Book review: Thousand Spledid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Rating: ****1/2
Recommended.
Birth of Mariam, harami, an illegitimate child of Jalil and Nana, suicide of Nana, marriage of 15year old Mariam with old Rasheed, their shift to Kabul, her miscarriages, killings of Laila's brothers, death of Laila’s parents, depart of Tariq, marriage of Laila with Rasheed who is now aging 60, birth of Tariq’s daughter Aziza, delivery of Zalmai, Tariq’s reentry and his story of dead parents, death of Rasheed, death of Mariam, Tariq’s marriage with Laila, travel to Herat, journey back to Kabul-
Any of the commas in above paragraph can be a full stop and still the story be over- but at the end it goes long way. Khaled has no intensions of just giving it up, as dead Afghan story. He drags on.
Assassination of Mohammad Daoud and his family members (April 1978), Saur Revolution, Taraki’s president ship, replacement of religious and traditional laws with Marxism and thus soviet invasion, execution of Mujahideen "holy Muslim warriors" by then government, support and funding of US to these Mujahideen to fight against its cold enemy – the then USSR, the war between soviet union and Mujahideen (from 1979 to almost 1989), Mohammed Najibullah’s acceptance of support from Russia even after they called back the troops, Maktab al-Khidamat and formation of Al-Qaida by Bin Laden, Abdul Rashid Dostum’s take over (in 1992) and subsequent civil war ( led by Burhanuddin Rabbani), emergence of Taliban (from Kandahar) and their links with WTO attack, US war on Taliban –
Any of the commas in above paragraph could have been a full stop and the story of Afghanistan lot better than today’s reality; but it goes long way. Afghanistan awaits those calmer sunrises, where people no longer find pain from the night just had passed, upon awakening.
The author portrays the Afghanistan - as optimistic Laila, flinging the flash of astonishment as she wonders the baby in her womb, now from her lover husband Tariq, if it’s a female- would be named as Mariam, who sees endless joy and content even at lonely home, kolba, back in Herat.
Symbolism used by Khaled, for non medicos may seem extraordinary and for medicos it’s the feel of phantom pain of amptutee.
Tariq, the only male character of the novel with positive energy and enthusiasm for life – is one legged. Author seems to personify the masculinity of the country in his character. He makes every possible efforts to save his mother from the harsh winter in Pakistan including involving in drug trafficking, here author is sensible in not allowing such acts to feed his mother and in tern his motherland. Getting caught, tariq spends 7 years in jail, again helped by a Pakistani, Sayeed, symbolizing there is still good hearted neighbors next to your country. The first baby, that Laila delivers, which is the concept of her beloved (Tariq), is simple vaginal term delivery. The second one, from the husband Rasheed, is preterm with leak pervaginally due to ruptured membranes with breech and she undergoes caesarian section under no anesthesia. Even if the author had choosed vaginal delivery in breech, the after coming head of the breech always take birth by flexion, looking down, and not by extension which is the case in head first (vertex) normal deliveries. This stands as metaphor that the new generation is facing the head down. This is the exceptional case of heroism shown by the mother that she endures the pain of opening her womb through the belly for letting out the second child, mainly for Aziza’s sake. For, Rasheed shouldn’t rip her off, saying she is harami.
Women in the novel may not show the same inner strength or weakness. Leaving the main celebrated characters – Mariam and Laila, many of the other women are weak hearted. Nana, whose life as she put it, only for Mariam, punishes herself severely when Mariam visits her father, Jalil. None of the three wives of Jalil makes heart to accept the motherless Mariam as their step daughter, instead plans to send her to a distant land of Kabul, with the old, cruel, abusive man.
For endurance of women – Mariam Jo and Laila Jo, stands as tall as the midday sun over Afghanistan. Their endurance can be compared to the main character Nanjamma of novel Gruhabhanga, by S.L. Byrappa. Here one can note the characters Mullah Faizullah and Madevayya of the above said novel are similar, except that later is associated with Nanjamma for most part of the later half of novel, whereas Mariam carries Faizullah’s messages and memories till her last breath at Gazi stadium.
Mariam, being harami, will not beget children; she is portrayed as if she has born to save Aziza from illegitimateness. But the way author explains the first motherhood experiences stands no less than any accustomed penmen. The same can be seen in his narrations of fatherhood of Amir in Kite Runner.
The background theme – as other successful authors have used – Khaled has well mastered it and many a times it has proven most fruitful. For eg: when Rasheed and Mariam visit Continental Hotel to have a call to Heart, she looks at Jilebi on the table and thinks of Aziza. After the phone call he picks it and packs for Zalmai. At that time Afghanistan had sever famine and countrymen starving and in the middle of this, the ‘warlords’ were offered all the facilities.
Author had been deeply indented with the thoughts from novel Alchemist and Old man and the Sea, for that he quotes many instances from these two. In one of her infrequent visits to the orphanage, Laila learns that Aziza, her daughter, has stammering for not all words but for the letter ‘t’, foretelling that the story could lead you to Tariq and within few days he arrives. In other instance he directly quotes the story of Ernest Hemingway - Old man and sea, in reference to the Mujahideen reestablishment of war and crime in Kabul.
The important quality of Khaled, which differs him from many other seasoned writers is that his punch lines or quotes are more often the first few lines than the last. Novel opens by telling that Mariam is a harami. When Laila leaves home, one last time, to see Aziza in orphanage, he writes that’s the last time they ever saw each other. Later he gives idea of her confession and public execution. He makes opening comment and lets the reader feel that Abdul Sharif had come to give Laila, the news of Tariq’s death. And so on. He lets out the fact first, later comes the details. At places he has played the reverse of this, leaving the reader gasping for the missing air of the story till the last line. It has worked wonders.
Finally:
Laila couldn’t remember what he said, after they make love.
Tariq had asked – is it hurting you? Or Am I hurting you?
Any one who reads this has the answer.
That the novel - Khaled Hosseini - hurts,
But the true picture of Afghanistan - hurts lot more..
