A Thousand Splendid Suns: Synopsis

A Short Synopsis: A Thousand Splendid Suns is set against the events of Afghanistan in the last thirty years. Khaleo Hosseini tells the tale of two Afghanistan girls growing up in the tumultuous late 1900s of Afghanistan. Mariam lives as an outcast from her father’s family as an illegitimate daughter. Instead, she lives with her bitter mother who ends up committing suicide. Mariam moves in with her father who marries her off to an abusive husband. The second character whose life we follow is Laila. Laila grows up in a loving family but her life is disrupted by the Afghanistan war against the Soviets. Her two brothers die in the war. This war results in the paths of these two women crossing and the faith they share. These two tales tell the human struggle to survive and find happiness in a background Muslim country where the Taliban abuse women and restrict their rights.

My Choice: I chose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns because I am intrigued by Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of those countries I often hear about. But, I know very little about its customs and people. I want to increase my knowledge about this country and its customs. By reading this book,  I expect to learn about the last 30 years of history of Afghanistan. Furthermore, I expect to learn about this history not from a distant article written from the perspective of the United States, or a journalist, but from the eyes of the Afghanistan people.