Synposis:
Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.
With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.
REVIEW:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love going into books with little or no idea of what the book is about. I was especially excited for this book because this was the 1st BUDDY READ I've done since I got my best friend into reading.
She initially picked out this book from always seeing it in peoples posts about what book made them cry.
The story has a time frame of 30 years and is broken up into multiple parts. It's told from the point of views of 2 women, Mariam and Laila, both with different upbringings and world views, but both heartbreaking stories.
Their lives cross paths as they become wives of an older man in their town, Rasheed.
Mariam, a child born out of wedlock to a servant is who we get to know first. For the first part of her life, she lived as an outsider to the world because her mother rejected the world for her pain and abandonment she's had to endure.
Her mother had many demons that she dealt with, and I feel like she had very poor mental health. I found myself getting angry with her mother for how she would treat Mariam. Eventually, Mariam's mother unalives herself, which forces Mariam to seek her wealthy father. Her father has 2 wives who do not accept Mariam, thus pushing and forcing Mariam to marry the older man, Rasheed at the young age of 15 years old. With his child bride, Rasheed takes her to his town, far away from her father who ultimately abandoned her, due to his wives.
Years later, another young 15-year-old girl in the neighborhood becomes orphaned after a bomb kills both of her parents. Let me tell you the way she discovers both of her parents were killed in this bombing made me sob out loud. Rasheed saves her from the rumble and eventually she enters the marriage after realizing she has no other options.
With each chapter, I got lost in this world of conditions and regulations the Taliban has on Afghan women. I find that world is so heartbreaking. These women have no support and their husbands mentally and physically abuse them with no consequences and they have no were to turn to. They just have to endure it.
Both of these women have such tragic stories, but Mariams has to be the most unfortunate of the two. While Laila eventually found the love of her life in her childhood best friend, her and her children managed to leave the awful circumstances. Mariam leaving would not be so lucky.
This book helped me get a better understanding of a totally different world than the one I live in. While I may complain about this and that, I still get to live the life I want. That isn't the case for many women in a different part of the world. The hardships of Afghan women came alive in the pages for me, and Hosseini did a fantastic job of showing and describing what these women go through. Even today.
This made me bawl my eyes out in a way I didn't think possible. Sometimes, it's good to understand what other cultures go through and this book helped me see that. I think it is a must read for anyone and everyone.
Dates read: May 17, 2023-May 23, 2023
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