GuruLib information for Book A Thousand Splendid Suns

I got this as a birthday present, but managed to keep it for taking on holiday with me. It was one of the last books I read and finished it in a few hours, after reading the best part of it on the beach.

I kept promising myself, just one more chapter, then I'll put it away, but with this book it's just impossible. It's not that any of the chapters finish on a cliffhanger, it's just you want to find out what happens to the characters.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan, and although I was never an expert before, I wouldn't consider myself an expert now. I would however consider to be a little more informed about what has happened in Afghanistan over the past three decades. It centres around the lives of Mariam, Rasheed and Laila, as they grow old and struggle to survive. Any woman reading this book would be glad that they were not born in Afghanistan, as women are so repressed over there. The burkhas (a head to toe cover up, with only a mesh panel to see out of) sound absolutely hellish to wear, and I don't think I would put up with it. And I think any woman will be wanting to rebel against that and especially against Rasheed if they put themselves in Mariam's and Laila's positions.

I defy anybody not to cry at this book. I finished it as soon as I got home from the beach and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a hard going book, as you gradually lose yourself in a different world, and when you come out of it, it's physically hard not to smack the next man you see across the head. You'll end up hating men after reading this, as they're the cause of the women's troubles in this. I'm just glad that I was not born in that country. I would simply have not survived - I would have gone the same way as the women in this book, but much sooner, and I would have paid the price for rebelling.

Read it. It's a must. (less)