The book opens with young Mariam being verbally chastised for breaking a tea set that belongs to her mother (Nana), who calls her a "harami" or bastard child. Mariam, as the narrator, explains that she did not clearly understand what the term meant. Nani explains that upon getting pregnant, Jalil cast out Nana from his household. Nana wishes that her father avenged her, but he did not do so. In order to save face in his household, Jalil insisted that Nana threw herself upon him. In retelling the story, Nana warns Mariam that a man will always blame a woman. After getting pregnant, Nana refused to stay in Herat or to move in with her father, so Jalil and his sons built her the kolba, the shacklike house in which Nana and Mariam live, in a clearing outside of the city.

Nana had told Mariam that she was once close to marriage when she was fifteen years-old. She was to be married to a parakeet seller, but before her wedding a "jinn" (a seizure or spasm of some sort) entered her body and the wedding was called off. Nana retells the events of Mariam's birth as if to suggest that she was on the floor of the kolba for two days, lying in pain waiting for birth. However, Jalil claims that Mariam was born in a hospital while Jalil was away. Both parents claim that they chose Mariam's name. Nana claims that Jalil did not visit baby Mariam until she was one month old, but Jalil says he came to see her as fast as he possibly could. Jalil's sons Muhsin and Ramin bring rations to the kolba so that Mariam and Nana don't have to go out to buy them. Nana throws rocks at the boys and curses, but Mariam feels sorry for them because of Nana's assaults.

Mariam and Nana spend their days feeding and milking animals, making bread and rice. Nana doesn't like visitors or people, but a couple of characters do visit the kolba. Bibi Jo is an older woman who comes to complain and gossip. Mullah Faizullah visits to tutor Mariam. He teaches Mariam the Koran prayers and her how to read. Mariam likes Mullah Faizullah, because he listens to her opinions and ideas.

During one tutoring session, Mariam tells Mullah Faizullah that she wants to go to school, and Mullah Faizullah approaches Nana about the issue. Nana refuses to send Mariam to school, chastises Mullah Faizullah, and tells Mariam that the only skill she needs to learn is how to endure life.

Mariam eagerly awaits Jalil's visits, because she loves the time they spend together. Nana also prepares for the visits, always appearing well groomed though she speaks ill of Jalil behind his back. Upon Jalil's arrival for this particular visit, Nana told Jalil that she had heard from Bibi Jo that one of Jalil's wives was pregnant. Jalil confirms the rumor.

Mariam and Jalil always go fishing and draw pictures when he visits. Jalil teaches her rhymes and brings newspaper clips to teach Mariam about Afghan politics. Jalil explains to Mariam that at this point in politics, Daoud Khan overthrows King Zahir Shah which turns Afghanistan into a republic. Rumors fly about the possible socialist ties of Daoud Khan. Jalil also brings her gifts. Mariam has admiration for Jalil, and she wishes that Jalil could take her in to live with him.

Mariam asks Jalil to take her to the cinema to see the new cartoon film that is premiering. When Mariam approaches Nana about the idea, Nana insists that the trip is a bad idea. However, when alone with Jalil, Mariam tells him that she wants to go to the cinema, and she also wants to meet her brothers and sisters. Jalil offers to send someone else to take her to the movies, but Mariam demands that Jalil to take her, and finally Jalil agrees.

Nana finds Mariam's intention to go to the cinema as a sign of her being ungrateful to her, and she tells Mariam she must stay home. Mariam does not listen to Nana and feels resentment towards her for treating her like a burden.

On the day of the movie, Jalil does not come to pick up Mariam, so Mariam decides to walk to Herat herself. Once there she is amazed by the city, and she catches a ride to Jalil's house. Mariam is told by a doorman that Jalil was away on business indefinitely and that she should go home. Mariam refuses to leave and spends the night outside of Jalil's house.The next day, Mariam tries to run into the garden. She only catches a quick glance of Jalil in the window, before she is forced into the backseat of Jalil's car by his chauffeur. Mariam is taken back to the kolba, betrayed and ashamed. While walking back to the kolba, the chauffeur tries to hide Mariam's eyes, but Mariam is able to see that Nana has hanged herself.

