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Literature in Colour - Khaled Hosseini
Miriam in Austen 2 and Terrena in Nightingale 1 sent this report:
On Wednesday, 1 March, Year 12 and 13 English Literature students attended a ‘Literature in Colour’ Conference hosted by Khaled Hosseini, who discussed some of his novels, including ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, which we are currently studying.
‘Literature in Colour’ is a programme that intends to increase the academic study of novels written by people of colour.
It was interesting to hear Hosseini’s intentions behind writing such a powerful novel, and we were given an insight into his personal connection with Afghanistan. We learnt how the female protagonists were inspired by the women he met and talked to, during his visits to Kabul, and how the settings of Herat and Kabul reflected his family heritage in Afghanistan. Particularly for Year 13, who had already studied the novel, it was fascinating to be given an alternative perspective from the mind of the author who created the world inhabited by his protagonists, Mariam and Laila, which enhances our analysis and study of the novel.
Hosseini detailed his desires when writing the novel to highlight that the Afghanistan that is synonymous with terrorism, war, and conflict is actually filled with people with dreams and hopes, and is a society of beauty and culture. He himself views this novel as a love poem to Afghanistan, consciously celebrating the ‘beautiful, gorgeous, and eclectic’ history of Afghanistan. Hosseini also elucidated that ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ is as much a book of 2023 as it was of 1996 (when it was set), due to the rise of Taliban, and he hoped that this novel triggers an awareness about what is occurring in Afghanistan today.
This was a great opportunity, which was invaluable to our English studies, and enabled us to develop a deeper understanding of ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’.
