A thousand Splendid Suns - Thoughts

Synopsis

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.

When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. 

Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

Thoughts

"Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman.'

Beautifully written, painful and gripping, A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of the best books I've read. I have to admit though, the violence got to me. For days after, the violence and physical aggression clouded my mind, vividly haunting my dreams. Khaled Hosseini made me question humanity, men and how I viewed Islam as a religion. 

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a book about two women, Mariam and Laila and their life with Rasheed, the controlling and angry  husband. Hosseini explores what life was like before and after marriage, narrating the story with ease and speed (although he has a fondness for pretty sentences).

I was watching a film last night, an African film about a husband and wife, the wife was a loud drunk, the husband depicted as the long suffering spouse who put up with her.  In one scene, the husband dragged his wife into a room and slapped her several times. There was a comedic air around the film and around the room, there were cheers supporting his form of discipline, laughter, egging him on to "discipline" her more. At the same time I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, the glass crunching scene and Rasheed's continued abuse popped into my mind.  I could see how this discipline could turn into full blown violence. It was uncomfortable and disconcerting. 

 That is the power of Hosseini as a great storyteller making you think and question the rule of men. Admittedly I wouldn't read this again, the brutality of the book, although truthful does not need to be revisited.