Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

50 reviews

pixiebix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative lighthearted sad

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

4.75

Oh my God oh my God oh my God. Where do you even start in doing justice to an epic like this?

I have been drawn to both A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner since I first glimpsed the spines in Waterstones around six months ago. I took a glance at their covers, read neither of their blurbs, and immediately added them both to my TBR. My gut feeling (at least for ATSS; I haven't yet read The Kite Runner, but I'm determined to make that change very, very soon) proved correct. This was just so sublime and devastating and destroying and hopeful and honest and hard. So very hard.

Two things about this book show to me how special it is: 1) I'm usually not a very expressive reader (I probably cry/laugh/gasp to a handful of books a year, if that)--and yet I remember three separate occasions of gasping in shock at this book before rereading and rereading the section over and over for what must have been minutes trying to reconcile my thoughts; and 2) my memory has gotten seriously bad when it comes to remembering basic details about the books I read, even a couple of hours after I finish them (it's something that really really bothers me), and yet flicking through ATSS and landing on random pages, I can not only remember exactly what was going on at that moment by reading a line or two, but I can see it. I feel like I watched this book more than I read it; the experience was truly cinematic. I have detailed, textured scenes in my mind that I can actually travel through when I picture the events from this book, major and minor.

And yet I don't think I can explain exactly what made this book so profound for me. All I know is that Nana, Mariam ( Mariam:( ), Laila, Tariq, Rasheed, Mahfuzallah, Jalil, Aziza, everyone, I feel I have travelled through and seen into their souls and lived through a million lifetimes with them. 

Looking back on some of the scenes in my head from this book is honestly so painful. I wanted to reach in an help every single one of these people. (Except Rasheed.)

Nothing short of a masterpiece. Truly (I hope!) unforgettable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

kassiesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, War, and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, Rape, and Medical trauma

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

whitebabysbreath's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War

beckyjc's review against another edition

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. 

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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

bente123's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

hot_water's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

thresholdgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, War, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

tinatian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion

aimeal815's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. It is so beautifully written and the story is fascinating. I would advise people to note the trigger warnings as this book covers a lot of tough topics and can be difficult to get through at times. It made me cry, and books don’t do that to me often. That being said, I really enjoyed it and the story and the characters really touched me. There were moments where I was gasping out of shock and by the time I got halfway through I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend this book because I think it is a story that people should hear, and I myself am going to think about it for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infertility, and Suicide

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Abortion, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence