A Flavour of the Book:
“Later that terrible day, Laila learned that Nila, Giti’s mother, had run up
and down the street where Giti was killed, collecting pieces of her daughter’s
flesh in an apron, screeching hysterically. Giti’s decomposing right foot, still in its nylon sock and
purple sneaker, would be found on a rooftop two weeks later…”
The Authortrek View:
Mariam is born out of wedlock, although her rich father does come to visit her
every week. Mariam’s mother, who
appears to be epileptic, has become embittered by her experiences, and does her
best to dissuade Mariam of her father’s charms. Tragedy strikes when Mariam goes off to visit her father,
and at the age of fifteen, she is sent off to marry a prosperous shoemaker in
Kabul: Rasheed. Yet he is thirty
years older than her, and already has suffered the loss of his first wife and
his son. Rasheed is also very set in his ways, with a strict belief in sharia
laws, particularly concerning the conduct of women. Although Mariam now has less freedom, she eventually settles
in, but it is not long before she discovers that Rasheed has a temper… Laila, one of their neighbours, is
brought up in one of the more liberal households of Kabul that Rasheed sneers
at. However, life is not perfect
for her either, as her mother is particularly indignant that Laila’s two older
brothers have gone off to fight in one of Afghanistan’s interminable
conflicts. Laila does have a
champion in the form of the one-legged Tariq though, but will he be there to
save her when she truly needs him?
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a truly exceptional
account of how 30 years of bloodshed has affected the people of Kabul. Khaled
Hosseini’s prose is a delight to read, and he is a natural storyteller. However, there are a couple of times
when he gives into melodrama, such as when he ends a chapter with Laila having
a gun pointed at her, only to reveal just as soon that it’s just a toy. Yet there are few discordant notes like
these in the novel, and the prose is otherwise perfect. Where Hosseini really triumphs is in
the superb characterisations of his heroines – Mariam and Laila are creations
just as great as Celie and Shug Avery from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple,
and it would be no surprise to this reviewer if their story, like Hosseini’s
debut novel The Kite Runner, made it onto celluloid. The plot of the novel is also very
strong – I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Mariam and Laila. A Thousand Splendid Suns is one
of the best novels of the year.
Press Reviews: “A beautifully crafted and disturbing story of two women victims of the wrath of men. As unforgettable as The Kite Runner, this novel places us in Afghanistan with an open heart” – Isabel Allende
“I loved this book – I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. It is incredibly moving and a real insight into the madness and suffering of Afghanistan – in particular its women” – Fiona Bruce
“Hosseini proves his
credentials as a superstar storyteller.
This follow up to The Kite Runner will have fans rampaging into book
shops desperate for a copy. Yet
again he weaves a masterful story around the lives of two extraordinary and
compelling characters brought together in adversity. More importantly he manages to lift the veil on the lives of
three generations of women buried alive under their burkas and in doing so
confirms them as the greatest victims of Afghanistan’s decades of strife. No one reading this book can fail to be
captivated and appalled by a story that although labelled fiction is to this
day and to our eternal shame, all too real” – Mariella Frostrup
You can read a resume of the book on our Amazon store below. To find out more about the author, please visit our Khaled Hosseini page.
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