Thursday, March 27, 2008

Why , why, WHY, dear God..?

Some time back, on an impulse, I bought The Kite Runner from my roadside book guy. I have never regretted that impulse which introduced me to one of the humanest writers I have ever come across. I was utterly moved (after a long time) by the story, the protagonists (to me more than Amir, innocent, vulnerable loyal Hassan was the soul of the book) and the stark reality of the horror that was life in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Khaled Hosseini wove a story of dark bestial deeds by an inhuman people, but in between, he deftly wove in some strands of human kindness and gentleness and love that came back to haunt you....

After that, when I got to know of his second book- A Thousand Splendid Sons- I was not at all eager to buy it. I was yet to get over The Kite Runner, and I did not want to be so disturbed again. But then, like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to it against my will, and I bought it...and once again, I was burnt.
Mariam's life seemed to be one long endurance ... In spite of enduring so much, that she has it in her to be the saviour of her husband's second wife brings out the beauty of human nature. The novel simultaneously makes you wonder at the weakness and strength of womankind in the face of male bestiality.

I would recommend both these novels to anybody for , if nothing, they make you count your blessings which seem to be NUMEROUS when compared to Hassan or Laila or Mariam or Sohrab. Hassan's son almost made me cry.
Both those novels were behind me, and while I felt deeply for the women and children of Afghanistan, there is not much you or I can do, except read and hope that the writer was taking some liberties with reality and pray that God does something for these distraught people....

And then, I read a post by a friend of mine, which brought to mind afresh the torment that it is to be born a woman in Afghanistan. Do read through this post about a little girl in Afghanistan, whose life is worse than fiction.....


It would be better to be born anything in Afghanistan than a woman - a rat, a dog, an insect...anything! After reading it, all I could hope was that the mullah would be some person like the Director of the Orphanage in The Kite Runner. Not able to outwit the sytem, but doing what he could to make things at least somewhat better...The poor poor girl.

9 comments:

Asha said...
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Asha said...
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Asha said...

I haven't read these book, but Afghanistan, yeah, it's hell.. I can only thank God that I was not born there. And I feel so sorry for those who were.

Daisy said...

JLT,
I read both the books too and I even saw Kiterunner- the movie.I like " thousand splendid suns" better than the former.. I dont know why- maybe because it is a tale of two women and hence close to my heart.

I spoke to an Afghani colleague of mine and he said that the Afghanis dont like the books too much, because it had only negatives, nothng about the illuminant history and culture of Afghanisthan..but he hasnt been back to his homeland in over 20 years.. so I think he is biased.

Did a review of "a thousdand splendid suns" here...
http://dharshdallu.blogspot.com/2007/10/book-review-thousand-splendid-suns.html

Daisy said...

oo God! I just read ur friend's post.. that poor poor child. You are right. This makes all of us count our own blessings..and Pray for the little girl

Gentle Whispers said...

Hey. Was just blog hopping and I somehow managed to stumble onto yours.

I loved both the books too. Especially The Kite Runner. My heart melted when I heard the words "For you, a hundred times over."

I love your blog. So I'm going to link you if you dont mind. :D

chandu said...

I loved both these novels too...The kite runner much more and it had me brooding for weeks...

- http://chandni.wordpress.com

Just Like That said...

Asha: :-(

Daisy : Will go through your review at leisure. Terrible story isn't it? And the most terrible thing is that it isn't a story.

Gentle Whispers: Welcome to my blog. And welcome to link me up too :-)

Chandu: I know. I hope that was the climax of life's cruelty to that little girl, and that the mullah was kind to her.

aMus said...

jlt, i'v eread both the books an dit really hits you hard...the life they lead, the things we take for granted are so precious to them...:(

i don't think i 'm going to read that post of the lil girl today...i may not be able to get thru my day...:(...but i will soon...