Thousand Splendid Suns

The first-time author of the international best seller, “The Kite Runner” has again proven his merit with his book, “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. The setting of Khaled Hosseini’s second novel is war-plagued Afghanistan during the Soviet intervention and the coming to power of the Taliban.

Mariam, the illegitimate child of Jalil, a wealthy movie house owner in Kabul, dreams that she and her mother can escape their poverty if only she can be accepted by his family. Her attempt for a reunion is received with scorn from the “real family”. After her mother commits suicide, she, at 15 years of age, reluctantly marries Rasheed, an ugly older man. When she is unable to complete a pregnancy, she is regularly beaten. As forewarned by her mother, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.”

Laila is the second central character in the book. Her father tries to gain political advantage for himself and his relatives in this time of transition from the wealthy land barons, the Russian influence, the Taliban ascendance, and the invasion by the U.S. forces.

Laila becomes sexually involved with her childhood friend, Tariq, a young man who had lost one leg in a land-mine explosion. Pregnant, with her lover in Pakistan and unaware of her condition, Laila panics. To escape the degradation of being an unwed mother, Laila marries and becomes the second wife of the brute, Rasheed. The two women become fast friends. Not only do they share the household and child-rearing duties but they also endure the continuous beatings by Rasheed.

An occurance alters their lives and forces the women to separate.

The author’s writing ability is comparable to our best contemporary writers. Word descriptions such as: “She watched the winds stir mutiny in the dust, whipping it into violent spirals whipped through the courtyard”, and a poem about Kabul: “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs… Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

The story covers forty years of Afghanistan's continuing bloody history. The author does not spare the reader the descriptions of the terror that besieges that country and those who live there. As always, it’s only through devotion to loved ones that the characters transcend the horror around them.

Recent donations to the Columbus Library Foundation include one for Edna Loseke from Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kumpf. The memory of Ruth Warner was honored by a memorial from Mr. and Mrs. Dwayne Smith. Jolaine Nielsen presented a memorial in honor of Pat Trofholz. Loretta Nitz was remembered by a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wahl and Marilyn Zehring presented a memorial in memory of Ray Boss.