Concrete road barriers block a street in a newly-rich Kabul neighborhood. These type of barriers are most often erected privately by someone powerful enough to go unchallenged. They make local roads impassable and add to the daily frustrations of living in Kabul.
What happened to Kabul from the end of A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2003 to today? In this short article from The Washington Post, journalist Pamela Constable returns to this city to reminisce about that magical moment described at the conclusion of Hosseini’s novel. She remembers it as a time when “hope and the promise of change…burst forth in Afghanistan’s post-Taliban liberation nearly a decade ago.” In contrast to those times, she details today’s landscape of “security barriers and fantasy palaces” and an atmosphere where “optimism and energy vanished long ago, gradually replaced with cynicism and fear.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dysfunction-and-dread-in-kabul/2011/07/13/gIQAQpBlGI_story.html
What are your feelings after reading Constable’s article about Kabul? Has this new information affected the way you perceive the ending of the novel? What do you think about her startling end statement?
Dr. Martha Bari, Director, First Year Experience
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Roya (Khaled’s wife)
After reading this article, I felt a variety of feelings and emotions. Through the writer’s words, I gathered the feeling of sadness and a sense of frustration at the way things had changed. It seemed that even though the outward appearance of change in Kabul was better, all the control and harsh reality of political and militaristic struggle was the actual outcome of the change.
In Pam’s ending statement, I could see the heartbreak and battle going on within her, and probably every other person that had witnessed or is witnessing what she saw. She sees her city, and her country locked in a never-ending struggle for freedom. Sees them losing the roots that they had fought so hard to keep, watching as the physical fighting and political wars threaten to take away everything familiar and dear.
The more and more I read about that area of the world, the culture, the change, and what people over there go through day by day; the more I appreciate and am thankful for what I have. There are so many things that we all take for granted each and every day,and the book and this article has opened my eyes further to see the truth concerning this.
I found the article descriptive, informative, and captivatingly interesting, and thought it tied in perfectly as a follow up of Kabul after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. Thank you!
In reference to Afghanistan period, it is how Destiny described it, an never-ending battle. I think the government is a bit foolish for thinking that you can defeat the Taliban or whatever force they are going to fight in the future. This is far from over, whether or not the US or NATO is involved. The country of Afghanistan is controlled by a multi-headed Hydra (Taliban). You can fight and kill one person as we accomplished with Bin Laden, however, that hasn’t changed things. US Soldiers are still attacked and bombed daily and there are still my fellow vets are still dying. As described in the article and the book, this war is beyond what we could imagine. If the US really wanted to make a huge impact they should have back in the 70′s. Right now is not the time. We have invested so much money, which we do not have, and the Afghan people/ government are not going to be able to use the resources nor sustain them. The power plant that was built costing millions upon millions of dollars only runs at 2-7% capacity and is not affordable. Their roads are going to crumble all over again, because Afghanistan is not a self sustainable country. I see is this way, through out the history of the country they have been fighting each other for power and order, however no one can agree on what is the right, or wrong for that matter, to do. It is a waste of our time and resources. They began this war and even being a vet they need to be the ones to end it. Apparently their “weapons of mass destruction” are not a direct threat to the US and we have proven our point. I do not feel bad for the people, due to the fact that they made their own bed and need to sleep in it.
Khaled Hosseini is a very gifted writer. This book blew me away. Hosseini takes you deep into the depressing lives of three central characters and makes you truely get to know them. Books have made me cry and laugh out loud but this was the first novel to make my stomach clench at some of things that happen to these women.