A Thousand Splendid Suns: Summary

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about the hardship of life in a war torn country, specifically Afghanistan. The story starts with a young girl named Mariam who is forced to marry a man named Rasheed. She moves to live with Rasheed, but she is unable to bear children and is soon considered useless by Rasheed. After a few years of marriage, war starts in Afghanistan. During the war, Rasheed saves a girl named Laila, who he soon marries. Laila has two children, Aziza and Zalmai with Rasheed. Although he has two children with Laila, Rasheed is increasingly forceful and hurts both Mariam and Laila. One day, when Rasheed is about to strangle Laila, Mariam kills him with a shovel. Mariam turns herself in and is killed, while Laila marries her childhood love, Tariq. She visits Mariam’s former home, and eventually settles down. She becomes a teacher at an orphanage, and along with Tariq raises her two children. Throughout the story, Laila and Mariam have to adapt to the different governments that rise to power in Afghanistan, from the Communists, to the Taliban, and eventually Al Qaeda.