Analysis

The opening of the novel sets the foundation for the book's more macrocosmic themes. Nana refers to Mariam as a “harami" (bastard or illegitimate child) in order to suggest that Mariam's birth was the consequence of an extra-marital affair. The term "harami" frames her upbringing as one that is illegitimate, a reference that Mariam herself makes in a later chapter. On the opposite side, Jalil appears as the standard for “legitimacy” according to societal views. Yet, once he lets Mariam down and subsequently rejects her presence at his home, his legitimacy as a father is called into question. In addition, Jalil’s relationship to Nana and Mariam displays his shame of this “second family”.

Both Mariam and Nana express hope at various points throughout this section. Nana reflects on her hopeful attitudes toward her upcoming marriage when she was a girl. Mariam expresses her hope for reconciliation with Jalil, finally persuading him to deepen their relationship and take her to the cinema. Yet, both characters find that their hope spirals into despair, a trajectory that repeats throughout the novel. Nana’s wedding is interrupted by a jinn, while Mariam’s meeting with Jalil never comes to pass.

Additionally, Mariam’s insistence to attend school and Nana’s refusal is the beginning of a discussion about education for women that resonates throughout the novel. Mariam learns early on that the attainment of a formal education would not only be impossible for her, but also that such an education would be wasted on her. The larger point, of course, is that a woman's responsibility is her home and her family.

The start of the novel provides insight into Mariam's dual existence as a child. She lives with Nana's harsh realism, imbuing her with a sense of longing for a better life. Jalil provides a new perspective on life, one that is fanciful and denies anything ugly or unpleasant. Mariam is forced to choose between these two opposing forces and ultimately chooses the idyllic view, as most children likely would. Nana's encouragement of Mariam to learn how to endure foreshadows the life that Mariam will lead, one that will require her to endure a childless abusive marriage.

Nana's emphasis on Mariam learning to endure suffering not only suggests how bleak Mariam's future will be, but also the type of lessons that Mariam must have learned as a child in Nana's home. Ultimately, throughout the rest of the novel, Mariam's capacity for endurance is what allows her to survive horrible conditions and depressing personal losses. Additionally, as Mariam grows up, she becomes steady and solid enough to endure her surroundings but rarely proactive enough to change her situation - a pattern of behavior which most likely reflects her upbringing.

Mariam's trip to Herat, which ultimately culminates in Nana's suicide, signals the end of Mariam's childhood, as well as the end of her naivete. Prior to her trip to Herat, she was shielded about Jalil's true regard for Mariam. Once Mariam attempts to reach Jalil, however, she is exposed to the truth about his consideration for her as an outsider to his life. Upon her mother's death, the simplicity of her life in the kolba is completely overturned, and she is thrust into adulthood immediately with her quest for a new home.

The significance of the "jinn", which appears in this first section of the book, is twofold. In religious belief, the jinn is a dark spirit that enters the body of a person. However, in biological terms, the word jinn also refers to a physical seizure or spasm. Throughout the novel, the term reflects this duality, serving as a symbol of pain and death, often imbued with a sense of karmic vengeance for past actions of regretful characters.

Nana is buried, and Mullah Faizullah tries to comfort Mariam - but Mariam is beyond comfort. After the funeral ceremonies, Jalil offers Mariam a room in his house, but her feelings toward him have turned angry, negative. Mariam also gets the feeling that in Jalil's house, everyone's cold eyes are upon her.

Mariam does not leave her bedroom except to use the bathroom. Food is brought to her. Jalil comes to see her and makes insincere attempts to incorporate Mariam into the family. Mariam realizes that she does not belong in Jalil's house, but she feels that she has nowhere else to go.

Nilofaur, one of Jalil's daughters, comes into Mariam's room to play with a gramophone. She tells Mariam that her mother told her that Mariam is not really her sister. That said, Nilofaur tells Mariam that she doesn't mind if Mariam is in fact her true sister. She also says that a jinn made Nani kill herself and that Mariam should not hold herself responsible.

Bibi Jo visits. Mullah Faizullah visits and further tries to console Mariam that Nana's death was not Mariam's fault. Mullah Faizullah implies that Nana had a troubled youth, but Mariam still blames herself. Soon after, Jalil and his wives tell Mariam that she has a suitor named Rasheed who is friends with Jalil and lives in Kabul. Jalil seems ashamed by the situation, but his wives seem enthusiastic. Mariam says she does not want to marry, and she understands then that the marriage is just an attempt to get rid of her. Mariam asks if she could live with Mullah Faizullah, but the wives refuse. The thought of household chores and sexual intimacy disgusts Mariam. Mariam learns that she is to be married tomorrow, and Jalil has already agreed. Mariam protests, but Jalil does nothing to stop the arrangement. Afsoon locks Mariam in her room for the night.

