Nov 04, 2008 06:22 PM
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(Updated Jan 23, 2009 08:20 PM)
“A Thousand Splendid Suns” is the powerful novel by Khaled Housseini. The book portrays life of two afghan women in the backdrop of a country wounded by wars since 30 years. If you have read “The kite runner” by the same author, you’ll find a sense of similarity between the two books as both revolve around ordeals of lives of people in Afghanistan and both describe the journey of redemption of their protagonists. “The kite runner” was a runaway bestseller and thus set high expectation from the author for this second novel. Is this novel as good as “The kite Runner”? The answer is: It’s far better. The author has surpassed his own standards of storytelling and comes with a more powerful and intense tale.
Housseini effectively weaves the story of two women whose lives are entwined with the wars and provides exact dates of the historical events. The entire book seems like a journey through the afghan culture, history and people’s misfortunes caused by the wars.
The author describes plight of the Afghan women and portrays their emotions as well as ordeals with such sensitivity that it becomes difficult to believe that this book is actually written by a man.
The plot: Initial phase of the book describes early lives of Mariam and Laila, the two protagonists of the book, living in Kabul during monarchy and the communist rule. Mariam is an illegitimate child of a rich businessman Jalil. She lives with her mother, who was a servant at Jalil’s house. Mariam, a 15 year old little girl, unaware of such social equations is very much fond of her father. One day, Mariam decides to visit Jalil’s house against her mother’s will and gets a cold shudder from Jalil and his family members. Devastated and heartbroken Mariam reaches home to find her mother dead. She commits suicide (Quite far fetched!!). Mariam is then married off to a man (Rasheed) living in Kabul, 30 years older than her by Jalil’s family.
Another protagonist of story Laila hails from an educated and liberal family of Kabul. She enjoys the freedom of dressing modern, going to school, playing with her friends, etc. When Laila turns 14, Afghanistan gets gripped into the war and she has to discontinue her education. She loses her parents in war. Laila got saved from the rocket attack at her house and rescued by Rasheed. The orphaned Laila marries him on account of her helplessness.
Rasheed is an abusive husband and gives his wives worst treatment than animals. Laila and Mariam bonds in such torturous life and give each other love and support.
The Taliban came into power in late nineties and enforced strict Islamic rules for women. Women were forbidden from working and stepping out from houses without a male relative.
Rest of the story revolves around Laila and Mariam’s fight for survival against the torture of Rasheed and Taliban. Taliban adds to the miseries of Laila and Mariam already coping with domestic violence.
Housseini gives a heart pounding and tragic picture of the plight of Afghani women during the Taliban Era. The women were incarcerated in their own homes and were forced to beg in case of the absence of a male relative.The author has beautifully described relationship of Mariam and Laila, both put in similar circumstances, tormented by their abusive husband. The remaining part of story unfolds into the survival battle of two women and their consequential redemption. Both protagonist face loss of loved ones, but yet, there is a triumph of spirit, optimism and love in the end. Love for life and love for the motherland.
The story is fast paced, devastating and melancholy. Housseini is a gifted story teller and describes minute details of any scene or character with skilful precision. He is an adept in characterisation and makes readers bond with his characters. The writing is of high literary quality. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a masterpiece, and leaves a thought provoking impact on readers. It’s not everyday that you get to read such classic story. The book is tragic, yet optimistic.
A must read for everyone!!!
