A Thousand Splendid Suns-Khaled Hosseini

This book completely welled up my eyes, and in the last ten years of my reading almost like two or three books have done that. This book explores the life of women in Afghanistan during the 20th century, and deeply roots out the extremity of torture and suffering women have to go through each day of their lives. This very powerful book showcases the endearing survival of women in the extreme of situations and still stand strong and powerful.



The story revolves around two main characters Mariam and Laila. There is a generation gap between the two, but somehow their futures are intertwined as they get married to a single man, named Rasheed. He is cruel, torturous and everything one can think of a man in the most horrible ways. Mariam is an illegitimate child of a very rich man, who is excluded and lives outside the city with his mother. After her mother commits suicide, her father marries her off to a shoemaker who is 30 years older to her and her never ending agony starts. Rasheed is a savage who is abusive, brutal and barbaric. Not being able to bear a child to him, especially a son, he becomes more and more vicious and makes Mariam’s life a living hell. On the other hand Laila, brought up in an educated and liberal family at that time loses her parents in a bomb blast, and gets stuck with Rasheed. She has a girl child of her lover who Rasheed despises of and tortures all three of them to limits unimaginable. The story progresses with Taliban taking over Kabul and the atrocities never cease to stop on the two women, but they never lose faith, hope and the will to survive every odd.



The story will touch the deepest of chords in anyone’s heart and emotions will not cease to well up at any cost. The magic that Khaled Hosseini weaves with his words is out of this world. The book is so soul-stirring and heart-rending that it can break the strongest of people, and make them shed a tear. The book is a must read for everyone. I give it a 10/10.