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keilexandraA Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
~372 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Literary
It took me a while to get through this, but it was worth it. I don't, however, have any desire to read The Kite Runner; a large part of what made the novel succeed for me was the focus on female protagonists and the place of feminism in Islam.
Miriam is an illegitimate daughter who ends up married to Rasheed, a cruel but chillingly typical man. The secondary storyline, which gradually becomes the primary focus, is a younger woman named Laila who loves Tariq but also marries Rasheed after a tragic accident of war. The story is set in Afghanistan during its various wars--I would give more detail, but my knowledge of the area's history is woefully sparse--amid bombings and maimings. That infamous group called the Taliban also plays a part later on, and 9/11 is depicted from a very different viewpoint.
The prose here is for the most part smooth, but nothing special. Hosseini's real strength is characterization. The children are utterly realistic--I adore Aziza, and Zalmai is a spoiled little boy in a time of prejudice and war. Hosseini's depiction of women in the Islamic world is heartbreaking, yet you get the feeling that he's only brushing the surface of their suffering.
On a completely different note, Laila's Babi is strikingly similar to Jane Austen's Mr. Bennet of Pride and Prejudice.
by Khaled Hosseini
~372 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Literary
It took me a while to get through this, but it was worth it. I don't, however, have any desire to read The Kite Runner; a large part of what made the novel succeed for me was the focus on female protagonists and the place of feminism in Islam.
Miriam is an illegitimate daughter who ends up married to Rasheed, a cruel but chillingly typical man. The secondary storyline, which gradually becomes the primary focus, is a younger woman named Laila who loves Tariq but also marries Rasheed after a tragic accident of war. The story is set in Afghanistan during its various wars--I would give more detail, but my knowledge of the area's history is woefully sparse--amid bombings and maimings. That infamous group called the Taliban also plays a part later on, and 9/11 is depicted from a very different viewpoint.
The prose here is for the most part smooth, but nothing special. Hosseini's real strength is characterization. The children are utterly realistic--I adore Aziza, and Zalmai is a spoiled little boy in a time of prejudice and war. Hosseini's depiction of women in the Islamic world is heartbreaking, yet you get the feeling that he's only brushing the surface of their suffering.
On a completely different note, Laila's Babi is strikingly similar to Jane Austen's Mr. Bennet of Pride and Prejudice.
