I just finished this book. I am torn as to how I feel. In the beginning I liked the book. I loved reading about Laila and Tariq, they were so sweet together. I loved that Tariq beat the boys that threw pee on Laila, that is my kind of man!!! Then in the middle of the book I was ready to throw the book across the room and never speak to it again! It was very frustrating and maddening.
The hardships these two girls, Mariam and Laila, had to endure got to be to much sometimes. The life they had to live in the Middle East during the war was CRAZY! Most of the war talk was hard to take in, it was confusing and hard to understand. I can't imagine having a husband like they did, let alone the rules that they had to follow. The lack of so many things that we take for granted just because you were a women. No medical treatment, a prisoner in your own home, no make-up, no laughing, etc, sounded crazy to my American ears. It really made me upset and disturbed. I am so glad that I live where I do and I can live how I want.
The ending did make up for some of the book, it made me happy (I won't give anything away). Still a sad book, but it had moments of sweetness. It opened up my eyes to others hardships and a way of life that is totally different from my own.
What did you guys think?
2 comments:
I read this over the holidays and it is one of my new favorite books! I think the hope that the book offers at the end is really inspiring. I found that the book made me laugh and made me sob. I couldn't put it down and read it in a very short time. I was a huge fan of Kite Runner but loved this book even more. I love that this book can make you so grateful for what you have and take for granted. As a woman reading this book, I could not be more grateful for the ability to have self-sufficiency and not be under the total control of a husband and government that allows no rights to 50% of its population. It was very eye opening and yet somehow so touching. The author is terrific and, as in Kite Runner, does an amazing job of creating such wonderful characters who overcome adversity.
Not to spoil, the end was amazing and really shocked me. I loved it so much!
I read this book, too, over the holidays, and felt much the same as Kami. It's unbelievable that a huge percentage of the world lives like that - with women having no input into their own lives, or the lives of their children and are under the complete control of the whims and wishes of their husbands, father, and brothers. How blessed we are to be able to control our own lives. The end didn't so much shock me as it did touch me. Perhaps there is hope out there for these poor women.
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