Phil was right about A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalad Hosseini. It's a powerful book that presents an eye-opening picture about the place of women in countries ruled by today's Islamic law. I also recommend it—with the warning that it's not light or fun reading.
From what Phil said, I expected emotional power. What I need not expect—and was overjoyed to find—was a truly engrossing story. One theory of building plot is that the writer chases his hero, in this case heroine, up a tree and then throws rocks at him/her. A lot of rocks are thrown in Splendid Suns, making it IMHO really suspenseful. There were times when I'd glance at the next page just to see how a scene was going to end. (Just a tiny glance, mind you. Anything more than that or anything that involves turning a page is cheating.) Then I'd go back and read from where I glanced.
I dog-eared some pages, but the joy of this book is not from meaningful or clever quotes. Its power comes from the horrors of the world it creates and, at least for me, the strength and surprise of everything that happens.
Yep, sometimes the author did capture a specific something with an economy of words.
1) The romantic interest, Tariq, is thinking about the heroine, Laila. "He knew she could not wipe away the obligations of her life anymore than he could his." (page 166) Wow! Characters with … what else? … real character. Back to Aristotle. Tragedy tells the story of a good—translate moral—man. And what if what makes him good is also his tragic flaw? I love this book!
2) Pages 248 and 249 present laws that went into effect when religion became government. They're strict, horribly strict. ( American women would be shot at dawn.) But only one surprised me: "If you keep parakeets, you will be beaten. Your birds will be shot." (page 248, italics his) Huh? What's with parakeets? Anyone know if parakeets hold some position—either holy or the opposite—in the Islamic faith? Inquiring minds and all that.
There are a couple others, but upon second look, I think they might give away too much.
I have to admit that I didn't particularly like the ending. I'll grant it was right for a best-seller, but it didn't do justice to the book—IMHO. Still, thumbs definitely up.
