https://lastbloggers.com/a-thousand-splendid-suns-by-khaled-hosseini-review/

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
Glamour mentioned that ‘Only the hardest of the hearts could fail to be moved.’ And this is so freaking true.

Are you one of those people who reads the last page first before starting a novel or one of those who would go to the edge of a cliff to save themselves from any spoilers?
(In case you are the second type, SPOILER ALERT!)

I do not usually take up a 300-plus-pages novel, because you know, novels are meant to be finished in 2 days and not more and also, because I have commitment issues. But I read so many good things about this book in so many places that I could not resist. And I absolutely applaud my decision. This book sent me to an alternate parallel universe which is very realistic and as true as it can be (Nothing like the stupid Netflix ‘Dark’ series).

This is a story of struggle, of love, of compassion, of heroism, of resilience against brutality, and of sacrifices. This is a story of two women with nearly twenty years of age-difference, married to the same man, who is again older than the older of two by at least three decades. A man who is verbally and physically abusive to both of them. A man who makes his wife chew pebbles if he thinks that the rice is a little less cooked.

“Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.” – the first sentence is the first chapter of the book. Whatta start I must say! How do you think it would have impacted a five-year-old? Harami means illegitimate by the way. Imagine the ways she would have found out about the meaning of the word, after all, no five-year-old would know what it means. And the questions she would have had about her identity. Mariam was fifteen when she was hurriedly sent away to Kabul by marrying her off to Rasheed due to a chain of some pathetic events. She was fifteen when she got pregnant. She was fifteen when she lost the life growing inside of her. She had suffered six miscarriages by the time she was nineteen. I obviously cannot and do not want to ruin your read so you better find it out for yourself what happened next. But such a rough start to life and things never got easier but more difficult.
Laila, on the other hand, was a little more privileged than Mariam. Laila was fourteen when things start getting tougher for her. In a very short span of time, a lot of undesirable stuff happens to her ( you really NEED to read to know what I am talking about) which ultimately forces her to marry a guy at least 50 years older than her, Rasheed.
The narrative is so strong that you would feel that the scene is going on in front of your eyes. Very descriptive and very hefty. There were times while reading when I could actually empathize with Mariam or Laila and feel the pain they felt. A piece of your heart will always go back to the picturization of your favorite tranche whenever you would see this book in anyone’s library.

I cannot give any more details than I already have. It would be unjust to the book and to the first-time readers. A tip though – make yourself flasks of coffee or tea, whatever you prefer, before you sit and start it because there is no way in heaven and hell that you would be able to keep that precious book in your hand down for even a minute.