Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

6 reviews

ktv's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this book made me flare up in a rage 70 pages in and then i was crying another several chapters down the road. it kept pulling me along on this wonderful (not rly) emotional roller coaster ride. i have never cried this extensively while reading a book. thank u to khaled hosseini for creating this masterpiece and teaching me what its like to feel again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, Child death, Death of parent, War, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

audc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Would give it 5 stars but I don’t think I ever plan on reading it any time soon. BUT, I would DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, recommend it and have and my friend loved it. 

Of the top of my head:
So many emotions! I can’t believe Mariam’s character development!!! Following these TWO STRONG WOMEN from childhood! 

It’s triggering, but it’s probably nothing close to the reality. This book needed to be written. The writing is just so flavorful and precise; I couldn’t stop underlining!!! 

It drags at some points, but it’ everytime it’s so worth it! 

I really appreciate that this book is not westernized and that throughout there’s that single thread of Afghanistan. 
I appreciate that though the story is set during the larger picture of the Taliban and political insecurity, famine, social upheaval the book focuses on these women and the smallest details of their lives. Rippling effect that further encompasses the history at large. Making it a lot more impactful. 

!!Very Triggering!! 

At least a happy ending will continue to live in this book despite what actually happened. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Abortion, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Antisemitism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, War, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Minor: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Pedophilia, Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

emarz's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

beckyjc's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Where to even begin with this one? God, it's sad. Deeply, brutally sad. I had reservations reading it given that Afghanistan has fallen again to the Taliban since this book was published. Would this real-life backdrop make it even sadder? The answer is yes. But I do think it's important to read stories like this, as heartbreaking as they are. My knowledge of the conflicts in Afghanistan over the past few decades is limited, and likely full of misconceptions. I wanted to read an Afghan writer to try and understand more of the human impact.

Mariam and Laila's story's really affected me. Both women are drawn with such respect and empathy. The love story between Laila and Tariq is one of the sweetest I've read this year and I was rooting for them the whole time.

When Tariq returns 'from the dead' I gasped out loud on the bus where I was reading it. Some hope in amongst the sheer horror at last!

The complexities of the religious and cultural customs of the country (and the differences between Kabul and other towns or rural areas), and the relationship between men and women, are fascinating and sobering to a Western eye. Some of the chapters left me feeling desolate. How can we be so inhumane to one another? And knowing that the women of Afghanistan are once more having to live under such barbaric, utterly deplorable conditions is almost unbearable. I carried on reading because the characters are compelling and I was invested, but it was not a comfortable read in the slightest. 

The relationship between Mariam and Laila is beautiful written, moving from initial suspicion and hostility to a touching depiction of quasi-motherhood. The indignities and suffering they must endure is very troubling to read, but their ultimate resilience of spirit does give the book some respite and a welcome hopeful core. I just desperately wish that this wasn't the reality of thousands of women still today. Still. Again. Can we begrudge or blame immigrants fleeing such terrors? How can this be an acceptable way of life for the people of Afghanistan?

The ending made me very reflective. At first I didn't understand why Laila would want to return to Kabul. Surely, as the site of so much atrocity and personal tragedy, she should stay well clear and protect herself and her family? But this is an important lesson I took from the book. What happens when your home becomes a place of fear and destitution as a result of war? What responsibilities do we have to future generations, and to the past, to restore order? To rebuild and to grow? What does home and heritage mean? This is another reason the developing real world events are so devastating in the context of this book I think. The constant cycle of destruction and regeneration. When will it end?

The writing is not overly sophisticated. Hosseini has an eye for a good story and keeps things simple. But against such a complex political backdrop this is no bad thing, I think. I'm glad I saw it through. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Abortion

aniwillow's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

laurendenton's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Minor: Drug use and Excrement