December 10, 2009: Page Turners 7 p.m.

Book: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Discussion:

This month’s selection was very timely. Less than two weeks after President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan at West Point our book group read Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, a novel set largely in that country.

The group members’ reactions to the book were very strong. Nine out of ten voted thumbs up. The reader who voted thumbs down related an opinion that many of us shared, even those of us who liked the book; it was depressing. Not a feel-good novel by any means, A Thousand Splendid Suns contained many horrible events such as bombings, spousal abuse, and murder. Though this was a fictional book, we know that these events are very real and have happened, not only in Afghanistan, but all over the world.

Though the book dealt with some heavy subject matter and was definitely not a festive holiday selection, it did have many good points. The content may have weighed on some readers, but the style did not. Hosseini’s prose was addictively readable, and one reader said he wrote particularly good descriptions. Another Page Turner said she really felt like she learned something by reading the book. A new culture was revealed to her through the work.

We talked about a few specific incidents in the book, one being Laila and Mariam’s first attempt to escape from Rasheed. A few Page Turners wondered why the women waited so long to try to escape, while others questioned their lack of a second attempt. I personally thought they should have had Tariq take them as soon as he returned to Kabul, though of course if he had the novel would not have had such a climactic end.

We also discussed the references to the film Titanic in the book. Even when television was outlawed in Afghanistan, people still managed to find and screen the film on the black market. Movie-themed souvenirs abounded. One Page Turner asked what we thought the reason was for the people of Kabul’s obsession with this film. One reader called it a form of escape. Another compared it to a similar phenomenon in the 1930s. During the Depression people were barely managing to make ends meet, but would still scrape together enough money to see a movie and forget their financial problems for a few hours. I think Titanic provided a specific kind of escape for the Afghanis. The film’s female protagonist was a proper, well-bred girl who was seeking to break out of her preconceived role and be more independent, something they could not be in their restrictive society. The men probably identified with the male character, Jack, admiring his gallantry and heroic actions. In short, the citizens in the novel likely saw some parallels between the sinking ship in Titanic and their own circumstances, at least subconsciously. In both situations many of the people involved experienced a state of powerlessness, and only those with money, undefeatable wills, or great resilience were able to survive unscathed.

We also compared this novel to Hosseini’s other work, The Kite Runner. Based on an informal tally of those who had read both books, five readers liked A Thousand Splendid Suns better than The Kite Runner, and one felt the reverse. I lean toward the latter Page Turner’s opinion. I really liked both books. I think even books with depressing events can be enjoyed if they are well written, and both of these were. I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns better the second time I read it, but I still think I prefer The Kite Runner.

As the meeting drew to a close we mentioned some of our favorite selections from this year’s list. A few said this book was their favorite. Others listed Loving Frank, Interpreter of Maladies, and Thunderstruck as the best of the year. One member even reached back to the beginning of the year and voted Gilead as her top book of the year!

As usual, flyers for upcoming programming and books for the next month were distributed. We will be back to our regular schedule, the fourth Thursday of every month, in January when we will discuss P.D. James’ The Private Patient.