A Thousand Splendid Suns
I first heard about Khaled Housseini through a blogger’s review of his first book The Kite Runner. The blogger revealed quite a bit of the storyline, which put me off reading the book itself (which is why I try to be careful not to reveal too much when I write about books). But the story had sounded really interesting, so I was looking forward to reading his second book. And I was not disappointed! As one of the blurb pointed out, Khaled Housseini is a masterful storyteller. His story flows smoothly, and keeps readers eager to know what happens next. A Thousand Splendid Suns (available for book swap) tells the story of Afghanistan (in the span of about 30 years) seen from the eyes of two ladies, Maryam and Laila. The stories of Maryam and Laila are themselves intensely moving, but I’m also quite glad to understand a bit more on what was happening in Afghanistan. Reading this novel, I feel grateful for the abundance of nikmat that I have, not least peace and stability.
I like Khaled Housseini’s narration so much that I now found myself wanting to read The Kite Runner, despite my former reservation. I’m now certain the few spoilers I've read is negligible compared to the treasure I will find. And ‘the prudent bookaholic’ in me starts asking, can anyone lend me The Kite Runner? ;p
12 comments:
imho, the kite runner is much better than this one. tapi sorry la.. i dun have a copy.
i haven't read the kite runner too.
sedang cuba menghabiskan middlesex jenuh tak habis2.
and i agree with you. Khaled housseini is a great narrator.
After i've read the book then only i understands a bit about Afghanistan.
kite runner? not my taste :P
thousand splendid suns? best. unpredictable. but as i told others, macam bash taliban je, tu yang tak berapa suka sgt tu.
kite runner, mcm very cliche. boleh agak storyline macam mana. lepas tu tak suka lah cerita fasal sexual abuse ih, euw..
intan saleh,
kalau *much* better, harus lah dibeli hehe..
wawa,
middlesex tu cerita apa pulak? kalau non-fiction, sy pun selow smcm, tak habis2.. tapi kalau fiction, laju sikit..
ummu auni afif,
i'm aware of the sexual abuse bit, and that's actually one reason why i chose not to read it dulu, maybe i'll skip that part hmm.. as for taliban, i take it with 'a pinch of salt'. this view is the author's view, but there are other sides to the story..
salam. hi kak, sy zahrah, yg nk tanye akk pasal shell tu :D
teringin nak tulis kat sini. sy ada the kite runner. i'd say thousand splendid suns lg best, maybe sbb kisah ttg wanita, rs dekat di hati. but kite runner is not bad tho. i like both ;)
middlesex tu fiction, pasal khunsa.
lahir as a girl, then dah besar baru ciri2 kelekaian tu timbul.
ni recommende by oprah's book club.
however narration diua tu buat saya separa pening, so jadi slow reader la kejap.
zahrah,
welcome :) (eh, segan pulak akak rasa) zahrah ada buku the kite runner? tempting nya nak pinjam.. you're right, ttss dekat di hati sbb isu berkaitan wanita..
btw, kalau nak tanya apa-apa (pasal shell), do email me at mynie dot mat at gmail
wawa,
sounds interesting, tapi mmg gaya penceritaan plays very important role. teringat cubaan sy baca buku lord of the rings di'bantut'kan even after dah 100 pages sbb 'tak paham'.. tapi bila tengok movies dia, mmg best sgt..
now i feel like reading it too.. :) cuma sekarang ni akak banyak baca buku melayu compared to english, sebab hari-hari baca academic journals, semua english! anyway, will keep your review in mind.
mynie, kita runner plays a bit around that. i mean the core of the stories involved around two best friends. the hero's friend was sexually abused, his son was abused too.
tak berapa suka, sbb byk sangat bash taliban. compared to a thousand splendid suns. lagipun khaled hosseini was raised in america, i sure bet, he will bash taliban, like certain americans.
anyway, i learned an interesting fact, my lecturer migrated from sudan, but he always keep abreast on current affairs, particularly regarding the middle east. he told us an interesting fact, he read one publication (an independent research done, i believe by the americans themselves), the survey found that 87% of women in afghanistan(under the taliban reign), feels much better and happier after taliban took over (compared to pre taliban days). eh? kita selalu ingat they may feel opressed, dengan pakai burqa and all that stuffs, but i think that maybe they feel safer compared to before. interesting, isn;t it? it's like looking at something from other perspective
ipohmom,
i think i have increased my reading in bm, but i need to increase my writing in bm too! dahlah kat tpt kerja mmg 100% english.. nanti berkarat pula bm ku. p/s: if you want to read this book, we can swap :)
ummu auni afif,
actually reading this book made me look from 'the other perspective'. i hvnt read the kite runner yet, tp this one takdelah taliban-bashing sgt2 rasanya. dia gambarkan both women characters ni suka the anonymity of wearing the burqa. i think dia try juga pisahkan apa yang individu buat don't necessarily represent the bigger kumpulan etc..
i think what khaled hosseini is trying to do is to show americans that afghanis are real people too (not just a country of terrorist as campaigned by bush).
the abuse part in kite runner is a fact of life- happens everyday, happens a lot in war, so i think the more we know the more we will be aware of it.
haven't read much about taliban, and haven't met anybody that can share unbiased experience under taliban ruling, but if the part in ATSS about the hosp when laila gave birth is true, i think that is inhumane.
bas,
- i agree with you i think he's attempting to humanise down to the grassroot level
- on the abuse, i admit to sometimes trying to 'avoid' harsh realities, not very pragmatic i'm afraid
- i also think the hosp bit (if true) is quite inhumane
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