The Patience Stone by Khaled Hosseini.."I'm going to tell you everything, my sang-e saboor. Everything. Until I set myself free from my pain, and my suffering." According to ancient Persian folklore, sang-e saboor is the name of a magical stone, a patience stone, which absorbs the plight of those who confide in it. It is believed that one day it will explode, overflowing with hardship and pain.
In Atiq Rahimi's stirring tale, the sang-e saboor is not a stone but rather a man lying brain-dead with a bullet lodged in his neck. His wife dutifully cares for him, but as she confronts her frustrations with his injury and the petty war that caused it, she begins to test the boundaries of his awareness by revealing deeply held secrets and confronting her darkest, most repressed thoughts. While in the streets rival factions clash, she speaks of her life, never knowing if her husband really hears. The result is an extraordinary confession, without restraint, about sex and love and anger toward a man, and by extension a culture, who never offered her respect or kindness. Her admission releases the immense pressure of marital, social, and religious subjugation, and ends with the most shocking revelation of all.
Winner of Le Prix Goncourt, The Patience Stone captures with courage and simple, explosive prose, the reality of everyday life for a woman under the oppressive weight of Islamic fundamentalism.