On the day of the wedding, Mariam sees Rasheed for the first time. He is a hulking man. During the wedding, the mullah asks if there are any objections, but Jalil remains silent. Mariam does not answer that she agrees to marry Rasheed until Jalil prods her to respond. The marriage contract is signed.

Jalil tries to encourage Mariam that Kabul is beautiful, but Mariam confronts Jalil about being ashamed of her and tells Jalil that the relationship between the two of them is over. Mariam and Rasheed board the bus for Kabul, and Jalil tries to get Mariam's attention from outside of the bus. Mariam pays no attention to him, and she and Rasheed leave for Kabul.

Rasheed and Mariam arrive back at Rasheed's house in Kabul. The modest house is on a messy street, but the house seems very large in comparison to the kolba. However, Mariam misses her old life. Rasheed tells Mariam that he prefers to sleep alone and shows Mariam her own room. Mariam is relieved. Rasheed asks if Mariam if he scares her, and she lies to him for the first time, telling him that he does not.

Mariam stays in bed most of the time, feeling displaced in her new surroundings. She feels homesick, and Mariam becomes extremely nervous about eventually having to have sex with Rasheed. After coming home from work, Rasheed tells Mariam about his day and tells her the news from the streets. After a week, Rasheed tells Mariam that she needs to start acting like a wife and stop crying all the time. Mariam begins to clean, cook, and shop for food.

The women at the market whisper about Mariam and one woman, Fariba, introduces herself and her son Noor. She says her husband is Hakim, and she invites Mariam over to her house. All of the women begin taking interest in Mariam. Mariam is overwhelmed, but Fariba keeps the crowd back as best as she can .Mariam tries to run away from the crowd, but she scrapes her knee and gets lost on her own street. She feels more alone at this point than ever before in her life.

When Rasheed returns home and compliments her daal, Mariam feels proud. Then, Rasheed tells Mariam that "a woman's face is her husband's business only" and gives her a burqa to wear, which horrifies Mariam.

Analysis

Again, the theme of shame is explored through Jalil as he casts Mariam out of his house during the darkest point in her life. Not only does he send Mariam out of his house, but he sends her to a whole new city, which allows Mariam to symbolically disconnect from him. Jalil speaks and acts in a manner that suggests some regret for his actions, though his feelings of paternal responsibility can not overcome his feelings of shame and the pressure put upon him by his wives.

Mariam is given no choice whatsoever in her marriage, but rather it is forced upon her. She is young and scared, and she is clearly not truly in love with Rasheed. Afghan culture, however, does not equate marriage with true love, but rather with convenience and necessity. Mariam’s role is clearly defined by Rasheed when he asks her to “act like a wife.” He demands that she clean and cook, and he will ultimately require her to participate in sex that he forces upon her.

Yet, the beginning of their marriage and the start of their new lives does not seem so terrible, providing an element of hope to this section of the novel. Though Mariam is not happy with her situation, she is recognized as a legitimate wife, whereas in Jalil's house she was considered an illegitimate daughter. The tone used in this section reveals Mariam's reservations toward interacting with her new husband, and her nervousness about her new role as a wife. Yet, she does take pleasure in pleasing Rasheed, like when he is satisfied with her daal.

Also affecting Mariam’s new position is Rasheed’s requirement that Mariam wear a burqa, which would hide her identity from the world beyond Rasheed. This declaration by Rasheed ultimately symbolizes that Mariam’s new life is limited to Rasheed and Rasheed alone. The requirement of Mariam's burqa foreshadows Rasheed's selfish, protective nature, which will ultimately result in abuse.

Fariba's introduction to Mariam in the market is a new experience for her, as Mariam has never had peers who attempted to reach out to her, since her old friends were all significantly older. Additionally, Fariba's standing as the first woman that Mariam meets in Kabul is significant. This meeting foreshadows how the lives of the two families will intertwine later in the novel, once Laila, Fariba's daughter, becomes Rasheed's second wife.

Mariam wears her burqa out in town for the first time and finds it frustrating to move and see in the garment. Mariam and Rasheed go to a park together, and afterwards he takes Mariam to a crowded restaurant. She and Rasheed walk around Kabul which has more of an industrial city feel to Mariam than that of Herat. Mariam has ice cream for the first time and finds herself fascinated by the "modern women" who wear makeup and no head coverings. They are out on the streets alone and some drive cars, smoke, etc... They make her feel that she is of a lower class than they are.

Rasheed gives Mariam a shawl, which Mariam considers to be a genuine gift of love, as opposed to the gifts she had received from Jalil. That night, Rasheed comes into Mariam's room and begins touching her. Despite Mariam's protests, Rasheed forcibly has sex with her. Rasheed tells Mariam that there is no shame in sex, and that it is what married people do.

Mariam observes her first Ramadan in Kabul. Rasheed does not fast on all days, but when he does he is very impatient with Mariam's cooking and serving. Mariam recalls how Jalil would come to the kolba on Ramadan to celebrate Eid with presents, but would leave to celebrate with who Nana called "his real family". Mullah Faizullah would come to the kolba with treats, but Mariam did not like Eid, because it allowed her to envision other people's happiness.

Eid in Kabul is extremely animated. Fariba greets Mariam on the street, but Mariam barely acknowledges her. Rasheed warns Mariam to stay away from Fariba, because she is a gossip and her husband is pompous. Rasheed and Mariam watch fireworks together, and Mariam wishes that Nana could see how content Mariam is today. After going out in Kabul, Rasheed and Mariam have visitors to celebrate, and during the visit Mariam has to stay holed up in her bedroom. Mariam feels as if Rasheed's protectiveness is reflective of his strong sense of honor and desire to keep her for himself.

While cleaning up after the Eid celebration, Mariam goes into Rasheed's room for the first time, and finds a gun in Rasheed's drawer. Mariam feels that he must have kept the weapon in the house for safety. Mariam also finds pornographic magazines, and she feels that she must be a disappointment to him in terms of their sexual relationship. Mariam rationalizes that he has needs that are beyond her own. Mariam also finds pictures of Rasheed's first wife and his son that had both passed away. Mariam begins to feel sad at the thought of Rasheed's sorrow. She begins to feel that she and Rasheed could make a good pair.

Mariam discovers that she is pregnant, and Rasheed is very obvious about his preference for a boy. Rasheed is genuinely happy about the pregnancy and already loves the unborn baby intensely. Mariam feels that God must have meant for this to happen to her, and prays that her happiness and the baby's life will be sustained.

While in a bath house, Mariam suffers an accident in which she bleeds and falls unconscious. We learn that this accident causes Mariam to lose her baby. Mariam is overcome with grief about the loss of her baby, and she becomes jealous of other mothers that she sees. Mariam feels that she does not deserve a baby, because of how she betrayed Nana. She dreams of a jinn stealing her baby. She becomes angry at herself, at Rasheed, and at God.

Rasheed becomes much more quiet and morose. He does not laugh anymore or buy Mariam gifts. Mariam asks Rasheed if he is angry with her, but he insists that he is not. Mariam suggests a short burial service for the baby, but Rasheed refuses to participate. Mariam performs a small ceremony by herself.

In Afghan politics at this point, Mir Akbar Khyber is murdered. The year is 1978. After the murder, people demonstrate in Kabul. Rasheed tells Mariam that Mir Akbar is a communist and that President Daoud Khan's government is suspected in his murder. Mariam tries to ask what a communist was, but Rasheed gets frustrated with her and tells her to shut up. Mariam fears Rasheed because of his temper and his increasing physical abuse.

Mariam has six more miscarriages during the four years they have been married, and Mariam can no longer make Rasheed happy. Mariam realizes that she has become a burden and asks Rasheed what he would want to happen in their lives, but he will not answer.

Mariam sees airplanes overhead on April 27th and through the radio, and she and Rasheed learn that a rebel takeover had occurred ousting the Daoud Khan administration. All members of his party have been killed. The nation will now be called the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan- supposedly under a rule that would end inequality. Mariam thinks about Jalil and the chance that he had been jailed. On the night of the revolution, Fariba and Hakim have a baby named Laila.

After Rasheed criticizes Mariam's cooking, he forces her to chew on rocks, breaking her teeth. Rasheed says that all that Mariam has given him in the marriage is bad food.

Analysis

Miriam's amazement with the modern women of Kabul adds insight to her ignorance outside of the kolba. Additionally, providing a view of these modern women gives readers a deeper understanding of the social situation in Kabul at the time. Many readers may assume that the public abuse and covering of women in Afghanistan has been a mainstream cultural norm for all of the nation's existence. However, by displaying the legions of more modern women, Hosseini subtly alludes to these women to inform readers that this is not the case.

Hosseini includes a subtle passive interaction between Rasheed and Hakim, in which Rasheed warns Mariam not to associate with Hakim because he is pompous. This description of Hakim by Rasheed foreshadows Rasheed's future interaction with Hakim's family, which occurs through Laila later in the novel. However, the comment Rasheed makes seems extremely absurd once Hakim's character is developed later in the novel, in which he is seen as a smart man, but also a person who is devoted to his family and humble about his accomplishments and knowledge.

Following Rasheed and Mariam's "honeymoon period" in which Mariam begins to find herself content, Rasheed and Mariam’s marriage takes a turn that it is not only sour, but violent. Once again, Mariam finds herself hopeful for a change in her life with the prospect of her pregnancy. Yet, as is consistent with other points within the novel, Mariam’s hope is crushed with the loss of her first and subsequent pregnancies. Mariam attributes the loss of her baby to a jinn, and as in the first section of the book, the jinn is seen as a karmic symbol of justice for past actions. In this case, the jinn stealing Mariam's baby is a consequence of Mariam causing Nana's death.

Not only does pregnancy signify the main role of a woman in Afghanistan, but clearly not being able to bear children has changed the way Rasheed views Mariam. It seems as if their life together is hopeless. Again, shame comes into play, as Rasheed is ashamed of Mariam’s loss of the baby, too ashamed in fact to comfort Mariam through the burial service she holds.

After Rasheed forces Mariam to chew on rocks, it becomes clear that not only is there no love within the marriage currently, but love between Rasheed and Mariam will never evolve. However, when Mariam finds Rasheed's old family photos, his character is developed more from a raging misogynist into someone with a deep sadness and regret that fuels his anger. Of course this discovery does not excuse his actions towards Miriam, but they do add depth to him.

The murder of Mir Akbar and the birth of Laila signify changes that are developing both in Afghanistan as a whole and also in the lives of Mariam and Rasheed. Not only does Laila's birth to Fariba contrast with Mariam's misery and infertility, but Laila's birth coinciding with the start of the rebellion foreshadows personal and social revolution.

The year is 1987, nine years after the story leaves off in Chapter 15. Laila is a beautiful nine year old, and her friend Tariq has left Kabul to visit his uncle. Laila misses Tariq immensely, and time goes by slowly for her. Laila's parents are arguing as they often did. Laila's father, Hakim, is an Afghan history expert. He is often verbally abused by Fariba, Laila's mother, who insults him incessantly. Laila recalled that there was a time when Fariba used to be charmed by Hakim, but now their relationship is based solely in arguments. Laila's brother Ahmad has joined the jihad against the Soviets.

On the way to school, Laila notices a Mercedes Benz across the street from Mariam and Rasheed's house with license plates from Herat, which obviously indicate that Jalil was in town. Laila attends a school where she has an abusive teacher who preaches gender equality and Soviet communism. The teacher refers to Laila as "Revolutionary Girl" because her birthday coincides with the date of the revolution. In politics, President Reagan has begun supporting the Afghans, along with much of the Arab world.

Laila walks home with her friends Hasina and Giti, discussing suitors and how to repel the unattractive ones. Laila feels that her father would not find her a suitor until after she finished her schooling. Hakim believes in Laila's potential. Hasina would most likely be married off sooner. She teases Laila about her relationship with Tariq, and it is revealed that Tariq only has one leg, because he suffered a war injury.

Laila passes the Mercedes Benz again that was parked in front of Mariam and Rasheed's house. She turns around and finds a squirt gun in her face, held by a boy named Khadim who is 11 years old and proposes marriage to Laila. Khadim teases Laila about Tariq, and then Khadim squirts her with the gun. Laila curses at Khadim and his friends, and the boys reveal that they actually squirted her with urine.

As Laila washes up, she reflects on missing Tariq and her mother's neglect in raising her. If her mother had picked her up from school as promised, Laila would have never had to suffer Khadim's harassment. Sometimes Laila's mother has "good days" where she reflects on her nostalgic happiness. Laila's parents are a love match as opposed to an arranged marriage, as in the case of Mariam and Rasheed. Fariba would often talk about marrying off Laila's brothers Ahmad and Noor. Laila often feels left out of these conversations, and thinks instead about Tariq.

Laila's mother collects momentos of Ahmad and Noor's fight against the Soviets, including news clippings about Soviet attacks on villagers and children. Fariba stays in bed all day and has a lukewarm reaction when Laila tells her that the boys squirted her with urine. Laila sees the Benz leave from Mariam and Rasheed's house. Laila's mother promises that she will pick Laila up from school the next day.

Tariq does not come back when expected, so Laila starts doing chores around the house to fill time. Laila begins to worry that Tariq has been hit by another land mine. One night, Tariq finally returns. His extended absence was due to his uncle having his second heart attack. Laila's father explains that Tariq's people (Pashtuns) and her people (Tajiks) have tension, because the Tajiks barely ruled Afghanistan, while the Pashtuns ruled most of the time. Laila's father believes in unity, but speaks of the rivalry.

Laila flashes back to the first time that she saw Tariq's stump. She recalls that she cried when he told her that it felt sore. Laila tells Tariq that she has missed him, and she thinks she sees Tariq blush. Laila tells Tariq how Khadim squirted her with urine, and Tariq beats Khadim. This results in Khadim leaving Laila alone.

Fariba does not eat with her family. Hakim and Laila, meanwhile, eat together and Hakim helps Laila with her homework. Communists fire Hakim from working at school, but Hakim still remains hopeful about the political changes, because the Communists have focused on literacy initiatives for women, and as a result, women are enrolling more frequently at the University in Kabul. Hakim keeps pro-communist talk to a minimum because Fariba disapproves. Kabul has always been a more progressive area of Afghanistan, but the lives of women in the rural areas are now changing as well.

A stranger comes to the door with news that Ahmad and Noor died in the jihad. The funeral rituals are observed. Laila's mother is grief stricken as the family accepts visitors, and she asks that Hakim be kept away from her. Tariq's mother visits, and Mariam does as well. Laila finds it difficult to empathize with her mother because she has never known her brothers. Instead she considers Tariq her true brother.

Fariba takes ill with night terrors and grief, and so Laila takes her to a doctor. No physical illness is found. Laila becomes responsible for more chores and wishes that Fariba would recognize her potential for the future instead of dwelling on the past. Laila is nervous that her mother will kill herself, so she confronts her. Fariba says that she had thought about suicide, but wants to see a free Afghanistan for her boys. Laila is hurt that her mother does not say that she wants to stay alive for her.

Analysis

The relationship budding between the young Laila and Tariq is a refreshing contrast to the harsh reality faced by Mariam and Rasheed. Laila has true feelings for Tariq that she does not seem to understand, and Tariq seems to return these feelings. Though they are not bound by the confines of marriage as Mariam and Rasheed are, their bond with one another seems much more legitimate, and might in fact be considered true love. Their interactions as children certainly foreshadow the love that will grow between them as they transition into adulthood.

The absence of Ahmad and Noor from the house, but consistent discussion of them in the novel introduces the reader to the strong connection Afghan families have to their nation. Ahmad and Noor’s deaths symbolize the ultimate sacrifice for their beliefs, and their family's misery following their deaths recounts how the effects of their passing spread far beyond the two of them.

Hakim provides a completely different view of education for women compared with Nana. As a parent, Hakim hopes for a bright future for Laila, and he has faith that his daughter will be successful in the future. This is a stark contrast to Nana's advice to Mariam that school would be wasted on her. By providing insight into both Mariam and Laila's childhoods, Hosseini develops characterization for both women. Such distinct contrasts can be seen between their upbringings that the reader can begin to more thoroughly understand the characters of the two women as adults. Indeed, in specific scenes that parallel each other, such as Hakim educating Laila versus Nana's emphasis on endurance, the reader gets the chance to understand the key differences between Laila and Mariam.

