A Thousand Splendid Suns - Dark Publications

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5 out of 5 stars

Behind the burqa March 24, 2007
470 out of 509 found this review helpful

With his second novel, Khaled Hosseini proves beyond a shadow of doubt that "The Kite Runner" was no flash in the Afghan pan. Once again set in Afghanistan, the story twists and turns its way through the turmoil and chaos that ensued following the fall of the monarchy in 1973, but focuses mainly on the lives of two women, thrown together by fate.

The story starts decades before the Taliban came into power in 1996, and ends after the era of Taliban rule. The main character begins life as a "harami" - the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man and one of his housekeepers. Forced to live in a small shack with her emotionally disturbed and possibly epileptic mother, Mariam lives for Thursdays, the day her father comes to see her, bearing small gifts and showering her with the affection she craves. Naturally, Mariam wants to be a part of her father's life and fit in with his legitimate family, but when she attempts to force his hand, she is rebuffed and feels betrayed by his reaction. Her impetuous actions bring an end to the life she has known for fifteen long years, and lead to an arranged marriage to a much older man, a shoemaker, whose views on the rights of women mirror those that the Taliban would soon enforce.

During the time that Mariam is dutifully enduring her unhappy marriage, a neighbor gives birth to a baby girl, whom they name Laila. By her ninth birthday, Laila has grown up to be a beautiful child with blonde hair, turquoise-green eyes, high cheekbones and dimples. Unfortunately, her mother lives only for the day her older sons will return home from fighting the jihad, and is consumed by the vision of a free Afghanistan. Laila's best friend is a boy named Tariq, her confidant, defender and co-conspirator, and by the end of communist rule in 1992, Laila is fourteen, and beginning to see Tariq in a different way that she does not quite understand.

The enthusiastic rejoicing at the end of the jihad is silenced by the internal battles of the Mujahideen, and when the bombs start falling on Kabul, Laila and Tariq are forced apart. Circumstances can make strange things happen, and Laila soon becomes a part of Mariam's husband's household, by necessity rather than choice. The rest of this unforgettable story reflects the heart-rending sacrifices of these women, and allows the reader a peek behind the burqa, to the heart of Afghanistan.

There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you won't be able to put it down. Hosseini's simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed.

Amanda Richards

5 out of 5 stars

A Brutal but Moving Story of Life in Afghanistan May 24, 2007
139 out of 151 found this review helpful

Mariam's life revolves around her father's visits. While she lives in a hut with her mother, it's the weekly visits from her father that are the light of her existence. All that changes when she turns fifteen and is forced to marry an older man she has never met. Rasheed lives on the other side of the country, so Miriam leaves behind the only people she has ever known to live with a stranger. Rasheed is a strict man, and Miriam finds herself with restrictions on her new life.

On the day the Soviets invade Afghanistan, another woman is born. Laila is raised in a progressive family. Her father encourages her to learn as much as she can in school. Her mother suffers from depression and leaves her alone most of the time. Her best friend is a neighbor boy, Tariq, who lost a leg to a land mine years earlier.

Laila lives just down the street from Mariam, yet they hardly interact until the struggle for control in Afghanistan brings tragedy to their street. Then their lives become irrevocably linked. Despite the 19 years age difference between them, a strong bond of friendship is formed. Will it be enough to endure the hardship ahead?

I tend to stick to light entertainment and rarely read the more serious works of literature. However, several friends I respect loved Khaled Hosseini's first novel, so I decided to give this one a try. And I'm glad I did.

This book isn't light entertainment by any stretch of the imagination. The writing style produces an almost melancholy air right from the start.

I tend to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I found the first half slow going at times, mainly because I knew where the story was going. Once I got into the second half, things really picked up. The ending was very bittersweet. I couldn't think of a better way to end it.

Not to say I wasn't interested before then. Mariam and Laila are two very real, interesting characters. I felt for them and became a very real part of their struggles over the course of the book.

Adding to the book's richness is the historical background. The novel covers 40 years of Afghani history. While that is never the focus of the novel, it is an ever present backdrop to the personal struggle of the two women. We in the west often forget how much we truly have to be thankful for. Here, we get a picture of life in the midst of a civil war and under an oppressive regime.

I can understand why my friends were so taken with Hosseini's first novel. I know I will read it at some point. This new book comes highly recommended.

3 out of 5 stars

Tries hard, but lacks the freshness and excitement of The Kite Runner May 28, 2007
113 out of 143 found this review helpful

In 2004 I read The Kite Runner. I LOVED that book. Set it Afghanistan and then later in the United States, we met a young boy who goes through a life-changing incident at a kite-running competition and later uncovers some surprising family secrets. It was an immediate best seller and I certainly understand why. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is this author's second novel. It tries hard to repeat the freshness and excitement of the first book. Sadly, it misses the mark.

