A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

KHALED HOSSEINI 

GENRE: NOVEL, FICTION

FIRST PUBLISHED: 2007

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,

Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

In his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini provides a vivid portrait of a country shattered by a series of ideological leaders and wars imposed on it by foreign and internal forces. The narrative, which spans several decades, is driven by the stories of two women, Laila and Mariam, who, despite starkly different beginnings, find themselves intimately connected and dependent upon one another. Hosseini’s women, much like the country of Afghanistan itself, appear to be propelled by the whims of outside forces, familial and societal, with little chance of influencing their own lives and futures Yet Laila and Mariam are neither passive nor helpless as they make choices and accept consequences to affect desired ends, both hopeful and tragic. This portrayal of their dreams, trials, and challenges presents a complex view of women in Afghanistan that goes beyond oppression and the stereotype of the veil. 

“And I wrote you.
Volumes. 

Volumes.”

The novel has been divided into four primary sections - Mariam's childhood, a child of illegitimate birth who was raised in a small hut outside of the city of Herat. The second section focuses on Laila, who is a generation younger than Mariam. Laila is born in Kabul, and her father hopes that she will contribute to Afghan society. The third part follows the intersection of Mariam's and Laila's lives. In the last part, they finally travel their separate paths for good.

We see how parallel Mariam and Laila's life is- its unbelievable that they might meet. Mariam is the daughter of one of the most successful businessmen in the city of Herat, Jalil. She grows up in a small hut outside the city with her mother, before being married off at the age of fifteen. Laila, whereas, is a beautiful young girl from an educated family in Kabul whose father is committed to giving her an education and preparing her for life as an independent woman. However, Laila suffers in her own way from the coldness of her mother, who seems to have abandoned her in favor of her two sons, who are eventually killed in the war. How both their lives intertwine is incredibly sad. One woman craving to become a mother; the other in want of a mother. How both these women complete each other's lives and remain etched in each other's memories through their love and sacrifice for one another is magical. Their love is what saves them from their horrific fate and gives them the peace both desired throughout their life-

“Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism” 

Hosseini is indeed a virtuoso in dealing with human emotions and behaviors. Love, friendship, jealousy and sacrifice are all part of his works and A Thousand Splendid Suns is so less. His idea of love was deep and clearly shown by our characters Laila and Tariq- how their love remains strong even after the long passage of time and all the obstacles in their path.

“Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.”

Mariam is the epitome of sacrifice in this novel. She shows how one can find happiness in the small things in life- those which really matter. True, she had no money or fame, no one knew about her hardships or sacrifice. But she did  understand that these actually don't matter. What mattered was she was leaving behind her 'daughter' a good life. 

“She was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother.” 

Hosseini's genius in writing is further portrayed in his usage of imagery, of which the novel is a gold mine. He knows exactly how to portray intangible issues like love, hatred and suffering and make them engraved in the heart of the readers- 

“Each snowflake was a sigh heard by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. All the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women suffer.”