“I will follow you to the ends of the world.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
This book is heartbreaking, painful and tragic. It is also the only book I have read twice.
This book was an extraordinary, contemporary, social document covering Afghan history from before the Soviet war until after the Taliban rule. The violence that ensued from this period in time resulted in the inevitable violence towards women. I abhor any form of violence and live in fear of what will happen should another war occur. To see in what low-esteem and contempt the average Afghan viewed women, especially the Taliban, quite shocked me, and yet I “lived and breathed” this book. This book is about two women (Laila and Mariam) struggling through life together in the horrific 70s of Afghanistan.
“A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated.”
I believe we often live in a sheltered and ignorant bubble. This book provides a peek outside that bubble, it shows you how horrific life can be for others and yet they endure. It might make the struggles you face seem silly in comparison. It helps you understand life will go on, no matter how hard, life will go on.
“How quietly we endure all that falls upon us.”
When you peek outside the bubble we start to appreciate the little things in life we so easily take for granted. Breathing fresh air while going for a walk seems like a luxury to these women who were not allowed to step out of the house. Sleeping soundly at home feeling safe and not having to worry about the bombs dropping from airplanes into your neighbourhood. Having access to quality education and not having to dream about learning to read and write. To love and be loved back.
“They would make new lives for themselves—peaceful, solitary lives—and there the weight of all that they’d endured would lift from them, and they would be deserving of all the happiness and simple prosperity they would find.”
We as humans always strive for more, it is what makes us unique. In our want for more, we overlook what we have. It helped me to take notice and appreciate the simple things in life around me. This book changed the way I look at the world and viewed relationships.
“Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism”
This book is a testament for how adaptable humans can be. How we can tolerate the worst of times with nothing but hope for a better future. It inspired me to research more about the horrid days endured by the Afghans and educate others about their struggle with Afghanistan – Lost In Time.
“Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope.”
This book is a page turner, it teaches you about life and it deserves a thousand splendid stars for it. I believe everyone should read it once in their lives.
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
My dreams are big. My mistakes? Bigger.
