Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a standalone novel. Set in the war-torn country of Afghanistan, this book tells the story of two Afghan women brought together by unfortunate circumstance. One is a bastard born woman who marries into the city of Kabul; the other is an educated young girl with large aspirations who knows nothing, but life under Soviet Occupation. Together these women witness the horrors of the Afghan Civil War and the oppression of life under the brutal Taliban. This multigenerational story spans 45 years, beginning in 1959 with the illegitimate birth of Miriam and ending in 2003 as the characters try to find some semblance of stability.
Miriam was born into a broken family. Her conception was about through the unfortunate affair between a wealthy business owner and servant girl. As a result, she lives in a small isolated hut with her mother who is bitter with the world and herself. From a young age, Miriam is fed nothing but bitterness from her mother that believes Miriam’s life will amount to nothing but suffering, a bitterness that is only interrupted by the kindness that is brought by the weekly visit of her father and the biweekly visit of her tutor. Like any child, Miriam wishes to be publicly accepted by her father and loved like his other legitimate children. Unfortunately, this leads to her downfall, and she is shipped from the city of her birth to an abusive one with a man named Rasheed. Miriam spends the entire book looking for someone to love and someone who will love her in return. Eventually finds this love in an unlikely place.
Unlike Miriam, Laila is born into a happy family. From a young age, she was educated and told that her future held great things. Her father was a teacher and valued education above all else, an ideal echoed by his intelligent daughter who was constantly at the top of her class. Unfortunately for this strong-willed girl, her brothers left to fight a war against the Soviets. While this did not have in immediate effect on her, it did cause her family to splinter and fracture. However, she did what she could to mend the brokenness and continued living her life to the fullest. As the Soviet Oppression ends and the Afghan Civil War begins, a series of fate and misfortune push Miriam and Laila’s separate lives together. A Thousand Splendid Suns is an emotional rollercoaster. From the beginning, the pacing remains relatively constant. Much of this is brought on by the simplistic, documentary-like storytelling of the piece. But, just the because the pacing is constant, does not mean it lacks intensity. Despite the almost monotonous storytelling, a beautiful story filled with highs and lows, hope and dreams, empowerment and oppression, conveys all the emotion that the narration lacks.
Where this book loses points in prose and literary eloquence, it makes up for in its beautiful, emotional scenes. The book manages to not only capture the sadness, fear, and oppression of life in Afghanistan, but also the beauty of the country. Many western readers only know Afghanistan for its war, unrest, and despair, but there is much more to every country than meets the eye. Afghanistan is a beautiful place where women could work and prosper, a place where people swapped ideas and hopes, a place with breath-taking architecture and a rich culture. These little details the paint Afghanistan as a place worth living and fighting for could have easily be lost, but Khaled Hosseini makes sure to incorporate these details into the story making it more beautiful and powerful as a result.
Another place the book excels is in its characters. To an untrained eye, many come off as one-dimensional. It can be easy to put labels on them calling them hero, villain, and damsel, but, in reality, nothing is that clear cut. Each character holds a bit of darkness and light inside them. Even the most vile of villains, show moments of love and kindness. Many of the characters have individualized characteristics and motivations and each is carefully crafted.
One theme that follows many, especially the protagonists, is one of suffering, endurance, and hope. Miriam and Laila are both forced to endure a vile and brutal abusive relationship, yet, through it all, the two manage to find moments of hope and love. These two are a testament to humanity’s strength of will and ability to find light in the darkest of moments. I give this 367 page book 4.5 stars.