Great Writing
One of my favorite authors is Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is hard for me to pinpoint my favorite quote because every sentence he writes is so brilliantly crafted. But, I have to choose just one. So here is one passage I find particularly beautiful and moving from A Thousand Splendid Suns:
Mariam wished for so much in those final moments. Yet as she closed her eyes, it was not regret any longer but a sensation of abundant peace that washed over her. She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, and unintended thing, a pitiable, regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad, Mariam thought, that she should die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings. (p. 329)
The author’s use of pathos here is gorgeous and heart wrenching at the same time. The author employs thoughtful retrospection, a metaphor, and short, blunt sentences to play on the reader’s emotion. The author also uses culturally appropriate words- like harami– throughout the novel to establish ethos. I read and re-read this passage, and I couldn’t find one superfluous or out-of-place word. I think Hosseini’s writing is the epitome of what good writing should be- clear, clutter-free, engaging, beautiful, and emotional.
2 responses so far
I love A Thousand Splendid Suns! It’s a great book with lots of great quotes…I’m a bit jealous that I didn’t think to do it first. Please everyone, if you haven’t done so already, read this book!
I agree with everything you said about the writing here. It was beautiful. I haven’t read the book but this is such a powerful, beautifully written quote. The clutter is non existent, the sentences short and concise making them even more powerful. This reminds me of The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. The writing is very similar and equally powerful. I have never fought a war but O’Brien’s simplicity in writing make me feel like I’m there with him in Vietnam, young, afraid, and lost.