Customer Reviews
"Knowing and loving are born of this same dust:" - By: Bentley, 18 Oct 2007 
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini is a book that the author researched while visiting Kabul. It is a story of friendship between two very dissimilar women who were ages apartin background &in education. They became closein order to survive & to endure the environment that they were forced to live in. The reader grows to understand that there existed between them a closeness like that of a mother & daughter. This intimacy was built upon much mutual respect & much love which these two (2) stunning characters generated for each other. The novel is really the story of the lives of Laila & Mariam.
The title for this novel comes from a 17th Century poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi which was a beautiful poem writtenin praise of Kabul. The excerpt from which the title originated goes like this: "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."
But the beautiful poem begins its praise of this city with these lines:
"Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing & loving are born of this same dust
These lines above symbolize so much of this novel. It is the understanding of their fate & the knowing & the loving of each other; it is the sticking by their heritage & their people which clearly demonstrates how Mariam & Laila were also "born of this same dust". The thornsin their lives which they both had to endure did not silence them &in their own ways they each made a contribution to each other to contribute either to each other's life or to the other's legacy.
In reading this novel, the reader will be stymied by what the women of Afghanistan had to endurein the face of oppression &in some instances complete domination. Mariam's & Laila's story is not, I imagine, the story of every woman, but it is their story, told so eloquently, by Hosseini.
Reading the novel will make you sad, it might make you feel uncomfortable &in some parts you will wish that you could do something; even though you realize that this is a book of fiction. But literature that tells a story as powerful as this one, & possibly with as much truth about circumstancesin it...cannot always be happy. The reader must be willing to look into the window of these women's lives & realize that the spirit of these women will not be broken & that both will be able to make decisions that they are strong enough to endure. Giving back to others "born of this same dust" is the ultimate gift that both women can give to Kabal, its people & to each other.
A worthwhile book.
Bentley/2007
The Sins of the Fathers Are Visited on Everyone - By: Donald Mitchell, 07 Aug 2007 A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS tells the wonderful, intensely moving story of how two modern Afghan women overcome the great challenges that have faced womenin Afghanistan & rise above their victimization. Khaled Hosseini has succeededin capturing many important historical & contemporary themesin a way that will make your heart ache again & again. Why will your reaction be so strong? It's because you'll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction that's very rare to a modern novel.
In Part One, you meet Miriam at age five as she learns that she is a harami (an illegitimate child). Miriam's wealthy father, Jalil, had seduced a housekeeper, Miriam's mother, Nana, six years earlier & now provides for both of themin a remote shack where he can keep a low profile. Despite his concern about his reputation, Jalil adores the attention that Miriam devotes to him. All proceedsin an artificial & harsh way until one day Miriam decides to demand her father's attention. The consequences shape her world for the rest of her life.
In Part Two, the story moves to focus on Laila, who was born to Miriam's acquaintance Fariba at the end of Part One. Laila's rearing is almost totally the opposite of Miriam's. Laila is loved by both her parents with whom she lives & has many chances to develop her knowledge & skills. Laila livesin Kabul while Miriam grew upin the countryside outside of Herat. Laila is beautiful while Miriam is plainer. They also grow upin different times: Miriam is old enough to be Laila's mother. Miriam never had a male friend while growing up, while Laila is fascinated by the one-legged Tariq. All is going well for Laila until the war intrudes to send her life off into an unexpected direction.
In Part Three, the two women begin to share a destiny & develop a relationship. Their lives are more fundamentally changed by this relationship than by anything else that has happened to them. The magic of the story is most evidentin Part Three.
In Part Four, we come into the present, when Afghanistan is once again opening itself to possibilities.
The time span of the book is from 1964 to the present. In the background, you are kept up-to-date on political events that shake the entire country. In some cases, those political events turn into revolutions & wars. In many cases, the violence intrudes into the lives of the book's characters. It's like reading War & Peace as adapted to modern Afghanistan.
The book also deals with issues of class, religion, sexual roles, child rearing, work, education, & community. These issues are highlightedin terms of the different regimes & attitudes of the controlling male characters. For Afghanistan was a world where the men called the shots, unless they chose not to do so. Although the issues that are raised & the way that they are raised are pretty predictable, it's a tribute to Mr. Hosseini that you won't see them coming. He moves his characters & action aroundin such a way that you won't see much foreshadowing of what's to come. Part of that skill comesin making each page so interesting & engaging that you are pulled away from thoughts like "I wonder where he's going next with this plot." I found myself deeply inside the story throughout. That's rare for me, especiallyin a story that focuses on female characters.
It's earlyin the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS turns out to have been one of the very top novels of 2007.
I highly recommend this book & encourage you to discuss it with your friends. This novel would be a great choice for your book club.
