I can still remember that time when I was a child. There was a door-to-door salesman selling illustrated fairy tales, and although I did not know what was in the set, I begged my mom to buy it. Since then, I’ve always been into reading.
Reading was a hobby for me to pass time and allow my brain to wander off to a different world. Never had I realised that reading will allow me to appreciate what I have, especially my family.
That’s what ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini has taught me. The book made me realise that I have lived a privileged life as a woman, while in other parts of the world some are suffering simply because they were born a girl.
I was expecting an Arabian Nights-esque adventure, with magic lamps and old wise men giving out treasure maps. But, Mariam and Laila’s story was even better. They were both born from different backgrounds with different lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mariam was an illegitimate child, while Laila was a free spirit loved by her parents. Despite being generations apart, fate has made a way for their lives to cross paths.
The trials of life brought them together and a love like that of a mother and daughter blossomed between them. Yet tragedy seems to have a hold on their lives. Heartbreaking, yet inspiring; their lives reminded me that women, especially mothers, are courageous, resilient and their loyalty never wavers even in times of great adversity.
