A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Set against a backdrop of conflicts in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's second novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is essentially the tale of two women, Mariam and the younger Laila. The blurb tells us that it concerns the friendship, 'as strong as the ties between mother and daughter', that develops between them. It is a while, however, before this friendship starts, and there is a great deal of pain and hardship both before and after its beginning.
...of town to live in a kolba or simple wooden hut to avoid embarrassing Jalil, his three wives and other children. Jalil visits Mariam every Thursday, and she thinks the sun shines out of her father's eyes. She does not heed the warnings of Nana. Mariam's attempts, at the age of fifteen, to change the circumstances of her life result in her being married off to Rasheed, a widower thirty years her senior. Conveniently, Rasheed lives in Kabul, six hundred ... more

Set against a backdrop of conflicts in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's second novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is essentially the tale of two women, Mariam and the younger Laila. The blurb tells us that it concerns the friendship, 'as strong as the ties between mother and daughter', that develops between them. It is a while, however, before this friendship starts, and there is a great deal of pain and hardship both before and after its beginning.

Part One of the novel, covering a hundred pages, follows the childhood of Mariam. She is the illegitimate daughter of Nana and Jalil, one of the wealthiest men in the city of Herat. Mariam and Nana have been sent out of town to live in a kolba or simple wooden hut to avoid embarrassing Jalil, his three wives and other children. Jalil visits Mariam every Thursday, and she thinks the sun shines out of her father's eyes. She does not heed the warnings of Nana. Mariam's attempts, at the age of fifteen, to change the circumstances of her life result in her being married off to Rasheed, a widower thirty years her senior. Conveniently, Rasheed lives in Kabul, six hundred and fifty kilometres from Herat.

At first I was quite frustrated to find that the eighty-odd pages of Part Two of 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' switch right away from Mariam's story to follow the childhood of Laila, who lives with her parents in Kabul; her elder brothers are off fighting the Soviets. But it wasn't long before I took Laila to my heart as well. We learn of her devotion to her childhood sweetheart, Tariq, who lost a leg at an early age in a landmine accident. Laila's father, Babi, has high hopes for his daughter, but Laila's relationship with her mother suffers from the fact that Mammy constantly pines for her absent sons.

Part Three, at around a hundred and eighty pages the longest section of the novel, focuses on the relationship between the two women, whose lives become intertwined. Alternate chapters are entitled 'Mariam' and 'Laila'. It is hard to write about their relationship without giving the plot away, but I was certainly impressed by the way in which Khaled Hosseini enters the feminine psyche and shows the understanding of the hardships these women go through in a war-torn country where males have such dominance in society at large as well as in family life.

Part Four, the final section of 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', spans a mere thirty-seven pages. The sense of 'now' is portrayed by the use of the present tense, a device that is hard to use convincingly and one that I felt did not seem quite right although I understand Hosseini's decision to use it. I did, however, find the ending of the novel as satisfying as it could have been.

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is a novel full of grief, suffering and turmoil, both in terms of the conflicts in Afghanistan and the lives of the characters. Once or twice it seemed to me that disaster had struck and things might begin to look up, but this was not usually the case. Hosseini shows us that in the face of oppression or cruelty of whatever kind, human beings, in this case women, can form unbreakable bonds and struggle against the forces that work against them.

Hosseini is a master of narrative as well as of character portrayal. I empathised totally with first Mariam then Laila, and felt for them in their hopes and their despair. Rasheed, on the other hand, struck home as a man all too typical of a society where men have the upper hand; he is an example of the kind who use this to their advantage, switching his mood and behaviour according to circumstances with no regard for the feelings of the women involved. Mariam's father Jalil does not command a great deal of respect either, but fortunately Hosseini gives us Tariq and Laila's father as more admirable male characters.

There are several harrowing passages concerning the various wars, the casualties and treatment of civilians and prisoners. In contrast, however, one or two lighter episodes show us Hosseini's prowess as a descriptive writer; one such passage is when Babi, Laila and Tariq make a trip to the countryside and Laila takes in the varying sights and sounds whilst remembering the 'inescapable drudgery' when Tariq had previously been away.

It can be a little difficult at times to keep track of the various factions involved in the conflict in the latter part of the book, but this doesn't have to impede the following of the story. I did find Hosseini's style of writing extremely readable. My only reservation might be the number of foreign words that are sprinkled throughout the novel. I was familiar with some of them that obviously stem from Arabic, but I think I would have been a little put off had they all meant nothing to me. In spite of this, I don't think they would seriously affect anyone's enjoyment of the book.

It is not often that I come across a novel that I find hard to put down, but 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' certainly had me staying up later than usual. It is perhaps more of a novel for women than for men, but it is so well written and compelling that I would encourage any adult to read it. It was the first of Khaled Hosseini's novels that I had attempted, but I now have 'The Kite Runner' waiting on my bookshelf and am not expecting to be disappointed.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
Bloomsbury, 2008
Paperback 432 pages
ISBN 074758589X
Price £7.99 (Amazon £3.86)

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