The title of the book comes from a beautiful poem on Kabul, written by the Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizii. Below is a translation by Dr. Josephine Barry Davis which captures the essence of the poem.
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Mastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures
The book tells a moving story about the power of friendship
and love, the bonds that tie or break a family, and people's struggle to survive in war-torn Afghanistan. Underlying this, is a tale of love for one’s country, despite the trails of thorns and the gusts of powdered soil that sting
one’s eyes, as mentioned in the poem. The poet’s reference to these travails
become allegoric expressions of what the country had to go through during the
period that the book is set in. Hosseini describes how beneath the several
layers of difficulties and complexities in the lives of Afghani people, lies true
beauty of their hearts - like the light from a "thousand splendid suns”. Hosseini’s
intimate and at times, graphic account of Afghanistan in turmoil, leaves readers
with a deep sense of compassion, especially for the Afghani women, who had to
endure oppression and domination in the hands of men around them.
The main story is about two women brought
together by a twist of destiny; Mariam, born out of wedlock to a wealthy man
who does not give her pride of place in his family, and Laila, the cherished daughter of an
intellectual, who encourages her to pursue education and become independent.
The story shows how the two from such varied backgrounds were still "born of this same dust" as they
both strive to understand their fates, realize their love for each other, and
stand by their heritage and their people. The thorns in their lives did not
silence them as they both struggled to help each other and their legacy.
Characters in this book, much like his previous
book, the Kite Runner, can be starkly categorized as good and bad, almost as in
fairy tales. This seems far removed from reality where most people are neither
extremely bad nor extremely good, but fall somewhere in between.
I also felt that while Hosseini’s description of
the political events in the country is informative, it is difficult to judge
where he exercises a writer’s freedom to stray from real history. I wondered
if through use of melodrama, he has, at
times, pushed his point of view, while making the readers believe that as an
event in history.
I would still highly recommend this book for it
is a story extremely well told and it stays with you for days even after you
finish reading it.
For my synopsis of the book, click below:
For my synopsis of the book, click below:
