A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini: A Book Review

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini: A Book Review

Genre: war narrative, historical fiction, love story

Setting: Afghanistan, last 33 years of its history of war and oppression

Main Characters: Mariam , Laila, Rasheed, Tariq, Jalil

Release Date: November 25, 2008

Summary:

The novel is has three parts.  It tells the story of two women: Mariam  and Laila who later became the two abused wives of Rasheed, a rich shoemaker.

Part 1

The novel kicks off with Mariam’s story wherein she introduces the word harami . Harami became a part of her persona until the end. She is the 11^th child of Jalil, a businessman and a cinema owner to a house servant. In short, she is an illegitimate child. Jalil has three more wives who lives with him in his mansion whereas Mariam and her mom lives in the hills. Every week, Jalil visits Mariam to teach her and tell her stories about Herat. Mariam worships her father despite her mom’s contempt.

On Mariam’s birthday, she wanted to visit her dad’s place; however, this was not approved by her mother and said that if she goes away, it means that she is abandoning her. Mariam picked up her courage to go to the city alone and was awe stricken by the new environment but then when she arrived in her father’s house, her father did not let her in. She even slept outside and was awakened by the  guard’s prodding that she needs to go back home.

When she returned home, her mother’s body was hanging on a rope from the willow tree. Mariam felt guilty, blamed herself and concluded that her mom is right, that the good things she conjured about Jalil is nothing but lies. Later on, she lived with her father who together with his wives, decided to fix her marriage with Rasheed, a shoemaker.

She got married at 15. Rasheed was nice to her at first but when she had several miscarriages, Rasheed abused her for years.

Part 2

Laila’s story starts when she was 9 years old. She is a consistent top student of her school and has two close female friends and one male friend named Tariq. She lives with her father, a former teacher and her mom in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her mom was once a cheerful being but when her sons joined the war, she lost the will to live.

In this part, it revealed the war in their country. Children killed. Houses and buildings pulverized. Laila stopped schooling because of the war and when her parents finally decided to move out so as to start a new life, they were bombed. She got lucky but her parents did not survive. Rasheed took her to his house and proposed for marriage. At that point, Laila knew that she was pregnant with Tariq’s child and she didn’t have any choice but to marry Rasheed before it gets too late. Tariq was assumed to be dead.

Rasheed, Mariam and Laila lived together in the same house. When Laila delivered a girl, Rasheed was disappointed. He has always wanted a boy because he once lost his son in his first marriage. The beatings started again. Rasheed made it a point to punch, slap and whip both of his wives.

Eventually, Laila got pregnant again. Rasheed was happy because it was a boy.

Part 3

Laila and Mariam eloped but they were caught by police officers. They were handed to Rasheed again and the abuse became worse. Even Aziza, Laila’s first child almost died because of his cruelty. Aziza was also put in orphanage because Rasheed could no longer sustain their needs. His shop was burned down and he couldn’t find any decent job.

Then one day, Tariq came back. Laila and Tariq talked about everything that has happened. Rasheed learned about this and he was ready to kill Laila. But before that happened, MAriam got the shovel and killed him first. Mariam convinced Laila to go away and start a new life with Tariq while she stays to receive her punishment.  Death penalty ended her life.

Laila and Tariq reunited with the two children in Pakistan. They got married and were happy but later, Laila told Tariq that she wants to go back to Afghanistan. They went back. Laila visited Herat, Mariam’s hometown and traveled back to Kabul where she helped rebuild the orphanage. She became a schoolteacher there.

Theme and Highlights

Domestic Violence

This book gave me so much emotions. This Rasheed is a  sadist. How can a human being torture his wives and children? How can he not have shame, guilt and conscience? He deserved to die earlier. All the bombs should have gone to his direction and not to the helpless, innocent children.

But the question is, why do people stay in a very abusive relationship? A study says that being abused gives a certain addiction to the victim and provides her a piece of familiarity and safe zone. She cannot get out psychologically and the trauma it brings when she finally walks out will still be there. And maybe, at some point, she still has the urge to go back to him because that’s what she was used to.

Women, and men, who are abused, must be awakened from the reality that that person will not change in an instant. Staying there will only tolerate that behavior. We need to have that power to stay out from the people we cannot fix. Whether that person was abused and neglected in the past, that is not an excuse to displace it to the people around him. If you want to be broken and damaged further, go on and turn a blind eye. It is your life anyway. But is the life you really want?

Fixed Marriage

Nowadays, children are still being married off to older men. Imagine being forced to grow up and living together (having sex) with someone you barely know and you don’t love. It’s almost the same as being raped and the childhood you ought to experience just smoked out.  Fact: The parents are likely to be less burdened when there’s less mouth to feed.. but what about the child’s future? Do you think that her future will be better if she will be taken away from a man who you only approved because of his riches? If there’s one thing that I learned, riches should not be the basis of marriage or any relationship. Love should always come first.

Suicide and Depression

Mariam’s mother hanged herself. Suicide had never become an option for me even when I was in my most depressed state. Suicide is a sin. They said that suicide has no face. Your friend might be smiling at you but deep inside, he is formulating ways to end his life. You can never tell.

As time passes by, more and more people commit suicide and the number one cause is depression. They either shoot, poison, cut themselves or jump off a building. I cannot visualize the horror of seeing someone terminating this gift of life. Life is the most precious gift that God has bestowed and only Him can decide when to take it back.

We need more counselors. Mental Health should be part of the curriculum now.

War

The Afghanistan war is still going for 18 years now. The Taliban is still managing most of its areas and during the 9/11 attack, Bush declared war because they did not want to hand Osama Bin Laden, the leader of AL Qaeda.

Reflection

This book is an eye-opener for me who is over engrossed to social media. I am constantly browsing the digital world without any knowledge about all these wars happening around the world. It is devastating to see those photos of homeless families, the silent cries on their sulken bony faces, the fresh scars on their skinny dirty bodies. It is more heartbreaking to read the news that until now, Afghanistan is still war-stricken and food-deprived. Many more countries are out there, wallowing in the mud of bombs and cannons, of guns and blood. And where are we?

We are very fortunate that we are here living a peaceful life. We are very lucky that we still have the chance to be with our loved ones. We are lucky that we don’t have to send our brothers and father to war. We are lucky that we have our necessities. Who are we to complain when we have a roof on top of our head? 

I am recommending this book to everyone. It will hurt you to read this but I am sure that it entails you to be more sensitive to world issues.

Favorite Quotes

“Like a compass needle that always points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.”

“God’s words will never betray you, my girl.”

“I know you’re still young, but I want you to understand and learn this now…. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You’re a very, very bright girl. Truly, you are. You can be anything you want, Laila…. I know that when this war is over, Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men, maybe even more. Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated, Laila. No chance.”

“Laila, my love, the only enemy an Afghan cannot defeat is himself.”

“[S]he was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last.”

“God has made us differently, you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this. This is why we require only one male witness but two female ones.”