Interested in a book about overcoming obstacles and persevering through hard times as a woman during a war? How about a book about Afghanistan’s war against the Soviet Union and how it affected normal citizens in their daily lives? If you are someone who is interested to read about these topics, I have the book for you.
“A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by Khaled Hosseini is told through two girls. Mariam, who from the beginning we know as a girl from a rural town, has an arranged marriage with a shoemaker in Kabul. Laila, the second character in the book who you later see as she comes into the story after a family tragedy and leaves her an orphan with nowhere to go. Mariam comes to help her off of the street, feeds and clothes her. But to Mariam’s worst nightmare, Rasheed (her husband) falls in love with Laila, making her his second wife. Many problems arise due to the war but also because Rasheed is abusive. Not only to Mariam, his first wife but to Laila and their children as well. This story is about friendship, adversity, bravery and family. Hosseini leaves the reader wondering if family is only through blood or if it is much more than that.
There are many reasons and parts that I like about this book, but the ones that stood out the most were how Hosseini portrayed and brought these two girls together through hardships and tragedies. The way he shows them through the struggles and how they overcome them is very interesting and inspiring. This book was also set in the 1900s with a war impacting the girls and the husband in many ways.
The descriptiveness compels the readers to stay and read for a little while longer, but in the end, the reader finishes the book because it is that good. The reader cannot just set it down because of the way it draws their attention in and keeps them wanting to learn more about the characters’ certain situations or problems they face.
These were just a few of the reasons why I loved and finished this book in just a few days. The captivating and heart-throbbing friendship that turns into relying on and loving each other is amazing. This book is definitely one I recommend to everyone.