Welcome to the Blog for "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Here you can sight your opinion on different topics that involve current events, in depth analysis on character interaction, plot overview, and theme comprehension.
Khaled Central
With advantageous prior knowledge of the book The Kite Runner, What do you expect from Khaled with his writing style, diction, and change of narration?
13 comments:
Knowing the writing styles of Khaled Hosseni I expect a plethora of Farsi vocabulary and his diction to be as amazing as always. While reading the beginning of this novel I have already noticed that in this story he is writing in third person and I’m not sure if I like it. In The Kite Runner he wrote in the first person as Amir and I really enjoyed that so I am skeptical to think how I will like the third person in this story.
Alicia Scanlan
Per D English
When I first started to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, I was surprised at the amount of Afghani words that he incorporated right away. Unlike in The Kite Runner, Hosseni did not explain the meaning of the word until a few pages later in the book. I felt that this was more confusing and I had to reread a few times to grasp the meaning. Another difference in this book is the point of view. Hosseni chose to write this book is third person, which I think, doesn’t give you as good as an understanding of the characters. I also feel that this book does not pull you in, in the beginning, as much as The Kite Runner did.
Alicia, nice use of vocab.
Jessica Nartowicz
Just like everyone else has said, I expected him to incorporate the Farsi vocab into is story as well. I also expected his writing to be just as powerful in it's simplicity, as it was in The Kite Runner. Although we have read only a little bit of the book so far, I feel that his writing will still have the same educational and emotional impact as his last book.
Having recently started A Thousand Splendid Suns, I don't feel as though it capture's the readers attention as quickly as is the case with The Kite Runner. However, I'm confident that in the end the novel will turn out to be a very good one. I understand that its harder for Hosseini to write about women than it is for him to write about men (like in Kite Runner) so my belief is that the book will progressively get better as he gets into his own comfort zone and gets more comfortable writing from a woman's perspective.
Joe that's interesting how you incorporated Hosseini having a harder time writing about women. Does anyone think Hosseini should have stuck to writing with a male main character instead and why?
Khaled Hosseini writes in a style that drives the book at a fast pace. Just like in the novel The Kite Runner, I expected Hosseini to always end a chapter with a momentous event or cliff hanger prodding you to read on. His stories are always suspenseful, incorporate the Afghani culture, and include numerous flashbacks.
I actually finished the book in a relatively short time because I always wanted to know what would happen next. Jeff, I personally enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns much more than The Kite Runner. Maybe the guys don’t like the story as much because there is a lot of talk about motherhood and the developing relationship between Laila and Tariq; however, for me I like that the main characters are someone whom you can sympathize with. In The Kite Runner, Amir was not an admirable child whereas in A Thousand Splendid Suns the main characters are good people who you feel for and want to see survive the horrors they encounter.
Lauren Southworth
I havent read much of A Thousand Splendid Suns but what I have read has not caught my attention as much as The Kite Runner did. I found it interesting when he used Farsi words in the Kite Runner so I am looking forward to learning new Farsi words in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
-Nadya Kaltsunas
Nice moves!
The Kite Runner was rich with local colour to give a cultural sense of setting as well as simple diction paired with sentence variety to give a sense of profundity.
Honestly, it may be more difficult or out of element for Khaled to write from the perspective of a female, but that in no way means he should refrain from trying. Although KM is obviously the primary creator of the novel, it is probable that he gained knowledge of a woman's perspective through hearing first person accounts, knowing women in a similar situation, and extensive research. By writing from a different point of view, different as in gender, KM not only broadens his audience, ability, and versatility as a writer but also giving a glimpse of a similar situation as The Kite Runner in a new light.
B.Finnster
Before I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I expected Hosseini to use a lot of Farsi vocab like he used in the Kite Runner. Unlike the Kite Runner, however, Hosseini didn't explain the meaning of each new italicized word, and I found it a little difficult to understand some of the words.
I don't think Khaled Hosseini should have stuck with writing about a male main character. As good as The Kite Runner was, I think I was a great decision to write in the perspective of a women to not only gain a new audience, but to show the difficulties of Afghan life for women.
Brian and John you both make an amazing point about Hosseini trying to "broaden his audience". What doers anyone think the audience is for a person who is reading "The Kite Runner" or "A Thousand Splendid Suns"?
Also do you as the reader enjoy or dislike Hosseini not defining the Farsi words as much as he did in the first book?
Jeff, I do like the fact that Hosseini is not defining all of the Farsi words in A Thousand Splendid Suns. I feel that it is more authentic that way and less like a dictionary. An example would be the word harami (which means illegitimate child) that is given in the first sentence but not defined until the middle of the next page. Most of the words can be distinguished through context clues and defined by what the characters are speaking about.
Lauren Southworth
I don't like how Hosseini is not defining the words as clearly. I find that I have to go back and reread more, and I get more confused. I really liked the way he defined the words in the first book, but this one, I feel like its harder to read and I don't enjoy it as much, so far.
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