"A Thousand Splendid Suns": A book Review

              This is an absolutely beautiful glimpse that offers a glimpse on a part of the world that we here in the West do not often hear about. In the process of getting to know the mysterious nation of Afghanistan during what just might have been it's most tragic chapter in the very long history of this nation. A nation where powerful empires have tried to invade, and always seemed to meet with the same lack of success. It happened to Ghengis Khan, it happened to the British. More recently, it happened to the Soviet Union, in a war that is often credited with really going a long way towards ending the Soviet empire. Now, of course, this book may be of special interests to the West, and particularly to Americans, who are themselves an empire, and who find themselves fighting their own war here – a war that is hardly clearly being won by Americans, at least at this point in time.

            Yet, Afghanistan was not always a land of tragedy, as it seems to be considered these days. It has been torn apart by war for decades now, and many there have never known anything but war. Yet, there were times when the country was a more peaceful place, and that country that had once been a more peaceful and prosperous version of Afghanistan is the background to the opening of this book by Khaled Hosseini, who also authored the very popular book turned movie, "The Kite Runner".

            This was a different Afghanistan, well before the country made the wrong kind of headlines. Before the Soviets came in during their famous invasion, which would become, ultimately, their own Vietnam, a war that they got mired and bogged down in. A war that they just could not win. Prior to that, Afghanistan was not a rich nation, but it was a relatively peaceful nation where some enjoyed a level of affluence and what we might consider sophistication. There were traditions, including, yes, flying kites during the winter time. But it was a different nation, fare more peaceful. A land tucked away well inland in Asia, and not easily accessible with all of it's rugged mountain peaks and passes. In Kabul, Afghanistan's largest city, as well as it's capital, there were modern people, including modern women in Western dress and sophistication, with important jobs and lives. A far cry from the Afghanistan that the world has come to know since, of course.

            We learn that the Soviets actually brought some measure of progress. All citizens were considered equal, and women enjoyed perhaps their highest status that they had known in the country's history.

            Enter the Taliban. I had heard that the people of Afghanistan had looked upon th Taliban almost as heroes, because they brought a measure of stability to a land that had known only the divisions and chaos of war. Hosseini, however, really illustrates how the Taliban, though far from ideal, were nonetheless an attractive enough option for Afghanis that they were willing to cheer them on upon entering the capital city. They were unified, rather than just being a warring faction that seemed to shoot indiscriminately at the city down below the mountains. These were young, though largely uneducated, kids. Boys. When they took over, they seemed to have a swagger about them, and they wanted to leave their fingerprint on the land that they had just taken over.

            There were harsh measures under the newly introduced sharia laws (rigid Islamic laws). Everyone had to pray five times a day, or you could get beaten. All men had to grow beards that were longer than fist length, or you could be ebaten –and yes, they had men driving around in pick up trucks with guns, on the lookout for clean shaven men to beat up. Among the many things that were now strictly forbidden were television, singing, dancing, chess, playing cards, writing books, or anything associated with pictures, including films. Being caught stealing once would cost you a hand, and twice would cost you a foot. Later on, in spring of 2001, anyone who was not a Muslim had to wear a yellow identifying badge, which seems almost eerily similar to Jews in Germany and eventually across Europe having to wear those yellow Stars of David to identify them as Jews back in the 1930's and 1940's. It should come as no surprise that th Taliban had some other similarities with the Nazis, since both enjoyed their trademark harshness and iron grip over the land. Museums were plundered, and works of art deemed impure were destroyed, including, naturally, some works of art and historical artifacts that were centuries, even millennia, old. Perhaps the most famous of these incidents would be the destruction by dynamite of the centuries old, large Buddhist statues in Bamiyan. They had chanted "Allah-u-akbar" after each blast. Books were also burned in Afghanistan, except, of course, for the Koran.

