“I know you’re still young but I want you to understand and learn this now. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You’re a very very bright girl. Truly you are. You can be anything you want Laila. I know this about you. And I also know that when this war is over Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men maybe even more. Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated Laila. No chance.”
A Thousand Splendid Suns– Khaled Hosseini
I adore reading, there is little better than being absorbed into a fictional world by an author’s words. However, the setting of A Thousand Splendid Suns is all too real. Set in Afghanistan between the 1960s and 2003, the novel reveals the truth behind a culture which is often portrayed in the media with a negative light. Following two female characters, Mariam and Laila, Hosseini comments on the reality of being a woman in Taliban ruled Afghanistan. Although a story of huge loss, the love and hope expressed by the characters lifts the book and I promise, this is a novel which will capture your imagination as it did mine.
*****
betty's words 