Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns

This heart-wrenching story of two girls who grow up to be women in very unfortunate situations. The book starts with the story of Mariam who lives in Herat of Afghanistan and her misfortunes. She ends up losing her mother in her attempt to get close to her abandoned father. The girl then gets married at fifteen years to a shoemaker in Kabul almost twice her age. Her love-deprived life prolongs as she couldn’t conceive. The shoemaker, Rasheed throws various tantrums at her. Meanwhile in the neighborhood lives a little girl named Laila who falls in love with her best friend, Tariq. Although Tariq is crippled and has only one leg, he was the most handsome in the colony. Laila would throw herself at him every time. They were in love.

Meanwhile, circumstances upturn as the war situation outrages in Kabul, and Tariq and his family leave Kabul and head towards Pakistan. Tariq begs Laila to come with her whereas Laila stays back for her family. When Laila’s family decides to leave Kabul, it becomes too late for them to survive. Only Laila escapes alive from the bombshell attacks on her house. Rasheed and Mariam look after her. Later, Rasheed proposes Laila and Laila agrees to the proposal as she had no other option left. Rasheed misguides her by sending a false messenger with news of Tariq’s death. Laila was conceived with a baby by then. She agrees to the Nikah with Rasheed. She gives birth to a baby girl claiming it to be Rasheed’s daughter. Rasheed hates his daughter, Aziza’s presence. Later, Laila gives birth to a baby boy Zalaima. Rasheed is a stout middle-aged man who abuses women and is a constant bully in the lives of Mariam and Laila. Once Laila and Mariam try to escape from him only to end up with Taliban bringing them back to hell.

One fortunate day, Tariq comes back to Kabul in search of Laila and finds her situation. She tells him about his daughter Aziza and how destiny had taken away her family from her, how she ended up as Rasheed’s wife. That night when Rasheed finds out Tariq’s visit. He tries to kill Laila. In order to handle the situation, Mariam kills Rasheed. Mariam has got love only from Aziza and Laila in her life. She couldn’t see Laila getting killed. At the end of the book, Laila gets settled with Tariq and they are a complete family. Whereas, Mariam gets sentenced to death for the murder of her own husband.

Laila is forever grateful for Mariam. She visits Herat for the place Mariam lived in.

I found the below lines from a poem quoted in this book really inspiring.

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

Thanks for reading!!!

Have a good day:)