krishnendu's reviews
43 reviews

The book had immense potential with its themes of colonialism and conflict migration, but it doesn’t quite deliver. The story centers on Farid, a Libyan refugee (and his mom), and Vito, an unaffected Italian boy (and his mom), against the backdrop of Italy’s colonisation of Libya and Gaddafi’s regime—yet it never fully comes together. The plot feels thin, and the characters lack the depth needed to engage with its weighty themes. The prose, which could have been powerful, feels flat, but it may be that the translation stripped away its emotional impact. The overuse of absurd, forced similes and metaphors doesn't help either.
Overall, the book felt like a missed opportunity.

Part 1: The world is suffering.
Part 2: The world is beautiful.
Part 3: The world is suffering, and that's beautiful.

3.5/5
Deeply disturbing, devastating, an encyclopaedia of female suffering that kept evolving brutally as Afghanistan transitioned from monarchy to communism to Taliban rule, and finally the US invasion post 9/11. Intriguing writing, ground some teeth knowing that man's peak inconvenience there is to grow a beard, but a woman's is to be banned from studying, working, laughing out loud, going out, to become an invisible obedient babymaking subordinate to man.
A hiccup for me, however, is women's endurance and tolerance being celebrated and glorified in ways that don t sit well with me. Regardless, mariam has my whole heart and soul!

I've always adored Hosseini's niche rural Afghan narratives; so when the story strayed off to Europe and the US, I had a not-so-good time trying to connect with the story and the characters. I believe the book can be summarised as Uncle Nabi's quest to impress Mrs. Wahdati, causing a ripple of events in the lives of everyone around. I couldn't appreciate this book as much as I did [b:A Thousand Splendid Suns|128029|A Thousand Splendid Suns|Khaled Hosseini|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655336738l/128029._SY75_.jpg|3271379].

Rereading this one as an adult demands coaxing your inner child to accept this fairy tale was actually an allegory!