On... A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I did not know what to expect when I opened this book. I closed it fifteen minutes ago with one word on my mind.

Wow.

(Some spoilers ahead)

Hosseini's writing style drew me in and just didn't let go. I couldn't help wondering how on earth Mariam and Laila were going to get out from under the oppressive thumb of Rasheed but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first part of the book focuses on Mariam as a young girl, the illegitimate daughter of a prominent local merchant. I perceived Jalil--Mariam's father--through her young eyes as a man who came against her mother's negative words and showered her with gifts and attention. I saw her father as a positive character until Mariam's own eyes are opened when she journeys into town and finds only rejection at her father's house. Her entire life changes that day. Her mother, who suffered from some unnamed mental illness (clear from Mariam's recollection), committed suicide when Mariam left.

I came away from that first part feeling such utter sadness at Mariam's plight and in awe at Hosseini's writing which showed me exactly what he wanted me to see. I viewed Jalil as the man Hoseeini crafted with his words and felt such a connection to Mariam especially who took the fall for Rasheed's death so that Laila and her children could have a chance at a new life... a much more stable life than one on the run.

I havent read a book this good in a very long time. The only thing that I regret is that these characters (they seem so real to me) have no real hope... no hope in Christ.