A Thousand Splendid Suns

I finally finished the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I think it is by far the best and most tragic book I've ever read.

This is a gripping story about 2 women who lived in Afghanistan - how their separate lives came to be intertwined and how they found solace in each other in a really grim time. This book is a page turner. Unexpected events kept me reading on and beautiful descriptions spurred my imagination. I could most definitely imagine the setting of the story and feel for the characters. Never before had a book made me tear and this book did just that.

I felt for Mariam most. She was a young lady full of ambitions and inspirations, yet she was dealt a cruel blow by reality when she realised what her mother said had all been true and it wasn't because she was bitter about what she had gone through. I wished there was a better ending to Mariam's life, that she managed to break the mold of a typical woman in Afghanistan or at least break free of the life she was 'destined' to lead from the beginning, but sadly, she did not. However, I applaud her bravery for killing the husband she shared with Laila and taking the responsibility for it to free Laila so she and her children could have a new lease of life.

After this book, I appreciate what I have much, much more.

I'm so glad I was born and live in a safe and nice place like Singapore and do not have to fear for my life every single day. I can walk the streets without worrying that a bomb may hit me and send me flying up a tree. I do not have to worry for my family and friends when I do not see them.

I'm glad I do not have to share my husband with other women and endure malicious attacks by him. I'm glad I'm respected by him and am not looked upon as if I'm worthless like a cockroach.

I'm glad I do not have to be separated from my children because a war has made me too poor to feed them.

Sometimes, people who have it good don't realise what they have until they lose it. I hope there will never be such a day for me.