I have started to read,  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Hosseini, as I really enjoyed the writing style of The Kite Runner. I was particularly interested in the way of women being presented in a patriarch society, also the realisation of how women have developed since these times.
     Coming from an Asian culture i found that it was easy for me to relate to topics, such as religion, marriage and history. 

I have read up to chapter 16, the main Character  Mariam who is aged 15, is forced into an arranged marriage with a man who is a lot older than her. What I found interesting from this point was the relationship of Mariam and her Husband Rasheed starting of smoothly, but as this progresses the relationship changes. We also see how married life in this society has an affect upon Mariam, and the duties that come with this.
   The duty of motherhood, when she fails to become a mother several times, this also leads to her and husband relationship becoming slightly horrific when the first scene of abuse/violence occurs.

The themes i have recognised so far are:
Connection to Afghanistan- As Hakim quotes poetry, Fariba doesn't want to leave the land her sons have died upon.
Love and Respect- between Mariam and her mother, also for her father as well as Mullah Faizullah.
Guilt- the death of Mariam's mother, she feels that she is to blame for leaving her.
Isolation- 'she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth'. Mariam is introduced to wearing the traditional Burqa. Her identity feels hidden, she feels excluded from society 'it was strange seeing the world through a mesh screen'.




I have also started to look at Novels to Compare A Thousand Splendid Sons with a few suggestions:

Purple Hibiscus, by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie interested me as it shows the disintegration of a wealthy family, its a view of violence which shares similar qualities with Hossieni's novel. It shows a contrast between wealth, women, and especially religion.

I have also started to look at The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I was interested in the way that the novel was presented throughout, the use of letters seemed different yet interesting. Violence towards women is also shown throughout the novel.