Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

MP gave me this as a recent birthday present and of course as soon as they are received birthday books go to the top of the pile and are read first!

I knew nothing about the writer or the context of this novel but was intrigued since it was set in Afghanistan, a country much riven by war in recent years.

The book is essentially about two women, Mariam and Laila who are thrown together by tragedy and circumstance in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and their marriage to the brutal Rasheed.

The story starts off in the border town of Merat and tells of the circumstances of Merat’s life there until the age 15. You know from the start that life hasn’t been easy for her. We quickly find out that she is a harami, an illegitimate child. He father is the wealthy, Jalil, who made one of his servants, Nana, pregnant. Obviously, this means that they have both been cast out of Merat, although, Jalil, does visit Mariam once a week. This is the highlight of Mariam’s week because life in their mud hut is difficult. Mariam dreams of living with her father.
Unfortunately, this is not to be and after her mother kills herself she is married off to Rasheed who lives in Kabul.

Soon after reaching Rasheed’s house, things are very different. First she has to learn to wear the burqa and obey his rules. She has to learn to look after Rasheed – cooking, cleaning, produce children. The last is more difficult and doesn’t work for them.

We also learn of the cruel temper of Rasheed. One time she doesn’t cook the rice properly and she is made to chew on pebbles as a comparison to eating uncooked rice. This off course damages her teeth.

At this point, we learn of Laila and her carefree life in Kabul with her family and her friendship with the boy across the way, Tariq. This contrasts greatly with Mariam and it is enjoyable and sad to read about her ambitions and crush on Tariq. Basically, her existence is carefree.

Of course, in the background, are all the political changes and invasions which tear Afghanistan apart. First the monarch is removed, then the Russians invade, then the Mujahiddeen destroy the country through their factional fighting and then of course, the Taliban take over with all that entails through the strict application of Shari’a Law.

It is during the Mujahideen fighting that Laila loses her parents and is taken in by Rasheed and Mariam. Of course, Rasheed, realises that he must marry Laila, to make it proper. She agrees because she thinks that Tariq is dead and buried. In addition, she realises she is pregnant to Tariq and needs a cover for this. Thus she becomes ‘indentured’ to Rasheed.

At first, Mariam hates Laila, because she has basically been replaced and Laila starts producing offspring and although her first child is a baby, Aziza, the second is a boy, Zaimal.

Of course, there are beatings etc. In fact, the story is brutal at times, making you wince.

It is during the tribal Mujahideen wars, that times get very difficult for all of Kabul, and when Rasheed’s shoe business gets blown up by a rocket, they start to starve. In fact, it gets so bad that they have to put Aziza into the local orphanage to be cared for.

I won’t go on except to say that it is not all doom and gloom in this book. It is a very vivid portrait of a country that has been going through the mill for a long time. The people portrayed have an immense amount of spirit and courage to go on in the adversity that they have faced.

Apparently, the title comes from an Afghan poem and refers to how Kabul looks when the sun shines on it. (Or used to!)