I was apprehensive when I began "A Thousand Splendid Suns." Sure, I hefted praise on the reviews of the book so that my Read For Yourself students would read it without complaint, but I had my own reservations. I read part of "The Kite Runner" this summer, back when I was preparing to teach in Florida. I didn't enjoy the book, and, in fact, I never finished it. Besides that experience, I had just finished "Shantaram", part of which is set in Afghanistan, and I harbored some distaste for the war depicted by the author.
But "A Thousand Splendid Suns" began compellingly and progressed quickly. The female characters are characters in conflict, battling lives that seem or are preordained by man or God. The story has a decidedly morose emotional tone with moments of calm or congeniality-- moments of happiness, as Mariam describes them as she takes her final walk. It is a story fraught with brutal violence against women and, indeed, against humanity. It is raw and strangely picturesque, in so much that the reader can vividly imagine the destruction described by Hosseini. In fact, the destruction was real and may be again; Afghanistan, like its Middle Eastern neighbors, is a country still in turmoil, religious and cultural wars persistently waged beneath (and above) the surface.
I am left longing for peace, as I close the book, its soft cover bearing lovely words about the story contained within. I am left hoping that hope and peace can reign; that violence and hatred can be obliterated; that men, women, and children can embrace the country of Afghanistan with its rich and troubled history. I am left wishing for a permanent solution so that these characters-- their real incarnations and variations thereof-- can have more moments of happiness and love.
Bagels & Books is April 7 at 7am in the LFHS library. Read this fabulous book, and join us for lively conversation.
Happy reading!
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