A Subaltern Reading of Nadia Hashimi’s The Pearl That Broke Its Shell and Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns

Modern Afghan author Khaled Hosseini addresses social, political, and cultural issues, especially those affecting women, in his fiction. Hosseini's novels have been translated into more than 70 languages and have sold more than 40 million copies around the world. Hosseini grew up in Afghanistan, so his fascination with the country and its women is probably grounded in his own experiences there. A Thousand Splendid Suns has been the subject of a wide range of critical examinations. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi is similar to works by Khalid Hosseini in both style and subject matter. Both Hashimi and Hosseini experienced the bitterness of migration, although Hashimi left for the West first and lived there for the bulk of her life. Their writings are significant because they combine the tales and sorrows of women with historical events. The works of both authors examine the lives of women in different historical eras. Similar themes of patriarchal violence and the imposition of unsavoury cultures on women can be found in both books. Both novels are analysed in this thesis through the lens of subaltern theory.