A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women, Laila and Mariam, and their lives in Afghanistan. First we meet Mariam and her mother. They live in the middle of nowhere, in a small hut, called a kolba. For education one of her mother’s friends teachers her. Mariam’s parents were not married when they had her so it creates problems for her through out her whole life, as she is harami, a bastard child. Mariam decides that she wants to live with her father, who has never really wanted her. So she runs away to her father, and when she returns her mother had hung herself. After that Mariam ends up staying with her father and his family and realizes that she is really not wanted there. The family decides to marry Mariam, against her will, to Rasheed, who lives in Kabul. Rasheed is not the nicest man ever or the handsomest either. He lets Mariam adjust but then he abuses her and takes advantage of her. He makes her cover her whole body in big dresses. Mariam does not like this, but she has to deal with it or he would beat her.
Next we meet Laila. She lives a wonderful life with her parents in Kabul. Her parents let her attend school, and strongly believe in women’s rights. Laila’s best friend is Tariq, who lives across the street from her. Laila has a great life, but her mother is a little crazy. She would lock herself in dark rooms, and sleep all the time. Her first two sons were fighting in the war, and she finds out that they both died. She never comes out. When the war was over, she came out once in a while but that was about it. Laila’s father used to be a teacher, and so when the war in Kabul gets worse he teaches her at home so that she will be safe. Laila and Tariq fall in love and have sex, but as the war worsens his family has to leave Kabul. He promises to comeback for her one day. When Laila’s parents finally decide to leave Kabul, as they are packing a bomb hits their house, and Laila is the only one to survive. When she wakes up there is a man and a woman who she doesn’t know taking care of her. She learns to know their names are Rasheed and Mariam.
Laila is forced to marry Rasheed, and he forces her to have sex with him. She gets pregnant but knowis that the baby is not Rasheed’s, but Tariq’s. Laila has the baby, it’s a little girl. Laila loves her very much, but Mariam is very jealous because Rasheed likes Laila more, since she is prettier and can have children. Mariam holds a grudge but it passes when Laila tries very hard to get Mariam to like her. Laila has a second child that is Rasheed’s. It is a little boy, Zalmai, who loves Rasheed, and practically worships him. One day while Rasheed is at work, there was a nock on the door, when Laila answered it, it was Tariq. He had come back. Laila had been told that he was dead. When Laila sees him, she was so happy. Laila wants so badly to run away with him, that very minute, but she tells him to come back the following day. When Rasheed finds out, he beats her for even talking to Tariq. Laila plans to runaway with him and to take the kids but this does not happen.
One day Rasheed was beating Laila and almost killed her, so Mariam grabbed a shovel and hit him on the back of his head. Not meaning to kill him originally she does when he almost kills Laila. Laila, Tariq and the kids run away, and Mariam decides to turn herself in. Mariam gets killed in front of millions, and Laila and Tariq get married, and live happy. They do not live in Kabul but they decide to move back there, because they were happy there as kids.
