Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 367
Where I found the book: I was looking in the library for a book for the ORB and saw this book on one of the shelves so I decided to read it.
Brief Summary: This story starts off with a girl named Mariam. She lived with her mother, whose husband left them. Mariam’s father was a very wealthy man who had a few wives. Mariam loved her father so much, but her mother hated him and told Mariam to stay away from him. When Mariam runs away from her mother to be with her dad, she finds out that her father is ashamed of her and doesn’t want people to see them in public. When Mariam is driven back home to her mother, she discovered that her mother hung herself due to the fact that Mariam left her. That’s when Mariam ends up going to live with her father. But her dad doesn’t want her and finds a 40-year-old man who would marry Mariam. When the older man comes to pick Mariam up, she thought her father would stand up for her, but he doesn’t, and Mariam leaves. That’s when her real troubles and pains begin.
Audience for this book: I would recommend this book for people who are more mature and who would be able to take the realities of the world seriously.
Author’s writing style: The author uses a descriptive writing style in this story.
“He owned a cinema, which Mariam had never seen, but at her insistence Jalil had described it to her, and so she knew that the façade was made of blue-and-tan terra-cotta tiles, that it had private balcony seats and a trellised ceiling.” (Page 5)
Three passages:
“Actually, your father has already given Rasheed his answer,” Afsoon said. “Rasheed is here, in Herat; he has come all the way from Kabul. The nikka will be tomorrow morning, and then there is a bus leaving for Kabul at noon.” (page 45)
This quote really struck me because it shows here that in this culture, the parents have the right to find the men for the men to marry. It shows that women don’t have too many rights.
The rope dropping from a high branch. Nana was dangling at the end of it. (page 34)
This quote really struck me because I didn’t think Mariam’s mother was actually serious when she said she “I’ll die if you go. I’ll just die.”
“No. No,” she said. “Don’t come. I won’t see you. Don’t you come. I don’t want to hear from you. Ever. Ever. (page 50)
This quote really struck me because it showed how the connection between Mariam and her father has changed dramatically. In the beginning of the book, she couldn’t wait to see her father. The only thing she wanted to do was see him and to be with him. But as time goes on, she finds out he is ashamed of her and doesn’t want to be with him at all.
My interactions with the book:
When reading this book, I begin to realize how kids really live in other parts of the world. Here, in America, mostly every kid has a place to sleep and food to eat. But in other places, kids sleep on the streets and steal in order to eat. I could relate Mariam to the kids I have been with in Russia. Mostly none of them have parents and they don’t have many things in their life like we do.
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I have not read this book, but after reading the summary I think that this book would be a good and interesting read. I think I would enjoy reading it because it could give me some insight on how other people live in the world. I also think I would see how it would feel to experience such heartbreaks, such as your mother hanging herself because you had left her to be with your father who was only ashamed of you. The third passage almost makes me happy that Mariam finally realized how her dad saw her, and this seemed to make her not want to be around him anymore. I think I would have experienced sort of the same feelings because I could relate Mariam to people in this society who are living without a father figure or in poverty. Amanda Tesini
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the summary, I think I would like to go to the library and rent it out and read it because the story sounds very interesting. It was sad how Mariam had to deal with family separation and also see her mother commit suicide. it's ironic how his father is ashamed of his daughter. Also how he didn't care if she had married a 40 year old man. This book relates to the world because some people are living the life same as Mariam who are barely surviving without food and living in poverty.
ReplyDeleteYong Kim
After reading the summary of this book, I think that this book would be a very good and interesting book.This book sounds very sad at the same time. Its really sad how Mariam really liked her father but he didn't in return. Usually parents are by their kids sides but not Mariam's father.I could relate this book to the world because there are other kids that have or live the same life as Mariam. There are people who these days who barely surviving without food and many other things.
ReplyDelete-Rosina Sinigur