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A Thousand Splendid SunsFollow Up To The Kite Runner Is A Poignant Tale Of Afghan WomenA Thousand Splendid Suns is Khaled Hosseini's story of Mariam and Laila, wives of a tyrannical man, who live in a time of war and turmoil in the city of Kabul.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is Khaled Hosseini's greatly anticipated follow-up to The Kite Runner. The beautifully written novel is about the struggles women face in a society that treats them like second-class citizens. Where Kite Runner was a tale of male relationships, betrayal and redemption, this book is its fraternal twin: a tale of women and the way they relate to each other. A Thousand Splendid Suns introduces readers to Mariam, a 15 year-old "harami," or bastard, born out of wedlock. Her mother is a bitter, unhinged woman who later commits suicide. Mariam is married off to Rasheed, a shoemaker with a hideous temper. When she cannot provide him with a child after a decade of marriage, he marries another, even younger woman, Laila, a pregnant teenager orphaned by the war. The story follows the women's struggle with their abusive husband and their friendship, borne out of their will to survive. What makes this book stand out is the author's astounding ability to flesh out each character's motivations, flaws, strengths and fears. That Hosseini could write so succinctly about the behaviors and struggles of women speaks to his true skill as a writer. Laila and Mariam are so far away from the modern American woman's experience, yet there are elements of their lives that speak to universal aspects of oppression. Women living under the Taliban are still persecuted in Afghanistan for wearing "inappropriate" clothing, speaking out of turn or any other offense, imagined or real, that displeases a man. The oppression of Afghan women has gotten slightly better, but the Taliban presence has not completely disappeared since 9/11. The occupation of Iraq diverted global attention away from Afghanistan long enough for the Taliban to reestablish itself. Hosseini speaks of the Taliban, but through the unique viewpoint of an American immigrant who spent part of his childhood in Kabul during the Russian occupation. His words portray both a deep love for his home country and an onlooker's critical eye. The poetry of A Thousand Splendid Suns is what truly makes the story come alive. Laila, for example, was forever pining for her mother's affections, especially after the wartime death of her older brothers. Laila was worried that her mother would commit suicide, until her mother assured her that she wanted to live to see a free Afghanistan so her sons "could see it through her eyes." Hosseini writes: "Mammy was soon asleep, leaving Laila with dueling emotions: reassured that Mammy meant to live on, stung that she was not the reason. She would never leave her mark on Mammy's heart the way her brothers had, because Mammy's heart was like a pallid beach where Laila's footprints would forever wash away beneath the waves of sorrow that swelled and crashed, swelled and crashed." The moving language that endeared so many readers to The Kite Runner is bountiful in this novel as well. Both books take the reader on a journey inside Afghanistan. They get to see the damage that war has caused to the country, the toll it takes on the Afghan people and the inner workings of a culture few Americans understand.
The copyright of the article A Thousand Splendid Suns in Modern American Fiction is owned by Amy Bower Doucette. Permission to republish A Thousand Splendid Suns in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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