This book tells the stories of two women in Afghanistan. It also tries to give the reader some historical context. There doesn't seem to be any joy in these women's lives. Mostly there is unhappiness and helplessness at the hands of men. I found myself feeling sorry for both of them and also for the whole country that has been plunged into despair since the Taliban. But make no mistake; life for women was pretty bad even before then. And the author seems to exploit all this for a Western audience.

Life is harsh for everybody in this book. But it is particular hard for the women who are married to brutal men. Women are prisoners and cannot escape their harsh husbands or the culture. There didn't seem to be any moment of pleasure that wasn't immediately snatched away.

I expect this book will be a best seller. There certainly is a lot of publicity about it. It's too predictable though and I just couldn't wait for it to end. Sorry, but I can only give it a lukewarm recommendation. Read "The Kite Runner" instead.

5 out of 5 stars

Power of love, bonds of friendship, love of country, struggle to survive... June 2, 2007
88 out of 95 found this review helpful

I read many books in a year. Some I read for entertainment and others to increase my knowledge. Then there is the rare book that does both of those things, plus touches your heart as well. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini does just that. Hosseini's The Kite Runner was a magnificent book, and I enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns even more.

Splendid Suns follows the lives of two Afghani women, Mariam and Laila, as they move from children to adults. The book spans 30 years, beginning with the Soviet invasion and ending with the overthrow of the Taliban. It's difficult to explain more of the story without spoiling the plot, but these two women go from being enemies to unlikely friends. A Thousand Suns is a moving story about the power of love, the bonds of friendship, the love of country, and the struggle to survive. I hated to see it end.

I like books that teach me something, and there is a lot to learn in Splendid Suns. Previously, I didn't know much about the political turmoil in Afghanistan and the various factions vying for power. I knew women had an appalling time living under the Taliban regime, but I didn't realize how horrible conditions really were. The childbirth section will fill you with horror. I also learned of the natural beauty of Afghanistan and her fascinating history.

I was especially moved by Hesseini's eloquent writing and observations. In writing of friendship, "Boys, Laila came to see, treated friendship the way they treated the sun: its existence undisputed; its radiance best enjoyed, not beheld directly." There aren't too many writers who can produce back-to-back masterpieces. Khaled Hosseini is one of those rare talents who can pull off such a feat.

1 out of 5 stars

Very disappointed October 25, 2007
66 out of 104 found this review helpful

I can't believe the rave reviews this book has gotten, both from professional reviewers and here on Amazon. I thought the plot was melodramatic, the characters cardboard, the writing overdone. I felt very, very glad I hadn't bought the book but simply borrowed it.

Though the "Kite Runner" had problems, it also had some vivid descriptions of Kabul and Afghan life, which were what drew me in. I suspect most of these were autobiographical; it was in the book's second half, which was more fictionalized, that I thought the writer lost his way. Still, it was a good debut, and I thought he'd be able to correct the unevenness of the manuscript with his second effort. I was looking forward to it.

No. Absolutely no. The defects of the last part of "The Kite Runner" were here in force. I could not empathize with the characters or get into their heads at all, despite being a woman. It's not impossible for a writer of one sex to successfully write about the other sex, but difficult, and I applaud Hosseini's ambition. Still, I don't think he succeeded at all here. The women were cardboard figures that could have been any generic oppressed Afghan woman -- neither ever really came to life, making it hard for me to see them as anything but political constructs. It's as if Hosseini decided he would write a story about "oppression of women under the Taliban" and allowed the theme to devour the story, much to the story's detriment. The male characters were cardboard as well, as if he'd pulled "generic oppressor" figures out of a hat. Yes, they may well exist in Afghanistan. But as fictional characters, they never came to life. Nobody is so good and so bad as all the characters here.

And the triteness! The overwriting! We're hit over the head with the same image several times -- the t-shirt clad torso of one character falling down after an explosion, for example, with the same cringe-inducing reference to the t-shirt he was wearing. There were other embarrassing turns of phrase. The emotions of the characters aren't shown either; we're told that they're in agony, or whatever, but we don't see it. It's a soap opera set in Afghanistan -- very easy to read, but little of real substance. Afghan Lite, as it were.

We also don't have the same vivid sense of Afghan life that we got in the first part of "Kite Runner." That's probably because Hosseini had left the country and had to rely on second-hand stories of what went on. This isn't an insurmountable problem necessarily, but he didn't manage to overcome it. Most of the descriptions of what happened were generic too.

I wonder if one reason for the raves is that it seems politically incorrect to criticize a book about Afghanistan, especially Afghani women and their troubles? Or that this book gives people a sense that they're learning about Afghan life, which allows them to seem knowing about the news without actually making much mental effort, and that's why it's been so successful. In any case, a real disappointment.

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