I just finished reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. For those who haven’t read, the book follows the story of Mariam and Layla, two women from Afghanistan whose lives end up connecting. Through the story, we learn about Afghanistan politics since the 1960s until 2007.
I used to work with asylum-seekers and have worked with Afghan refugees (mainly women), so I knew roughly about the politics of Afghanistan. But this book is really good at explaining the political transitions, the motivations behind them, and their impacts on the lives of normal people. I thought that background was very interesting, and I learned quite a lot.
Now, about the story itself. The book is so hard to read. I’m a woman, much older than Mariam and Layla when either of them marries Rashid. I’m currently on vacation on a beautiful place, wearing a bikini, being able to hear music, complain, discuss politics, go out and about, and I just take all this for granted. Reading the story of Mariam and Layla just makes me so angry, so irritated, and feeling so useless, knowing that Afghani women are currently under the Taliban regime once again. Knowing that Layla, who has such a beautiful ending in the book, would nowadays be forced to stay home, wear the burka, stop working and have no rights. Knowing that her girl is the last generation to have education. It’s just so sad, the book is tragic, but real life is even more tragic.
The book is beautifully written, the descriptions are so well-made. I almost felt like i was in Herat or Kabul, and it was so hard to read it. I’m happy I did and I think we should all read the book. It makes me sad, it makes me angry, it makes me want to scream at the world. But it also makes me so grateful for the generations of women before me who fought for my rights, and I so hope Afghanistan is one day free.
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