A Thousand Splendid Suns -Khaled Hosseini

One of the most compelling and thrilling novels I’ve ever read, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, proved to be my favorite novel and therefore, recommended to a lot of people. Hosseini, an Afghan-American writer describes the plight and atrocities faced by Afghan women. A “mother-daughter” story, unlike his first novel, The Kite Runner, the novel encapsulated me in a whole new world that I couldn’t fathom.

This breathtaking story takes shape during the events in Afghanistan, the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding. From conflict to fear, to love and hatred the story connects you with the characters that you start feeling as if you were part of their world and viewed the society through their eyes. Surely, the book has parts that leave you wide eyed and parts where the sadness gushes over you, but those same emotions left me dreading for more and leaving this constant curiosity in me to know if things could get worse.

My favorite thing in the book is how the two protagonists, Mariam and Laila, two very different representations of women, highly resent each other in the beginning. But faced by the atrocities and struggles of marriage and war, the two women are united and result in a never-ending friendship. The book is a beautiful example of how a small flicker of hope can light a person’s life and truly make them see the world with a positive view

The novel provided me sense of gratitude and had a big role in changing my perspective of the world. It taught me how important it is to be thankful for a peaceful and healthy life, the importance of family and friends and most importantly how important it is to be considerate about other people’s hardships in life. I highly speak of the writer and the book and regard them as my all time favorites.