A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Deb McVittie
December 23rd, 2010 10:44 AM
Khaled Hosseini does it again! His new novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is as powerful, skillful and beautiful as The Kite Runner. However, unlike the male-centered Kite Runner, his newest book is wrapped around the stories of women in Afghanistan whose lives unexpectedly intersect amid the chaos of war.
Hosseini paints a vivid portrait of the lives of Miriam and Leila, who have married Rasheed a generation apart in time, and for vastly different reasons. Into the fabric of the lives of these two women Hosseini weaves the political instability of Afghan anti-Soviet sentiment of the time, the destruction of civil war, the tyranny of the Taliban and the constant belief that a new and brighter day will dawn.
This is at once a novel painted in the large brush strokes of a country’s history and in the small nuances of the lives of a people who, even in the face of terrible suffering, find the strength to meet the challenges of every new day. It is a multi-generational story that evokes the personal lives of the characters – their struggles to survive, bear children, raise a family, and find strength in friendship – and the always indestructible power of love.
This is a book where the individual lives and heritage of the characters are illuminated against the backdrop of the 20th century history of Afghanistan. Hosseini’s writing is simple and accessible, and all the more powerful for it. A Thousand Splendid Suns is a compelling, not-to-be-missed story of courage and love where all readers will find a strong foothold.
Hosseini’s title, A Thousand Splendid Suns, comes from a poem about Kabul by Saib-e-Tabrizi, a 17th century Persian poet who was hugely impressed by his visit to the city. Hosseini was born in Kabul, the son of a diplomat and high-school teacher. At the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, when Hosseini was 11, his father was working in the Afghan embassy in Paris. The family requested and received political asylum in the United States, where Hosseini later went to medical school and became a physician. Hosseini returned to Kabul in 2003.
Deb McVittie is the owner of 32 Books Co. in Edgemont Village.
Copyright North Shore Magazine Issue Aug - Sep 07
Hosseini paints a vivid portrait of the lives of Miriam and Leila, who have married Rasheed a generation apart in time, and for vastly different reasons. Into the fabric of the lives of these two women Hosseini weaves the political instability of Afghan anti-Soviet sentiment of the time, the destruction of civil war, the tyranny of the Taliban and the constant belief that a new and brighter day will dawn.
This is at once a novel painted in the large brush strokes of a country’s history and in the small nuances of the lives of a people who, even in the face of terrible suffering, find the strength to meet the challenges of every new day. It is a multi-generational story that evokes the personal lives of the characters – their struggles to survive, bear children, raise a family, and find strength in friendship – and the always indestructible power of love.
This is a book where the individual lives and heritage of the characters are illuminated against the backdrop of the 20th century history of Afghanistan. Hosseini’s writing is simple and accessible, and all the more powerful for it. A Thousand Splendid Suns is a compelling, not-to-be-missed story of courage and love where all readers will find a strong foothold.
Hosseini’s title, A Thousand Splendid Suns, comes from a poem about Kabul by Saib-e-Tabrizi, a 17th century Persian poet who was hugely impressed by his visit to the city. Hosseini was born in Kabul, the son of a diplomat and high-school teacher. At the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, when Hosseini was 11, his father was working in the Afghan embassy in Paris. The family requested and received political asylum in the United States, where Hosseini later went to medical school and became a physician. Hosseini returned to Kabul in 2003.
Deb McVittie is the owner of 32 Books Co. in Edgemont Village.
Copyright North Shore Magazine Issue Aug - Sep 07
