About the book
“A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated…”
“Learn this now and learn it well. Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.”
The book was written by Khaled Hosseini in the early 2000s about woman’s life and suffering in Afghanistan with fiction and a touch of reality.
The story revolves around two women Mariam and Laila. their tragedy and sorrow and yet their resilience would give you hope even in the darkest of days.
The story is narrated from Laila and Mariam’s point of view through the entire book. Mariam is an illegitimate child living with her mother , for that little girl she’s not aware of the doomed fate that awaits her. Being married at a very young age she takes up the role of a homemaker and shapes her to fit that mold.
On the other hand , we meet Laila, the beautiful kid which we see growing up and go through various traumas of life that one would not wish on their enemies too. She came from a supportive family whose father believed in equality for all and preaches the same. She was from a somewhat happy family with a dysfunctional mother but yet Laila found her ways to be happy.
Through various circumstances, Laila and Mariam’s lives intertwined, and both the women find a sense of friendship, warmth and togetherness with each other and from there unfolds a story of finding peace and love for themselves.
My Opinion & Thoughts
Rating- 4.5/5
Hosseini has written this piece beautifully with characters who are flawed and yet shows the character development. Their happiness would make you happy and their plight would make you sad too. Even though written in a fictional world it portrays Afghanistan accurately , it’s culture and people and how the country is evolving for the worse.
The women there live under a patriarchal world with no relief . Right to education looks like a far-fetched dream for them as they are not even allowed to speak. I believe when Mr. Hosseinni wrote this piece he’d have expected better times for the women of the world
The women there live under a patriarchal world with no relief . Right to education looks like a far-fetched dream for them as they are not even allowed to speak. I believe when Mr Hosseinni wrote this piece he’d have expected better times for the women of the world
You and I both hold dreams. It’s a privilege which I realized late. It’s unfortunate that we still read about such a situation in the news and see it in our surroundings from our glass windows . How did humans become so cruel and fragile? A woman having dreams and hopes endangers their entire social fabric but not the atrocities they commit against the same women.
The book was published in 2007 although a fictional story it highlighted the plight of women living there and what they had to endure on a day to day basis. With time you’d think things would have changed . It’s been 18 years since then and somehow the country has managed to be more regressive. The women there are now not allowed to speak loud so as to avoid another male from hearing them, no education for them which possess a broader issue for them regarding their healthcare and other issues. They are still not treated equally as their male counterparts and should be accompanied by a male member whenever going out of the home (if only the male member allows them).
Shelf Indulgence 
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