Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns

"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.

No, its not the story that I was obsessed with. Nor the writing style of the author. I could not believe for a second that I am reading a story! While reading, I found myself transported to Afghanistan, and as a mute spectator, I felt as if I was living with the characters and observing them from up close.

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!