A+Thousand+Splendid+Suns


 * A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini **



**About the Author**
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965. In 1976, his family moved to Paris. They attempted to return to Kabul in 1980, but the Soviet army had invaded. They then moved to Fremont, California in the United States. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine in 1993. He published the Kite Runner in 2003 and A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2007. He currently provides aid in Afghanistan through The Khaled Hosseini Foundation.

 **About the Novel**The novel is broken into four parts. Part one begins by introducing Mariam, a bastard child (//harami//), who lives in a shack (//kolba//) with her mother. Her father is a wealthy theater owner in Herat and because of his social class, he does not take Mariam in as one of his own children. After a series of tragic events, Mariam is forced to marry an abusive forty year-old shoe maker named Rasheed. In part two the focus shifts to a girl named Laila. Laila comes from a family that is well-off because her father is a school teacher. The primary focus is on her realtionship with a very close friend, Tariq. War begins in Afghanistan and Kabul is being bombed daily. Tariq and his family decide to flee the city, which has a deep emotional impact on Laila. In part three, the point of view shifts from Laila to Mariam in each chapter. In this part, Laila begins to live with Mariam and Rasheed after a terrible accident occurs. After a couple of weeks, Rasheed tells Laila that she must marry him or leave his home. Laila does marry him and she eventually becomes friends with Mariam with one thing in common, enduring Rasheed's abuse.

**About the Characters****Mariam-** One of the protagonists in the novel. She is a //Tajik//, born in Herat in 1959 to Nana and Jalil. Becasue she is an illegitimate child, she suffers from guilt and shame throughout her childhood. When she is fifteen, she marries Rasheed.
 * Nana-** Mairiam's mother. She is a servant in Jalil's house until she becomes pregnant with his child and is kicked out. All she teaches Mariam is about the wickedness of men.
 * Jalil-** Mariam's father. He is a wealthy man and visits Mariam about every week as pennance for not accepting her in his home as one of his own children. He marries Mariam off to Rasheed.
 * Rasheed-** The antagonist in the novel and Mariam and Laila's husband. He is a //Pashtun// shoemaker in Kabul. He is abusive toward his two wives, especially Mariam.
 * Laila-** The other protagonist in the novel. She is a //Tajik//, born in 1976 to Hakim and Fariba. She falls in love with her childhood friend, Tariq. Once war falls upon Kabul, Laila has to marry Rasheed in order to survive.
 * Tariq-** Laila's true love. When he was five, he lost his leg in a land mine explosion. When war breaks out in Kabul, he is forced to leave Laila behind.
 * Hakim-** Laila's father. He is a highly educated school teacher.
 * Fariba-** Laila's mother. She stays in her room all day long mourning the fact that her sons died at war. She does not leave her bedroom until the Mujahideen are victorious.
 * Aziza-** Laila's first child. She is the one that brings Mariam and Laila relationship together. Because Mariam was unable to have children, Aziza brings out Mariam's maternal instinct.
 * Zalmai-** Laila's second child. Because he is a boy, Rasheed spoils him with expensive gifts that the family cannot afford.

"...a man's accusing finger always finds a woman." "'As a reminder of how women like us suffer,' she'd said. ‘How quietly we endure all that falls upon us.'"
 * Important Quotes ** "Only one skill. And it's this: //tahamul //. Endure."

**Visual Art**



**Musical Selection** media type="custom" key="3784213" Take the light, and darken everything around me Call the clouds and listen closely, I'm lost without you Call your name every day when i feel so helpless I've fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this

Hate the mind, regrets are better left unspoken For all we know, this void will grow and Everything's in vain, distressing you though it leaves me open Feels so right, but I'll end this all before it gets me

Call your name every day, when i feel so helpless I've fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this Call your name every day, when i seem so helpless I've fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this doubt

I'll mend myself before it gets me (I'll mend myself before it gets me) I'll mend myself before it gets me (I'll mend myself before it gets me)

Call your name every day, when i feel so helpless I've fallen down,fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this Call your name every day, when i seem so helpless Fallen down, fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this, rise above this, rise above this doubt

I'll mend myself before it gets me (I'll mend myself before it gets me) I'll mend myself before it gets me (I'll mend myself before it gets me)

Call your name every day, when i feel so helpless I've fallen down,fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this Forty eight ways to say that im feelin helpless Fallen down, fallen down, but I'll rise above this, rise above this, rise above this, rise above this doubt