A Women's Lot
It's been a while since I read a book that made me feel so angry, indignant and helpless all at the same time but that was exactly how A Thousand Splendid Suns made me feel.
Once I got started, I couldn't stop and finished it over a few sittings, staying up till the early hours of the morning to do so.
While I know it is not fair to compare it to its hugely successful predecessor The Kite Runner - I like them both, albeit in different ways - I was so glad Khaleid Hosseini tackled his second book from the perspective of women. Or more specifically, two Afghan women living in a time of great upheaval in their country, and the oppression and struggles they face in their day-to-day lives at the mercy of a world dominated by men.
The story actually reminded me of Jean Sassoon's Sultana, also another gripping read, though A Thousand Splendid Suns is comparatively less graphic, something for which I am, in an admittedly selfish way, quite grateful for.
Overall, a beautifully written book that leaves you grieving.
What really pained me after I had finished reading it was the knowledge that this - and the many others like it out there - is not just a story.
Once I got started, I couldn't stop and finished it over a few sittings, staying up till the early hours of the morning to do so.
While I know it is not fair to compare it to its hugely successful predecessor The Kite Runner - I like them both, albeit in different ways - I was so glad Khaleid Hosseini tackled his second book from the perspective of women. Or more specifically, two Afghan women living in a time of great upheaval in their country, and the oppression and struggles they face in their day-to-day lives at the mercy of a world dominated by men.
The story actually reminded me of Jean Sassoon's Sultana, also another gripping read, though A Thousand Splendid Suns is comparatively less graphic, something for which I am, in an admittedly selfish way, quite grateful for.
Overall, a beautifully written book that leaves you grieving.
What really pained me after I had finished reading it was the knowledge that this - and the many others like it out there - is not just a story.