A Timeless and Tragic Masterpiece of Afghanistan

September 23 2015
Share A Timeless and Tragic Masterpiece of Afghanistan

I had a transformative moment on the rooftop of my aunt’s Lagos home at 19. I was getting my hair braided, as the sleepy Nigerian town below me slowly awakened, and reading Khaled Hosseini’s THE KITE RUNNER. Hosseini’s soulful writing evoked in me a new appreciation of storytelling. But it was his follow-up, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, that has been anointed as my favorite book—a book I always revisit with a fresh pair of eyes.

Equal parts gripping, tragic, empowering, and gorgeously plotted, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS between two powerful voices, representing vibrant youth and tiresome womanhood, the privileged and oppressed, the educated and uneducated, the loved and love-starved. It brilliantly illustrates how two women of vastly different upbringings find themselves in the same unyielding circumstances in war-torn Afghanistan. Mariam is only 15 when her mother commits suicide and she is married off to 40-year-old Rasheed. Twenty years later, Mariam, having endured an abusive marriage, must share her husband with his new wife, 14-year-old Laila—orphaned when stray bombs kill her parents. The resilience of these women and how they come to know each other is like magic on the page.

It was after my first trip to Nigeria, where I’d had my eyes opened to foreign landscapes—physical and literary—that I picked up A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. I’d just read THE KITE RUNNER and craved more of Hosseini’s lyrical writing. Hosseini is patient with his readers, carefully setting his stories amidst the beauty and tragedy of Afghanistan’s recent history, and then seamlessly creating a story where an unlikely bond occurs in the midst of it. Upon my second read, I could relate more to the nuances of the story: Mariam’s aimlessness and rejection, Laila’s brazen stance on her right to exist as an educated woman in the presence of men, how both women remained steadfast in a world of constant upheaval. What unfailingly catches me off guard—even as familiar with the plot as I am—is that love actually wins in the end.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is a timeless masterpiece that feeds my soul. There is always something new to appreciate in this story of fortitude and unfaltering love. Who’s to know what future visitations will bring?

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

14 Bold Novels About Women Everyone Should Read

By Off the Shelf Staff | August 26, 2019

The Gang’s All Here: 11 Wonderful Books About Friendship to Read Right Now

By Alice Martin | August 6, 2019

The Sophomore Slump Is a Myth: 8 Second Novels You Need to Read

By Maddie Nelson | April 29, 2019

8 Favorites Your Book Club Must Read This Spring

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 20, 2018

12 Books to Celebrate the Solar Eclipse

By Erin Madison | August 21, 2017

12 Good Books That Get Us Through Hard Times

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 17, 2016

Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.