A Thousand Splendid Suns in Reader with a Cause

Apr 14, 2025 Bing Xuan rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book came out of nowhere and shattered my heart into pieces. I am so grateful to have read this book in all its beauty, sadness, tribulations, and uplifting spirit.

This is a book that chronicles the experiences of two women, Mariam and Laila, under the patriarchal society of Afghanistan, where they face hardship, abuse, and marital rape even before the arrival of the Taliban. Throughout the novel, rampant misogyny can be seen: underaged marriage, marital rape, domestic violence, all of whic This book came out of nowhere and shattered my heart into pieces. I am so grateful to have read this book in all its beauty, sadness, tribulations, and uplifting spirit.

This is a book that chronicles the experiences of two women, Mariam and Laila, under the patriarchal society of Afghanistan, where they face hardship, abuse, and marital rape even before the arrival of the Taliban. Throughout the novel, rampant misogyny can be seen: underaged marriage, marital rape, domestic violence, all of which both Mariam and Laila are subjected to. Not only that, we get glimpses into the toiling history of Afghanistan: the warring factions, the constant turmoil and distress in a war-torn society, the oppressive rule of the Taliban that dictates the way people dress themselves in public, the media they consume, and the truncated lives, autonomy, and dreams of women. Perhaps the most powerful element of A Thousand Splendid Suns is the fact that the narrative is so intensely grafted onto the women's perspectives: Mariam and Laila. We as readers never leave their side because in this story, they are prioritized, despite being placed in an environment where their needs are insufficiently met, where talking back to their husband could warrant his hand around their throats.

Both Laila and Mariam, even Nana - who was emotionally absent and dismissive of her daughter Mariam, are victims of patriarchal rule: the emotional manipulation of men casting women to the sidelines, to rural villages, after using them for sex, the social stigma set up to shame children born out of wedlock, the normalisation and social acceptance of underage marriage of a girl to a stranger 30 years older than her, the sexual intercourse with an adult male that Mariam is forced to submit to despite being afraid, despite never being taught the proper boundaries or necessity of consent because the voices that protect women rarely exist in an environment like this, the endurance of Mariam and Laila living with their violent, mercurial, abusive husband, Rasheed, often being subjected to slaps, punches, beatings, humiliation, starvation and confinement.

At the heart of this novel, however, lies unyielding hope, where both women's endurance under hardship and grief are a testament to their strength. The novel never lets itself drown in its own heavy themes like A Little Life does, it never feels emotionally draining despite being so bleak. Because A Thousand Splendid Suns is suffused with so much love: there is the quiet love that Laila holds for her father, the intense, passionate love that Laila shares with Tariq, the love of motherhood that Laila has for Aziza and Zalmai, and the burgeoning love of friendship between Mariam and Laila. In the insurmountable face of hardship, both women never concede despite endless failings to escape the continuous physical abuse from Rasheed - they talk back, they fight back, they find happiness in one another's company, they find ways to evade the Taliban, they make sacrifices for the well-being of their children. The women take up the chores, the hard work of giving birth and C-section without anaesthetics, the caring for their children. Mariam and Laila find solace in one another, and in Aziza, who, despite growing up witness to domestic abuse and trauma, remains brilliant and hopeful and strong.

In 400 pages, A Thousand Splendid Suns manages to maintain a tense, brisk pace, leaving space for quiet moments, capturing not just the gut-wrenching experiences of women under the rule of the Taliban, but also interestingly, the experiences of men growing up in such environments - that patriarchy damages both women and men. We see Laila's highly-educated father Babi, characterized by those around him as effeminate, reserved, shy, nothing like a proper man. And yet Babi is a healthy representation of masculinity as he champions for the rights and the importance of women in Afghanistan, and he chooses to prioritize Laila's education over marriage. Babi never raises his voice to make a point, never raises his fists to end conflicts with his reclusive wife, Laila's mother. Another facet of masculinity that is explored is through Tariq, who loves Laila quietly, and is nearly lured by the violent seduction of other men in the streets who smoke, who act like they own the road, culminating in Tariq threatening a young boy for his blanket so that he could help his own mother. In the end however, Tariq displays softness when reunited with Laila, when he cares for her children. One last representation of how toxic masculinity can be nurtured is in Zalmai, who reveres his abusive father, Rasheed, despite loving his mother, Laila. Zalmai grows up being doted on by Rasheed, tending to disobey Mariam and Laila, but never condones Rasheed's violent actions. As the novel ends, he begins to like Tariq as a father as well.

While this book could have handled the dissemination of the historical chronology in Afghanistan a little less awkwardly, and could have developed Mariam and Laila's relationship a little deeper, people can take away a lot from this novel. Not just emotional resonance and empathy, but awareness of the dire situations of women in regressive countries where genital mutilation and banning from schools still occur for girls, and an awareness of children's experience in war-torn countries like the situation in Gaza. If the scenes of motherly love and endurance under hardship do not move you, if the last scene with Mariam accepting the worthiness and beauty of her life still do not move you, rest assured: the last line of A Thousand Splendid Suns will rip your heart out with all-consuming love, sorrow, happiness, and hope for a better future.

'She wished she could visit Mariam’s grave, to sit with her awhile, leave a flower or two. But Laila sees now that it doesn’t matter. Mariam is never very far. She is here, in these walls they’ve repainted, in the trees they’ve planted, in the blankets that keep the children warm, in these pillows and books and pencils. She is in the children’s laughter. She is in the verses Aziza recites and in the prayers she mutters when she bows westward. But, mostly, Mariam is in Laila’s own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance of a thousand suns.'

'But the game involves only male names. Because, if it’s a girl, Laila has already named her.' ...more

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