This book is on the top-ten-books list of every Asian girl I know. It is a dramatisation of cultural constraints in a society that every single Asian girl/woman can relate to. When I read this book a few years ago - I felt somewhat connected to something I felt such a distance from. More applicable today than ever, I can assure the future readers of Modern Asian Fiction that this is one of the great Modern Novels, not only of Asian Fiction, but of ALL fiction.
Characters:
My favourite character (as is everyone's) is Mariam. Mariam is a great heroine of counter-culture and the represents the harsh reality of everything that is wrong with Asian culture. The ability that Mariam has to overcome this is only put through by her horrible circumstances of living with Rasheed. This is then mirrored completely on to Laila's condition and her concentration on finding and marrying Tariq. Mariam is the symbol of heroism in a world spinning violently out of control. Ultimately, she is a tragic character and her only freedom is death. One tragedy after another causes depression, but the feeling accumulates from the very beginning of what is, a great novel. Her mother suicides, her father is a horrible man who takes her in only to marry her off early to get her out of the house. Mariam is one of the greatest characters created in the culture of Modern Asian Literature.
Themes:
The theme of freedom and confinement is the greatest one of them all. Mariam is the exact representation of the confinements that most Asian girls have. Each of her confinements is made to jigsaw to another and each of them represent the Asian-female everywoman. The fact that Asian girls are expected to be homely and not go out much, the fact that Asian girls are expected to do all the housework, the fact that Asian girls are expected not to get angry and not to talk much and not to be/dress/act loudly. Yet men can. Mariam breaks these restraints as Rasheed pushes her over the edge. And this has not only given her courage, but given her Asian-girl reader courage as well. I feel that this book connects with Modern Asian Female culture on a much deeper level than in would've if it were written 50 to 70 years earlier. Back then, it was normal for every woman to be homely and do these things - it was a natural process. Now, because of modern feminism - every woman wants to break from constraints and find their own selves. Yet, some are still not allowed to. The higher sense is obviously felt by Asian women who live in Western Societies - they see the freedoms but are forbidden from experiencing them. The die tragically, just like Mariam. Mariam is the everywoman for the Asian Woman.
Storyline:
An intricately woven storyline that encompasses so many different emotions, characters and themes - we get a sense that tragedy may never end. Khaled Hosseini gives us a dramatisation of an Afghani cultural mess in which the storyline is the only thing that is certain is complete destruction.
Verdict:
I give this book 9:
100% for characters: Mariam is carefully constructed to give us an insight to the life of the oppressed woman, and the fact that it is written in such a poetic style only adds to the catharsis of her life in comparison to the lamentation of freedom.
100% for themes: The theme of freedom and confinement is only one of the many great themes covered in this novel. It has such a standing that it almost gives a new outlook on to the characters and story each time you read it. Each time you see the themes, you see that they can be applied to more things and this is the true beauty of the novel.
100% for storyline: When a story is so carefully constructed, like this. It is hard to miss the great detail that has gone into it. No spoilers, but it is tragically perfect.
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