dear friends,
a month ago, 27th July to be precise, i finished my first book after the ultimate readers and writers block. getting myself back to the world of reading took 1 half read novel, 1 sold book and 4 visits to different libraries throughout my summer break. finally, i achieved the impossible (what i thought at that time) and finished the impossible - reading a book i thoroughly enjoyed. i didn’t just enjoyed the book but cried, slammed my head against wall (like my 1 year old brother), staged imaginary fights to the court in the shower, closed the book and took multiple deep breaths until i started crying, felt joy at the bittersweet portrayals and the moments that stuck with me.
Khaled Hosseini is nothing but a true and honest man. His portrayal of muslim women throughout the country of afghan was the most honest and genuine portrayal i could ever imagine. his portrayal of men and cruelty to women that are still practiced today is beyond anything imaginable. his words pierces through the veins and cuts whoever reads it into a million pieces and glues it back together.
this book is art. it managed to draw flowers in the most darkest places of human history and it shed light in the lives of those who read this with utmost inspiration, awareness and new found respect for women.
the characters were moving. yes, they are dynamic but even more so, they are real. they have resemblance to the women of south asian countries including bangladesh. each incident, each event peeked into the real lives of women and how they are treated. My respect for khaled hosseini goes beyond art but the fact that he, being a man, pointed out the faults of a man and how they treat others is something that should be normalised. men should be held accountable for their faults but also looked at as humans rather than creatures.
the summary of the book mentions the taliban times but even with mapping out the struggles of people during taliban takeover, khaled hosseini has successfully created a story within a story. a story that is heartwarming as well as heart wrecking. this book breaks cultural stereotypes and hypocrisy of men and creates an imagery that every person should create in order to be human.
this is definitely a 5-star read and i highly recommend you to read it!
love,
S
PS: Hope you’re doing well; hope the sun shined on you <3
A good read