Soma Mitra's blog

Thanks for sharing your comments and insights. I hope you enjoyed posting and reading this blog as much as I did.
Can't wait for Hosseini's next book!

Rasheed symbolizes the oppression of women. At first his oppression seems benign but soon he is a danger to Mariam, Laila and Aziza. What might the three women symbolize?

What point is made by the description of the Bamiyan trip? What may the two Buddhas symbolize? (Consider the reality of what happened to the statues in 2001).

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

What does this quotation from Saib-e-Tabrizi's poem tell us about the characters and / or situations in the book? In other words, what is the significance of the title?

As always, please feel free to add your insights and comments.

A Thousand Splendid Suns starts with a term of abuse thrown at one of the protagonists — Mariam — by her mother: "harami." The word means illegitimate and would be deeply hurtful to someone from a culture that prizes patriarchy. To be without her father's name and patronage is Mariam's curse. It shapes her character and her destiny. What is interesting is that despite Jalil Khan's rejection and Nana's warnings, Mariam worships her father. Her feelings for Nana are more ambivalent. Nana's depression and epilepsy make her a difficult parent but she tries to forearm Mariam by telling her, " ... a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always." Mariam will remember this all her life.

1. What does the location (on the outskirts of Gul Daman) of the hut that Nana and Mariam live in tell us about their position in Jalil's life and in the community?
2. What kind of a mother is Nana? Do you believe Nana's account of Mariam's birth?
3. Can we understand Jalil's refusal to see his daughter when she comes to Herat? Could he have been thinking of her welfare by arranging her marriage to Rasheed?
4. What is your take on Mullah Faizullah explanation of Nana's behavior? Is Nana a sympathetic character?

The Reader's Den book discussion for June will be A Thousand Splendid Suns.

According to the book jacket and his website, Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. He moved to the United States in 1980 with his family. He earned a medical degree in 1993 and was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was published in 2003 and became an international bestseller and, later, a successful movie.

His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was published in 2007, and the in-print total for the hardcover is currently over 2,000,000. Hosseini is goodwill envoy for the UNHCR.

Numbers do not lie. Both books are riveting and the author's style is often poetic. Before reading Suns, it may be helpful to read a brief overview of the position of women under the Taliban on the rawa.org website.

Suns is not only addictive fiction but also a revelation for those interested in lesser-known cultures and societies. The two protagonists—Mariam and Laila—remain in the memory long after we put the book down.

I will post discussion questions on June 10 and June 17, and we should be able to wrap up the discussion by June 20.