A Thousand Splendid Suns

The moment i saw Khalid Hosseini's second book on the stands, i knew i wanted to read it. Thanks to a good friend of mine, i managed to land up a copy of it on my birthday. Expectations were high because of his wonderful first book, The Kite Runner.
My emotions while i was reading this book, and on completing it was surreal, to say the least. One thing that has to be very clear is that it is a very depressing book at times. But, then, you feel its a depression you have to try and understand. That these kinds of lives are being played out in a million homes around the world. That to close your senses to this book, is a crime, in a way.
So, does it surpass his previous work? In a nutshell, i would say, yes, it does. While the Kite Runner was also a story which had its roots in Afghanistan, it was at times, an adventure story. This book, though, is a stark and unflinching look at the lives of two women in war torn Afghanistan. The book opens with 15 year old Mariam living in a kolba outside city limits. She is the harami daughter of a rich person in the city. Circumstances force her to marry Rasheed, a widower, and move to Kabul. Rasheed, a staunch believer in age old customs, starts getting increasingly violent towards her. In the same neighbourhood lives Laila, whose parents have a more modernistic outlook towards life. Tragic circumstances force Laila to join Mariam's household. While the hardships continue, the women form an unbreakable bond, which allows them to get through all the hardships they have to face.
The story does get too melodramatic at times, but you realise there is a message here. That behind every burqa, there lies a million stories. Stories of pain, suffering, dreams... The melodrama does seem justified here. The book also paints a vivid picture of Afghanistan, and how that country has been at an endless war for the last few decades.
Redemption is alsways a recurring theme in Hosseini's books. Even here, past the suffering, the pain and the ravages of war, finally, there is hope again. This is a book i highly recommend to anyone. If not for anything else, atleast for an amazing character study of two unbelievably brave women.