A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

In keeping with the true meaning of women’s fiction, A Thousand Splendid Suns was selected and read by Women Fiction Club members because it actually fits the genre. This title 1) focuses on a woman (in this case women), 2) the women learn, change and grow because of a journey detailed within the pages of the book and 3) the book has a satisfying but not necessarily tidy and happy ending. There may also be an added benefit for readers of this book. When following Miriam and Laila, the two heroines in the novel, readers may discover that they have also learned, changed and grown in knowledge and perspective by the end of this book.

The setting for the book is Afghanistan from 1959 to April 2003. The very volatile happenings in the country are such an intricate part of the book that the history could be considered another character. Those who are not familiar with Afghanistan’s past may be intrigued enough to do their own historical research for a better understanding and clarification. It would be an interesting side project, especially for book club discussions, but it’s certainly not necessary to enjoy the book or respond to its characters.

Miriam, the illegitimate daughter of a very rich married man, lives in exile with her mother Nana, who is a very bitter, unhappy and angry woman. Nana teeters between blaming her predicament on Jalil, the man who fathered her child and Miriam, the child born from their illicit affair. Although Jalil already has three wives and multiple children, Miriam and her mother are an embarrassment for the family. Not only is Miriam a harami (bastard) but her mother worked as a maid in Jalil’s home when she became pregnant. The book gives life to Miriam’s story of her solitary upbringing until age fifteen when she is married off under stressful circumstances to Rasheed, a man well into his forties.

Laila, is born years after Miriam’s marriage takes place. The contrast between the two women is more than the generation that separates them. Their childhood beginnings have stark differences which molds their personalities and outlooks. Laila has valuable relationships with her parents, friends and the community which allows her to blossom into a very proud and independent teenager. However, Laila, at age fourteen, also marries Rasheed. Like Miriam, the circumstances surrounding the marriage are very difficult and Laila feels as if she has no choice.

The two women, who come from very different experiences, have nothing in common but the one man that they both marry. Once neighbors, Miriam and Laila must share a life together under the same roof with the same abusive husband. In their roles as wives they start out as adversaries but eventually they create an important bond. They discover that the difficulties they endure living with a violent husband, under the Taliban’s rule and in the midst of war is about more than learning how to be family or friends – it’s about how to survive.