Hosseini's Sun Still Shines

The brilliance of Khaled Hosseini’s first novel ‘The Kite Runner’ has led many to assume that his follow up novel couldn’t possibly be as good. I’m ashamed to say that until recently I tended towards this viewpoint too; it seemed that Hosseini’s early success was as much due to international politics as to his own literary skill.

However, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ is stunning. The compelling voices of the two female protagonists completely blew me away. In fact, I was so engrossed in their stories on a particularly long train journey that it took me a while to notice the other passengers staring at me as I sobbed my way through Chapter 29, and, if I’m being honest, 46, 47 and 48 too.

In ‘The Kite Runner’ Hosseini subtly built a complex narrative around one childhood relationship. Using the same skills in his newest offering he weaves together the lives of two very different women who eventually find sanctuary in each other. I was extremely impressed that a male author, even one as talented as Hosseini, could create such engaging and credible female characters.

In the journey towards adulthood Mariam and Laila maintain integrity as characters even as the childish ideals they stand for are destroyed by the situation of women in Afghanistan. I was relieved to find that the novel did not rant against the practice of veiling, but rather against particular men who use it as a device of control. In fact both women, even the particularly Westernised Laila, seem to find some comfort in the burkha: its anonymity provides protection from other problems the women face.

The heartfelt sparks of hope throughout ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ are a testament to Hosseini’s claim that it was “a labour of love”. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this novel, as well as its predecessor, is Afghanistan itself. This is not the flat view of TV news, rather a damaged, but still beloved, homeland steeped in history and culture.

‘Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats’

"Kabul", by the 17th-century Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizi. English translation by Josephine Davis.

Hosseini claims that working with Afghan refugees and the UNHCR is the most meaningful experience of his life. To help, visit: www.UNrefugees.org

* My only problem with Hosseini is that his name is never written without the accompaniment of ‘Afghan author’. Surely his books should stand for themselves, do his publicists really think we need to be reminded that his homeland is a war zone every five minutes in order to appreciate them? *