"Suggest me a book to read", I asked my friend.
"A thousand splendid suns", came the reply in a blink! "But, its not for a light reading", he warned me after. I googled for the title, went through the reviews, opened flipkart and placed an order in an impulse. After receiving the book a couple of days later, I placed it in my shelf amidst a number of books in "to read" shelf, and I totally forgot about it.
The reason why I hesitated to read this book has to do with the way I chose the books to buy/read. Instead of selecting a book based on the reviews or the story, I select them based on the authors whose writing I like. Though I had watched Kite Runner from the same author, I had not read any of his work yet!
It was in a spur of the moment my curiosity sparked and drove me to the first page. The opening line of the book added fuel to my curiosity and then I felt myself saying, "I think I like this book!"
I soon realized that a thousand splendid suns is indeed not for a light reading, and so I paid more attention in reading it whenever I got some time to spare. Caught on with the positive feedback as I flipped through the pages, I finally finished reading this book in a week since I started.
I felt like I played with Mariam during her childhood days, comforted her when her father deserted her, mourned with her when her mother hanged herself, pitied her when she was married off to an elderly widower, was concerned about Laila when she joined her, agitated when she tried to escape along with Laila from the clutches of Rasheed, tempered when Rasheed treated her badly, and finally felt peace when Mariam gave a blow on Rasheed's face with a shovel.
None of the books that I had read so far had made me to feel connected with a character this way!
Well Jam, honestly, a lot of writers have that quality about them. In fact, if they don't then they aren't really writers. If you really felt that no other book transported you into another world then you are just reading the wrong books!
ReplyDeleteOh and btw! I hated both the books. Here is my extremely ruthless review: http://slishacrazy.blogspot.com/2008/05/hosseinis-kabul.html
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your (re)view of the book. In fact, I ve said here that its not the story that I liked, nor the author's writing style. But, unlike other books, I did not read a thousand splendid suns as a novel.
ReplyDeleteKhaled has made me to feel for Afghan women (like Mariam) who had suffered, and are still suffering due to political instability caused by various rival groups. First it was between various tribes, then the communists, then the jihadis, and finally the Americans, but they endured it all!
I have exaggerated a bit in the last line only to make this point. I am sorry if it leads to misunderstanding :)