Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a gripping, but heartbreaking story of two women, Mariam and Laila, who are born into different families and situations in their country of Afghanistan, but connected through their marriage to Rasheed, a shoemaker.
Hosseini’s work is notable due to him being able to provide insight into the feelings and experiences that these women face as a result of their marriage to Rasheed. Rasheed is the main antagonist in this novel, and his perspective towards women and religion ultimately leads him to dehumanize Mariam. Along with this, he manipulates Laila, a fourteen year old girl, into marrying him, a sixty year old man, after her family is killed and hurts Mariam by betraying her trust, all in order to gain a son.
Furthermore, Hosseini involves the political conflict that has devastated Afghanistan as a key component of the story in order to shed insight into the realities that individuals face in this still-going political conflict involving the takeover of the taliban and the rise of anti-liberating ideologies that lead to many difficult challenges for Laila and Mariam.
Although this novel involves societal issues such as violence and war, it gives way to the intricate thoughts and dreams that the characters have and shows conflicts between love, hatred, and responsibility.
As a whole, this novel is a fascinating, can’t let go novel that will pull at your heartstrings through the many tragic endings of characters, but leave you satisfied with the growth of other characters. If you enjoyed reading The Kite Runner or just enjoy reading interesting books, then A Thousand Splendid Suns is for you!