Cricket team. Facing all the odds and from nowhere, they have now become world famous by playing in two World Cups and by achieving Test Status. This is a mind blowing achievement for a country which was not even listed in the list of Cricket playing nations twenty years ago.
The Writing Style of Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini's writing style is one of a kind and is very precise. A Thousand Splendid Suns was only his second novel after his bestselling debut, the Kite Runner. His way of making the thirty years flow by in a smooth fashion is unbelievable. His words and vocabulary are clear cut and helped me understand the book very easily.
The best thing I liked in A Thousand Splendid Suns is that when I started reading the book, I thought the events and the ending of the book will be very normal but on finishing the book, I found it as nothing lesser than a thriller!!😎 The way Hosseini has subtly mixed the thriller elements since the beginning and got it out only at the end is totally out of the world. From the start of the book, he kept giving the reader hints of what is going to happen in the end but it was in a way which I as a reader could not decode it until the end. Alongside a very good realistic fiction writer, I feel he will be successful as a mystery and thriller writer because that is the calibre he holds.
In conclusion, If you are a fan of realistic fiction novels, I think A Thousand Splendid Suns will be your best bet😃
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