A Thousand Splendid Suns
By Khalid Hosseini
Hosseini has written another painful but important novel about his native country; here we meet Afghan women before, during and after the Taliban's reign of horror. Mariam is a teenager who is married to 40-year-old Rasheed. Although Afghanistan is definitely a man's world in which women take on all household tasks while living in fear of the Taliban, she nevertheless feels hopeful when she finds she is expecting a child, and is pleased when her husband makes a little crib for the baby. Alas, Mariam loses the child; when she continues to miscarry again and again, her husband abuses her, and eventually takes a 2nd teen wife when he is 60. Initially Mariam resents the intruder, but she and Laila eventually provide support and encouragement to one another. What Rasheed does not know is that Laila is carrying the child of her boyfriend at the time of her marriage. But Rasheed is happy to have a daughter, and eventually, a son.
Hosseini does not sugarcoat life in a war zone, and for women, it is so much worse. When Laila was about to give birth, for example, it was difficult to find a hospital. There were plenty of well equipped hospitals to serve men, but women had only one option: a dirty, poorly stocked excuse for a hospital in a distant part of town. While the presence of the children helps bring hope and even a measure of joy to the two women, they continue to suffer abuse from Rasheed, they live in constant fear of bombs and other attacks by the Taliban, and the reader can see a happy ending is unlikely. Still, this book is highly recommended for its insight into life in Afghanistan, especially for women. Kudos to Hosseini for writing such a poignant story from a women's perspective.
Hosseini does not sugarcoat life in a war zone, and for women, it is so much worse. When Laila was about to give birth, for example, it was difficult to find a hospital. There were plenty of well equipped hospitals to serve men, but women had only one option: a dirty, poorly stocked excuse for a hospital in a distant part of town. While the presence of the children helps bring hope and even a measure of joy to the two women, they continue to suffer abuse from Rasheed, they live in constant fear of bombs and other attacks by the Taliban, and the reader can see a happy ending is unlikely. Still, this book is highly recommended for its insight into life in Afghanistan, especially for women. Kudos to Hosseini for writing such a poignant story from a women's perspective.
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