A Thousand Splendid Suns

When I finished Pride and Prejudice, I went from Victorian England, to modern day Afghanistan as I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. If you haven't read his first novel, The Kite Runner, you should. While The Kite Runner is the story of a family who leave Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1978, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women who stay.

First, the novel taught me a great deal about Afghan history. Hosseini doesn't brow beat the reader with the history, but it is woven into the stories of Laila and Mariam. Admittedly, I know little of the history of Afghanistan. (Well that isn't exactly true. I did read Michener's Caravans a few years back on the recommendation of a friend. It also contains a lot of Afghani history; however only through WWII.) I have concerned myself little with learning about the Middle East and the tensions there. I know that is not wise, but there is so much to learn. I had no idea the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1978; I pondered this for a while and then took comfort in the fact that I was 2 1/2 when it happened. Sadly, my history classes have taught me little of the Middle East, probably because most of what is happening there is happening now. It's my job to educate myself.

Back to the novel . . .

As I read the book, I had to remind myself that Laila is the same age as my brother; the living conditions and treatment she endured would have been those that I endured had I been born in Afghanistan instead of the United States. It is sometimes easy to get a false impression that the outhouses and small homes, the subservient role of women, and the role of men as the "protectors" of the family are of another era. I find great irony in the fact that Raseem, the husband of Mariam and Laila, wants to preserve the dignity of the women by making them wear burquas, yet he is abusive to them. I know just because he is portrayed as abusive not all Afghani men are. The book also contains examples of men who are good husbands in Tariq and Laila's baba (father).

The beautiful story that provides the backbone of the novel is the intertwined stories of Mariam and Laila, wives that become sisters first, then easily fall into a mother-daughter relationship. The beauty of their love is marred by the tragedy borne by each lady.

I won't watch another news story about Afghanistan or any other Middle Eastern country with the same callousness I felt before reading the novel for I have seen the hearts of the country through the characters created by Hosseini.