Expectation of the book

A Thousand Suns is surely a well-written book, but I am not really enjoying this kind of book because I enjoy science fiction novel more. The fact is that I have read half of the book years ago in mandarin, which I didn’t finish it. I did not quite get the deeper meaning of the book at that time.

Anyway, I will say the novel did reach my expectation because I get to learn about Afghanistan through a story in victims’ (Mariam and Laila’s perspectives) instead of just reading off a news article.

Moreover, I first expected that the book will be more about hopes at the beginning because the name and cover of the book. Sun is commonly seen as the symbol of hope and essence because almost many living things need it to survive; however, the fact is the protagonist (Mariam) met a turning point of her life, her journey of endurance.

Honestly, I didn’t really have an expectation before I read this book because I have no idea what I was about to read. So I am not really surprised to read a story about Afghanistan because the book cover was a woman in burqa, and only women from mid-west wore those (or those whom were Muslims).

The book actually turned out to be an interesting book to read, despite the fact that I am not living in that kind of society and country, which it usually turned out to be boring for most of the readers.