A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - Bloomsbury
****
Having loved the Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's previous bestseller, I lovingly held onto this new book, till I had a decent train journey, whereby I could get a good, long, uninterrupted start. As I opened the book, a fellow passenger who was sitting opposite me asked if I'd read the Kite Runner. I begrudgingly looked up from my first page, and admitted that I'd really enjoyed it. He proceeded to tell me that he'd been at the publisher's house the night before and his wife had been presented with a copy of it, and been assured that it was an even better read than Hosseini's previous book. "Oh great", I said, hoping I could just stick my nose back into my book and wouldn't have to make polite conversation for the rest of my journey.
This book, like its predecessor is set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. You can feel the fear and brutality on the streets and the despair amongst the women. It portrays poverty, and cruelty, and the bullying by Rasheed of his two wives and children. It's a tale of love triumphing over evil but moreover, it's a story of an unlikely friendship, told beautifully and with feeling. Courageous Mariam who was prepared to give up her own life for that of Laila's and Laila's children.
The book gives an insight into how Afghanistant people were forced to flee their homes and their country and settle in Pakistan and Iran. Today more than 2 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan.
The title of the novel comes from a seventeenth century Persian Poet, Saeb-e-Tabrizi. Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan but moved to the United Sates in 1980.
****
Having loved the Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's previous bestseller, I lovingly held onto this new book, till I had a decent train journey, whereby I could get a good, long, uninterrupted start. As I opened the book, a fellow passenger who was sitting opposite me asked if I'd read the Kite Runner. I begrudgingly looked up from my first page, and admitted that I'd really enjoyed it. He proceeded to tell me that he'd been at the publisher's house the night before and his wife had been presented with a copy of it, and been assured that it was an even better read than Hosseini's previous book. "Oh great", I said, hoping I could just stick my nose back into my book and wouldn't have to make polite conversation for the rest of my journey.
This book, like its predecessor is set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. You can feel the fear and brutality on the streets and the despair amongst the women. It portrays poverty, and cruelty, and the bullying by Rasheed of his two wives and children. It's a tale of love triumphing over evil but moreover, it's a story of an unlikely friendship, told beautifully and with feeling. Courageous Mariam who was prepared to give up her own life for that of Laila's and Laila's children.
The book gives an insight into how Afghanistant people were forced to flee their homes and their country and settle in Pakistan and Iran. Today more than 2 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan.
The title of the novel comes from a seventeenth century Persian Poet, Saeb-e-Tabrizi. Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan but moved to the United Sates in 1980.
No comments:
Post a Comment