I love to read but for the last good 10 years I’ve not made time for it. I’m changing that because I find myself thirsting for a good read. There are few things in life better than a book that grabs your attention, stimulates your imagination and stirs your emotions. When I was young I would finish a book no matter how dull it turned out to be. Not now. My time is precious and, unfortunately or not, my attention is limited. If a book doesn’t touch me in the first chapter, forget it. I’ll move on.
I joined Shelfari and Library Thing but, I confess, have not really kept up with them like I should, although it’s nice to visit occasionally and read reviews from other book-lovers.
I recently finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini which I devoured. This is the most engrossing book I’ve read in a long time. A. Long.Time.
The story is set in Afghanistan’s last 30 years in history – from the Soviet occupation to post-Taliban. It’s the life of two Afghani women and their experiences as women who are considered property of their fathers and husbands. It’s the story of Miriam who was born a “harami” – a bastard, in english terms – and her childhood of deprivation and isolation, about her being forced into a marriage at 15 to a much older man. It’s about her acceptance of her lot in life, her courage in perseverence and, ultimately, her love and sister-hood to Laila, the other woman in the story.
Miriam and Laila’s stories have disparate beginnings but, as their lives entertwine, they discover a common ground and a common reason for enduring their fate together. I don’t want to say too much here because I really want you to read this book. I *highly* recommend it.
When I began this book, I thought of this blog by a woman, Frida, who has spent the last 3 years of her life working with the war-ravaged people of Afghanistan. Her blog is amazing. She has recently finished her work there but I recommend reading the archives of her blog. Great reading. She also has a Flickr site with pix of Afghani citizens…the faces are haunting.
Read this book. Read this blog. Look at these pictures. Realize how lucky we in America are. You might think that statement is simplistic but I believe simplicity is truth.
I read this book when it first came out and it moved me so much. It was really a heart-wrenching story because I could imagine hundreds and thousands of real women in Afghanistan who have lived through similar experiences. So sad.
By: Lisa on January 31, 2008
at 7:17 pm
[...] her parents and still had family and friends there at the time of the war. My recent reading of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the story of two women’s lives in war-torn Afghanistan, reminded me again of the effects of [...]
By: V-Day Superlove Panel: Women in Conflict Zones « casa de Charlotte della luna on March 20, 2008
at 10:21 pm