A Thousand Splendid Suns

"There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don't teach it in school. Only one skill. And it's this: tahamul. Endure."

- Nana, to her daughter Mariam

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The story follows the lives of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, and how they eventually intertwine together, spanning from the 1960s to 2003.

After her mother's suicide, Mariam, a lowly harami is sent by her rich father to marry Rasheed, a shoemaker and businessman living in Kabul. She at first tries to get used to her new life, but after having multiple miscarriages, she is made miserable by Rasheed's growing abuse. Years later, in 1987, the story moves to Laila, a girl who lives down the street from Mariam and Rasheed. When Laila is 15, her house is blown up by a rocket and she is taken in by Mariam and Rasheed. She then marries Rasheed, who is eager for a pretty young woman, as his second wife. However, after giving birth to a daughter, Aziza, and eventually a son, Zalmai, things go down fast between the newlyweds. After some initial friction, Mariam and Laila eventually become best friends and confidantes, united against their common adversary, their abusive and manipulative husband.

The book is divided into four parts: The first details Mariam's early life, the second details Laila's early life, the third details their lives together under Rasheed, and the fourth describes.

You might need some tissues.


 * Arranged Marriage
 * Dead Guy, Junior:
 * Domestic Abuser: Rasheed again.
 * Driven to Suicide: Mariam's mother, after she came to the conclusion that Mariam was abandoning her for her father.
 * Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Laila thinks about aborting Zalmai, but cannot do it.
 * Honor Before Reason:
 * Hope Spot: So, so many.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch:  You know that it would make things so much worse for the heroines but it is so satisfying.
 * Law of Inverse Fertility: Mariam, who desperately wants a child, has had SEVEN miscarriages. Laila, on the other hand, unexpectedly gets pregnant her first time.
 * No Woman's Land: Once the Taliban take over.
 * Someone to Remember Him By:
 * Victorious Childhood Friend:
 * Victorious Childhood Friend: