Show Me 5 Saturday: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A fun way to add variety to review formats this meme was created by Alipet at That's A Novel Idea.

Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here has the Mr Linky each week so we can link up our posts .

 

1 Book I read: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

2 Words that describe the book: Women/Oppression

3 Settings and/or Characters I met:

• The novel is set in Herat and Kabul, Afghanistan from 1960's - 2003. The title, which has always intrigued me, comes from the translation of poem about Kabul.

"Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye

Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs

And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls"

• Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of an Herat businessman and his servant. She and her mother live alone but when the mother dies her father takes her in but is unable to withstand the pressure from his three wives to send her away. Mariam is only fifteen but her father marries her off to a much older man, Rasheed, from Kabul. Unable to give her husband children her life becomes increasingly abusive and cruel.
• Laila is a generation younger than Mariam. She lives on the same street and is the child of progressive parents. Her father was a university lecturer and he wants his daughter to be educated. When a missile kills Laila's parents it is Rasheed who rescues her and takes her to his home. In order to survive she has no choice but to accept Rasheed's offer to marry her despite Mariam's protests.

4 Things I liked/disliked about the book:

• I liked , despite the fact this is a heartbreaking and disturbing novel of war, loss and endless cycles of recurring oppression, that the theme of love , hope and the courage of the human spirit really shines through.
• I liked learning more of the history of Afghanistan and of the lives of the women particularly. I hadn't realised how much progress and freedom the Soviets had brought to Afghan women. When Laila is attending school one of her teachers  - "Khala Rangmaai did not wear makeup or jewelry. She did not cover and forbade the female students to do it. She said men and women were equal in every way." One of the most poignant passages in the book is when, several years later and the Taliban is now in control, Laila is visiting her daughter in the orphange and sees her old teacher, fully covered and unable to support her children. How sad that this huge backward step was inflicted on these women by their own people.
• I liked the relationship that developed between Mariam and Laila. It begins with intense resentment and dislike but slowly, as they suffer Rasheed's increasing violent abuse , they begin to look to each for help and support. United by their love for Laila's daughter and hatred for their husband together they find a way to survive and their love will lead to shattering climax.
• I liked the straightforward style of writing - it's simple but evocative of time and place and  both moving and beautiful.

5 Stars or less for my rating

4.5 Stars.....................I thought it was a wonderful book. It's one that's been on my 'must read' list for so long and as often happens now I have read it I wonder why I took so long. I can now look forward to The Kite Runner