One reader says, “More than any book I’ve read in recent years, A Thousand Splendid Suns left me with a burning desire to do something.” I have heard of the situation in Afghanistan, but until reading this book, I had never felt their pain. This is not just a history lesson; it’s a story of grief and loss but even more importantly it is one of survival. These people have not given up nor do they plan on doing so. Hosseini inspires his readers to follow in the footsteps of Laila and Mariam by fighting back. He created a foundation, http://www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org/, enabling readers to satisfy their desires to help. It provides shelter, economic and education opportunities, and healthcare for women and children even supplying scholarships for higher education to women. A law prohibits colleges asking for a tuition which forces them to rely on the Afghanistan government and U.S. aid. This money is not enough to graduate the needed supply of workers. Only 1.5% of Afghanistan’s core budget is spent on education. Laila has a love of learning only equaled by her father’s. In Kabul 1980s, Laila was allowed in schools and taught that “women and men were equal in every way and there was no reason women should cover if men didn’t.” Then war broke out and not only did school become a distant reality but even walking the streets without the company of a male relative was out of question. Laila’s dreams were destroyed. This book doesn’t just raise awareness of the devastating problems of Afghanistan, it causes those on the outside reading about the problem to go and help.
Culture and Its Effect on my Thoughts and Actions:
Islam is the religion for 99% of the people. Although rarely mentioned in the beginning of the book, it slowly becomes more important. Praying five times a day must keep a faith always on your mind and the traditions and laws all done in the name of the religion can’t make it any easier to forget. When the Taliban took over, rules were created strictly based on their interpretation of the Qur’an. Many of these were based off of the already clearly defined women and men roles. Women are honored and therefore their virtue and safety must be monitored. They are in charge of household duties and rarely exist in the business world. Their value increases as they age and depend on how many children, especially boys, they bear. Family is the core of Afghan life. It was stressed to both protagonists throughout the book that they must honor their families and themselves no matter the situation. This affected the way they acted in many situations. Mariam’s marriage was a result of marriages arranged by families, a common practice. No matter the family or guest, hospitality is a must. Food, food, and more food. It’s always being offered, prepared, or eaten. Food is always ready for the unexpected guest. The Afghanistan culture is rich and the mere parts I glimpsed made me wish to learn more. Many parts, like arranged marriage and the roles of women, shocked me. Although I had heard of this culture, I’d never heard their stories. This makes me even more grateful for my opportunities and freedom. The hospitality and bond between neighbors and friends even during times of war did make me reexamine the way we interact here in the United States. Many of us do not even know our neighbor’s names and even fewer would consider them great friends. I find this a great loss on our parts.
Food:
I’ve made jalebi. Leila’s daughter loved this sweet treat. Food is a big part of Afghanistan culture and the duty of making it falls upon the women. Recently married to a man Mariam barely knows, “[S]he put before him a steaming bowl of daahl and a plate of steaming white rice. This was the first meal she had cooked for him, and Mariam wished she had been in a better state when she made it. She’d still be shaken from the incident at the tan door as she’d cooked, and all day she had fretted about the daahl’s consistency, its color, worried that he would think she’d stirred in too much ginger or not enough turmeric.” When Mariam fails to give her husband children, he becomes abusive. Mariam gets progressively more worried about her cooking, spending all day on a single meal. He dismisses her work and finds fault where there is none. The gender roles in Afghanistan have kept women from an education, a job, and a future. Since the decline of the Taliban in 2001, women have been allowed to return to work and no longer are forced to cover themselves under burqas. Still girls are kept from an education, forced into marriages, and treated as inferiors.
Critique:
Hosseini sets his story in Afghanistan and it spans across thirty years of the country’s history. It is about two women--Mariam and Leila. Mariam was born out of wedlock and lives much of her life isolated in a small cabin with her mother. When her mother passes away, Mariam’s father marries her off to a man much older than she. Rasheed, her new husband, is kind, although controlling, to her until Mariam fails to give birth. He then grows verbally and physically abusive to her. Sometime after their marriage Leila is born. Leila has two loving parents although her mother is stuck in the past waiting for the return of her sons from war. She is an enthusiastic student with a bright future ahead of her. Readers watch her fall in love with her best friend Tariq. The two women’s stories twist through loss, love, dreams, and war next-door to each other not crossing over until Leila finds herself in Mariam and Rasheed’s home. I recommend this book to anyone in seventh grade or older. Hosseini has balanced history with an engaging story that draws readers into a time and place unfamiliar to what we are accustomed to. I would give this book a seven out of ten. Although well written and interesting, it could have been more informative and more in depth to the feelings the people of Afghanistan were faced with. Overall, A Thousand Splendid Suns is another revealing book on humanity written by Hosseini and is a must read for admirers of The Kite Runner.
Works Cited
“Afghanistan- Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette.” kwintessential. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/afghanistan.html>.
Boak, Josh. “Afghan universities struggling for funding.” The Washington Post. N.p., 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/12/AR2011021203931.html>.
“The Plight of the Afghan Woman.” Afghanistan Online. N.p., 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/>.
“We Can Do Something!” Hood College Class of 2015 Reading. N.p., 13 July 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.hoodblogs.com/athousandsplendidsuns/?paged=2>.
