A review by anjalisudarsan
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

5.0

Reading this book broke my heart, thinking of all the people having to live in a war-torn country, where simple freedoms are restricted by their 'value system'. And then there are women, facing both war and the hate from the patriarchy. In this book, both Mariam and Laila seem to face one hardship after another and as a reader, I felt anger and disgust for a man like Rasheed, who exist in the real world taking advantage of the vulnerability of women. War is fought on women's bodies, and in deeply patriarchal societies this, it is the women that suffer the most. Their glimmer of hopes and reason for living comes from being a mother, you realise. Because what else would you have, in a society where they cannot even step out of the house without a male companion. Remembering that this is the life of so many people living in those countries today makes this more than just a story...

Amidst all this misery there is hope that stems from love. That is a beautiful message.