This book is about the life of Afghan women in the present times. Mariam is the illegitimate
daughter of a rich cinema
owner in Herat. She adores her father and believes his insincere words. Once when she goes to his house, she is refused admittance and she spends the night on the street. When she returns to her
mother’s house next morning, she sees her mother dead. Her father marries off the fifteen year old Mariam to the forty year old shoe maker, Rasheed. Mariam’s husband ill treats her. Many years pass with Mariam stuck in an unhappy marriage without children. Laila is beautiful and much younger. She is loves Tariq, who goes away to Pakistan at the beginning of the civil war. When Laila’s house is bombed and her parents die, she is saved by Rasheed , who later marries her. When she gives birth to Tariq’s
daughter, Rasheed’s love for her her evaporates and he starts showing his true colours. Laila has another baby, a boy. Meanwhile,the Taliban have come to power in Afghanistan Repressive rules are enforced, and people become poorer. Women are forbidden to work, and are not allowed to go out unless accompanied by a male member of the family. Poverty forces Laila to put her daughter in an orphanage under false pretexts .Laila and Mariam become very close like mother and daughter.. Tariq returns and comes to see Laila. The jealous Rasheed tries to kill Laila, and is killed by his first wife Mariam. Laila escapes to Pakistan with her children and Tariq. Mariam is executed by the Taliban. When finally , the Taliban are ousted, Laila comes back to Afghanistan to help in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country. A Thousand Splendid Suns is a very readable book.