            All of that was very harsh, of course. But it was worse if you were a woman, because all of your rights were stripped away. Women were urged to "stay inside your homes at all times", at the risk of being beaten and sent home. They could not show their face, wear jewelry or make up, they could not dress up or speak until spoken to, or laugh in public. If you got caught wearing nail polish, it would cost you a finger. Girls could not attend school, and women were not allowed to work. Women guilty of adultery would be stoned to death.

            It was not always this way in Afghanistan. In fact, historically speaking, it granted women the right to vote back in 1965, something that not all Muslim nations ever managed to do (look it up if you don't believe me).

            This book is a beautifully written work of fiction that puts the reader in the shoes of two women in particular, and shows not only all of these changes that Afghanistan went through, and their effects on the people (particularly the women), but also shows the hopelessness and powerlessness of women in Afghanistan, as well, perhaps, as a glimpse as to why things are the way they are there now, as well as in other Islamic countries that receive far less publicity – such as Saudi Arabia, where there is a strict separation of the sexes in what some have called "sexual apartheid". Saudi Arabia does not restrict this to merely the sexes, but to religious beliefs, as well. Those who are not Muslim live separately from Muslims, and there are highways that only a Muslim can drive on (seriously, look this up if you can't believe it).

            The first woman is named Mariam, and we catch our first glimpse of her as a teenage girl, disgruntled by her bitter mother, and living her father more, although her father keeps her at a distance, since she is "illegitimate" – the product of a scandalous affair. She enjoys the company of her father, however, and is sure that he would accept her if she went with him into his city, to what seems like his dream home, farther away from home than she has ever been. When she sneaks off one day to surprise visit him, the results are not what she expects, and before long, she finds herself being forced into an arranged marriage with a much older man, Rasheed, who brings her to his home in Kabul, where her inability to bring him a baby – particularly a son – ends the honeymoon period between the, and begins that part of the marriage where she is merely an object to vent his considerable frustrations on.

            We move on to the other major character, this one a girl who finds herself in love with Tajik, a handsome boy who has lost a leg during the course of the war with the Soviets, after stepping on a mine. He is charming, and she has always had feelings for him. In fact, they are drawn to each other, and seem destined to be together.

            Of course, this is not a fairy tale, and so they do not end up together in this book. She does get married, and her story is in fact very similar to that of Mariam. Before long, they really get to meet each other and see each other for who they are, and they become the closest of friends. They grow to love one another.

            Hosseini does a wonderful job with this book, working slowly and taking his time to both build up expectations, then dash them with sudden speed and ferocity. For example, Mariam's first impression of Rasheed are negative, and she seems almost horrified by him. Eventually, he becomes more human, and almost likable. Then eventually, we see him for the true monster that he is, as strong a representation of extreme male chauvinism as could be in a fictional character. Hosseini manages this in pretty and illustrative prose. Through his wonderfully crafted words, he is able to highlight the positives and the negatives of Afghanistan, to describe the natural wonders and beauty of the land,

            How easy is it to do away with these things and usher in what most around the world would consider progress? Well, consider this; in 2009, new laws were passed that essentially stripped women of many of the rights that had been restored to them (at least in theory) after the fall of the Taliban. So, how much has realty changed, and how much of the old prejudiced mindset has been done away with, really? That remains open to debate. From an outside perspective, it certainly does not seem like all that much has changed at all. But, I am not an Afghani, and never been anywhere near Afghanistan, so I hardly can profess to be an expert, or anything.

          Yet, this work nevertheless allows a glimpse into a country that is itself largely a mystery to those of us on the outside. Afghanistan is a country that, perhaps, we really should know more about, since we are fighting a war there. All of these wars in places that most Americans hardly know how to spell of properly pronounce the name of, let alone locate on a map. It is, in fact, an interesting country to learn more about, and this is a very easy and well-crafted book that allows you to do so. It is a wonderful work of fiction that blends real history with a heartbreaking story that offers unique glimpses and truths about life in Afghanistan during it's turbulent recent history. I would strongly recommend this one!