A Thousand Splendid Suns Book Report

Have you ever wanted to read a book that you can’t put down? If so, you should read A Thousand Splendid Suns, published by Khaled Hosseini in 2007. Throughout this novel, Hosseini describes the hardships in Afghanistan, mostly directing his attention towards the treatment and laws against women, during the 1960’s until today. This book has impacted many people’s thoughts, including my own, about the freedom of women in non-absolutists’ countries. It makes you appreciate everything that you can do and are allowed to do in your daily life that the characters in this novel cannot. If this peaks your interests, you should consider reading the book yourself!

The novel begins by introducing the first protagonist named Mariam. She lives an isolated life in the village of Gul Daman with her mother, Nana, who is verbally and emotionally abusive due to the way that Mariam was conceived. Mariam is also visited every week by her father, Jalil, who is a wealthy cinema-owner that lives in Herat. Nana’s untimely death causes Mariam to be taken into her father’s custody. After only staying at Jalil’s home for a few days, Jalil's wives, along with the approval of Jalil, chose for Mariam to marry Rasheed, a middle-aged shoemaker who lost both his wife and child.

Khaled Hosseini shows lots of complex plots throughout the entirety of the novel. One way is how he makes the two main protagonists, Mariam and Laila, meet. This event causes so many different outcomes that could possibly stem from that one event. Furthermore, Hosseini achieves this concept throughout the novel in a more, specific way by revolving the plot around Mariam. Even though it might be Laila making the decisions, it counterplays with all of the events that happen to Mariam. In conclusion, the plot scheme of the story plays a notable role in the development and the complexity of a