A Thousand Splendid Suns Summary: A Quick Synopsis

Mariam Grows in Heart, Afghanistan. He lives with her mother, Nana. Jalil, her wealthy father, comes to visit them once in a while. Mariam is not happy with the fact that she can only see her father once a week. She longs to live with him. On her 15th birthday, she requests Jalil to take her to watch Pinocchio. Though Jalil Agrees, he does not show up on that material day. Mariam goes to Jalil’s house, but she is not allowed to enter. That night Mariam Sleeps outside. She is returned home by Jalil’s chauffeur only to find her mother dead from suicide.

A Brief Overview of the Story

Miriam goes to Jalil’s home. However, her step-mothers do not want her. She is forced to get married to Rasheed. Life gets worse after she suffers several miscarriages. Rasheed begins to mistreat her as his intention of marrying her was to get a son.

Laila is a young girl that grows near Rasheed and Mariam’s home. When her elder brothers join the Afghan war, she has to live with Tariq, an older boy. He brothers die in the war a few years later. Tariq and Laila fall in love. As Leila’s parents move from Afghanistan, a rocket them and the parents die. Laila is wounded.

It is Mariam and Rasheed that help her recover. Upon her recovery, Tariq dies. Rasheed marries Laila as she is pregnant. Mariam does not like marriage. Laila gives birth to a girl, Aziza and later a son, Zalmai. Years later. Tariq reappears from nowhere.

All along, Rasheed planned to lie about Tariq’s death. Rasheed beats Laila when he realizes Rasheed was around. Mariam kills Rasheed and reports herself to the Taliban. She intends to allow Laila to live a better life with Tariq and their children.

Laila and Tariq live a perfect marriage life in Pakistan. The children feel comfortable with Tariq as their father. Happiness does not last for long as the United States invaded Iraq in 2001. Laila insists they should move back to Kabul and rebuild their lives. Leila goes back to Heart only to find out that Mariam had been executed. In Kabul, the couple lives a new life and becomes a teacher. She intends to name her next daughter Mariam. That is how the novel by Khaled Hosseini ends.