Book Report on Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns

This book report provides a comprehensive analysis of Khaled Hosseini's 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. It explores the novel's central themes, including the struggles and hardships faced by women in Afghanistan, the impact of war, and the resilience of the human spirit. The report delves into the lives of key characters such as Mariam and Laila, examining their relationships, experiences, and the societal contexts that shape their destinies. It references critical analyses and reviews to support its interpretations, highlighting Hosseini's narrative techniques and the novel's emotional impact. The report emphasizes the importance of the book as a story of hope, love, and compassion in the face of adversity, making it a compelling read for those interested in exploring these themes and understanding the human condition within a specific historical and cultural context.

Running head: BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
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1BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a well recognised book by Khaled Hosseini. The author is
popular for documenting fiction based on the war of Afghanistan. The story of the book revolves
around the struggles and hardship of women in Afghanistan (Hosseini 2009). The story narrated
in the book takes place between 1960 and 2005 by drawing significant references to the real
events which had taken place in Afghanistan during that time.
The story mentioned in the book by Khaled Hosseini has specifically centred on Mariam
and illegitimate child of Jalil who is the local businessman of a small town in Afghanistan.
Shaikh, Ansari and Memon (2018) while reviewing the book has noted that another major
character in the story is Laila whose father exhibited certain modern attributes which had let her
to achieve education and significant amount of self confidence and dignity for her own self.
However on the other hand the book according to Li and Liu (2017) have shed light on the
hardships experienced by Mariam who had been persistently reminded of her illegitimacy and
consequently perceived as a mistake by others in the society. These unconstructive approach
from others have resulted to a failure in Mariam life who has always seek ok to be accepted and
appreciated. Unlike Laila, Mariam had been incompetent of gaining self confidence and respect
for herself and further fight for her own freedom (Li and Liu 2017). Moreover Laila being self
dependent and confident has been able to who explore a number of taboos mainly related to
premarital sex and in difference and discrimination towards the girl child in the family. At this
point of discussion it is important to focus on Hosseini Idea behind writing this book.
According to Shaikh, Ansari and Memon (2018), Hosseini has primarily focused on
depicting the events of War and its critical impact through these prominent characters. The story
provides an explicit description of the state of Afghanistan when soviets invaded the nation and
while Babrak Karmal established a fake government in addition to the critical situations when

2BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
Taliban acquired the power of the country (Islam 2015). However, all these events have been
explicitly narrated in the form of a fictional narration. The story of Hosseini comprises both a
drama which the readers need well as certain amount of truth and real events in order to shed
light on the critical situations of the country. These factors have led the book to be we truly a
page turner for readers. Meanwhile, Sundaresan, Sumathi and Kolappadhas (2018) while
exploring the book have noted that the narration provided by Hosseini in his book has mainly
explode the two primary characters Laila and Mariam's relationship along with their courage to
remain consistent and strong while facing severe conflict and resistance in their society. It is
important to note that this book itself is a simple one with no exceptional climaxes regarding the
incidence but still has been able to connect every narration through the author's dedication and
way of depicting the lives of the two characters (Hosseini 2009).
Moreover aspects which have led the book of Khaled Hosseini to draw divergences from
other books are that the commitment through which the story has been narrated. While exploring
the story in the book a reader can sensibly visualise every critical incident as it has taken place
and can bond with the pain and suffering of each character as they play out their roles. There are
certain heart-wrenching episodes in the story which will certainly make any reader poignant,
when a friend who waits endlessly, the lover who has been separated with the blink of an eye, for
the mother who has been witnessing her infant to die at her feet can be cited as examples which
will throw light on few real incidents taking place in one country (Tahir 2017).
Thus it is important to note that the book explores Laila and Mariam's challenging life
events and further spreads a message that even when life offers ruthless and brutal challenges,
certain emotions such as love, confidence and compassion can serve decisive role in achieving
the purpose of life (Hosseini 2009). As a result I believe “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is

3BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
undeniably an impressive read who have similar thoughts like me to explore the struggles of
women and ways in which they surpass them while staying strong. By reading the book, I felt
Hosseini’s writing to be quite simple which led me understand all the themes of the book. By the
end, I was left with tears and also a fire within me. To my understanding, the book is a story of
hope and of life with an expected conflict that emerges with living. Thus, I will suggest my peers
to read this inspirational and exceptional tale.

4BOOK REPORT ON A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
References
Hosseini, K., 2009. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Bloomsbury Publishing, pp.50-430.
Islam, D.M.S., 2015. Gender discrimination and the wretched condition of women in Arundhati
Roy’s The God of Small Things and Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. Arts &
Education International Research Journal: ISSN, pp.2349-1353.
Li, S. and Liu, T., 2017, July. On the Miserable Female's Fate from A Thousand Splendid Suns.
In 2017 3rd International Conference on Economics, Social Science, Arts, Education and
Management Engineering (ESSAEME 2017). Atlantis Press.
Shaikh, T., Ansari, K. and Memon, R.A., 2018. Subjugated Status of Muslim Women in
Afghanistan with Reference to Khalid Hosseini’s ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns.’. The Women-
Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies, 10(10).
Sundaresan, S., Sumathi, K. and Kolappadhas, P., 2018. Literature review on Khaled Hosseini’s
“The Kite Runner” and ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ Novel. International Journal of English
Literature and Social Sciences, 3(4), pp.493-502.
Tahir, A., 2017. Periphery versus Centre: A Post-colonial Study of A Thousand Splendid
Suns. An International Refereed Journal of English Language and Literature, 4(1), p.224.