A Thousand Splendid Suns

Last night, I finished reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini. Wow. It really was an amazing book. It was disturbing, poignant, funny, hopeful, and, in the end, thoroughly satisfying.

There was a part in the book that reminded me of 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood, but was even more disturbing because I knew it was real. Where 'The Handmaid's Tale' stirred me with the picture it painted of a life that could be if the religious right let the course it wishes to take run to its natural end (and, similarly for science in her book, 'Oryx and Crake'), 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' hit me harder as it painted, in the guise of a fictional tale of two Afghani women, a portrait of the real lives and trials of countless Afghani men, women, and children.

It is impossible to come out of the experience of reading this story without finding your faith shaken, your convictions questioned, and your self-assurance in tact that you are doing enough to make the world a better place for having had you in it (my personal guiding principle).

I am grateful to live in America, to be a woman here, living a privileged, comfortable life (and feel horribly guilty complaining about my kids having a snow day, taking away from my 'me time'; how selfish and shallow can I be?!) My children are a blessing. Being able to leave the house whenever I like, with or without a male relative, without fear for my life; being married to a man who respects me, who doesn't see me as his property, and who supports my desire and need to work; living in a land where all my family and friends are not being killed nor their homes destroyed by war. These things are not a part of my reality.

I know there are places in the US where life is not so easy, and perhaps I should start by trying to change the world a little closer to home.

The challenge in this story is to come out of reading this book without denouncing Islam. How could anyone - any woman - have faith in a religion that relegates them to second-class citizens? But the Koran doesn't do that, does it? As with any religion (and I denounce them all equally), the basic tenets respect all people equally. It is the manipulation of the words that people use to further their own selfish desires that leads to religious wars. The bastardization of the 'word of God' allows you to put aside logic and human decency in order to maintain the laws of god. You act against your own conscience - killing others - in the name of 'the ends justify the means'.

This is my issue with war. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I once read, which I am paraphrasing:

Fighting wars to promote peace
is like having sex to promote virginity

And yet, after reading this story, I am not so sure the ends didn't justify the means. I was relieved when the US got involved (even though I knew it was coming, I couldn't remember the exact timeline). I understand why Hillary Clinton supported the war initially. I understand why pulling out altogether may not be the best course of action.

But mostly, I await Khaled Hosseini's next book to learn more about a country I honestly knew very little about before.

And it is my fervent hope that, some day soon, this book becomes required reading in high schools across America.