A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Mariam is a harami living in Afganistan. In other words, she is an illegitimate child. Her father is a rich man who has sent Mariam and her mother to live in the outskirts of the city, far away from him, his real family and home. After some unfortunate circumstances Mariam's father marries her off to Kabul, to Rasheed, a man much older than she. Mariam has no choice but to submit to a life of obedience and abuse because as a wife, she is the property of her husband and he's free to do as he pleases. Two decades later, to Mariam's dismay, Rasheed takes on another wife - Laila - young and pretty. It takes some time for the two ladies to grow to love each other but once they do, things start to happen.

I'm so ashamed to say that it's taken me this long to pick up this book! There's no excuse but I loved The Kite Runner so much that I wasn't ready for a while to read anything by Khaled Hosseini in case it didn't live up to my expectations.

Since the after-effects of The Kite Runner were still lingering, it took me some time to get into the story. But soon I was emphatizing with the characters and hoping that the opressed would find a way to empower themselves. The story is devastating and it will stay with the reader even after the last words. But it is also a story of hope and love. The book is also insightful in painting a picture of Afganistan and what the country has been going through for the last three decades or so. Hosseini is a gifted storyteller and if you haven't read his books yet, now is the time to start!