A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007)
Read: September 2010

You can't get away from the front-cover statement that this is by the same author as Kite Runner. Everyone raves about the book, so we pick this one up (found it about a year ago, but only just added it to the book shelf).
It sounds a silly thing, but the feel of this book is that it's going to be an easier read than some of the arabic translations I've read. It's a larger page, relaxed cover and not the smallest font size known to man(!)  This sort of thing does make a difference when reading a hard text, and some of the translations can be quite wordy. But this isn't actually a translation; it was written in English, so I feel it's very mich directed towards the Western world and giving them an insight; dispelling myths or calling for help I'm not sure.

The book is set in Afghanistan and the narrative follows at first a small girl, but as she is in her teens, the narrative slips into that of the young girl down the road and gradually their stories come together. This narrative device is good and gives a fuller story as it allows both women to show their frustration in their sitaution, even though it takes them longer to convey and share this frustration to eachother.

At first the situation that Hosseini describes is one that I take hope from; a story of a girl abadoned is one that could be taking place in any country. It says to me that religion and political situation don't matter and we are united in the feelings of hope in humanity. But culture and religion does then dictate the next step in the story as Mariam is married off as a young teenager and taken away from any connection she has with people. Here I really felt isolation and frustration for her situation as she is inhibited by her husband from living any sort of life and expression. She becomes functional and only performs routine.
As the narrative changes, so does Mariam, she is no longer the only woman and now has to compete for attention that she doesn't want and alter a routine and life that she doesn't enjoy. This section was a difficult read for me, as I could feel both women's frustrations with the other, their need to stake their territory, but also their terrible isolation. It is with relief that they overcome their divisions and unite, because together they are stronger.
Despite my initial skepticism of the books author, purpose and message I did feel that the story and writing conveyed a perspective that people outside this culture wouldn't otherwise see and should. How prevelent this as an exepereince is I still cannot comment on, but I feel that it is a story that should be read for us to begin to understand something about some women's experiences.