Ahmad and Noor’s deaths symbolize the invasion of Afghan politics into the personal lives of the characters in the novel. However, discussions of communist control and Fariba’s hopeful attitude for the future both foreshadow more interaction between macro-level political change and micro-level character interaction.

Hakim, Laila, and Tariq take a trip to a surprise location. They pass historic Afghan landmarks, and Hakim points them out. Their driver tells them that Afghanistan was battered but is still standing like the mountains. They arrive at the famous two Buddhas, and they climb up to the top. The cliffs used to house monks which carved the Buddhas. Hakim reminisces about bringing Fariba to this place, and he speaks of her fondly. Hakim confesses that he is also upset about the death of Ahmad and Noor, but he is also extremely thankful for Laila.

Hakim speaks of leaving Afghanistan, but they know it would be impossible because of Fariba. Laila does not want to tell Hakim that she does not want to leave Afghanistan, because she knows she'd miss Tariq too much. Laila reveals to the readers that Fariba accused Hakim of having no convictions, but in fact Fariba is Hakim's conviction.

In April, 1988 the Soviets sign a treaty to leave Afghanistan, but Fariba is not pleased. She feels that the current president is just a Soviet pawn. The next year, Laila and her family go to watch the Soviets leave Kabul, with many other people from the city. Soon after, Tariq's father suffers a heart attack. By 1992 Tariq's father has had a series of strokes which impairs his speech and mobility.

Tariq and Laila go to a movie, and during a romantic scene, Tariq says he would never get married. Laila agrees, but secretly is disappointed. Laila wonders what it might be like to kiss Tariq. Laila's friend Hasina gets married and expects that she will move to Germany.

The U.S.S.R. collapses. President Najibullah attempts to appear to be a faithful Muslim and tries to make an agreement with the Mujahideen. Fariba prays for the success of the Mujahideen. Najibullah ultimately surrenders and the communist regime and jihad end. Afghanistan becomes the Islamic State of Afghanistan overseen by a Jihad Council which is later to be replaced by other councils and ultimately by elections.

The Mujahideen members come to Kabil, and Fariba feels this day had finally come to bring peace to Noor and Ahmad. Fariba stops mourning and throws a party. She rises out of bed and discusses marriage and Tariq with Laila. Laila reassures that Tariq was like her brother, but Fariba warns Laila to avoid gossip. Laila realizes that she has fallen in love with Tariq and she begins to notice that other people have noticed as well.

Giti has a crush on an eighteen year old boy named Sabir, and she hopes to marry him. Laila tries to pay less attention to Tariq, but she secretly dreams of marrying him. Tariq's mother seems to approve of Laila's secret glancing at Tariq. Tariq begins to smoke, and he makes new friends that Laila hates. Tariq tells Laila that the women gossip about their behavior as being sinful. Tariq confesses that he only has eyes for her, but Laila cannot tell if he is being sincere. Soon after Tariq's confession, Tariq and Laila kiss.

Two men at the party begin to fight. One is a Pashtun and the other is a Tajik, and they enter a political discussion which gets heated. Tariq joins in their fight. Tariq is not seriously hurt. Bombs fall in Kabul, and Massoud's patrols are everywhere. Tariq starts to carry a gun for safety, and in June of 1992 the Pashtuns and Hazaras fight in Kabul. Soon after, the leadership of Afghanistan begins to crumble, and the Mujihadeen begin to fight amongst themselves. Fariba mourns again.

Hakim wants to leave Kabul, but Fariba will not leave. Laila drops out of school because the streets are too dangerous. Hakim tutors Laila, but all she can think of is Tariq. Laila's friend Giti is killed by a bomb and Laila is absolutely devastated. Soon after Giti's death, Tariq tells Laila that is leaving Kabul for Pakistan. He tells her that he is leaving the next day. Laila is extremely distraught.

After Laila becomes upset, she and Tariq have sex. Tariq asks Laila to come with him to Pakistan and marry him. Laila wants to leave, but she realizes her father's life would be over if she left the family. Tariq expects this response, and Laila forces Tariq to leave without an extended goodbye. Tariq yells from outside the front door that he will come back for Laila.

Analysis

Fariba comes back to life after the Mujihadeen victory, which allows for readers to witness a new side of her - one that has been absent from the novel since Ahmad and Noor's deaths. Her party-planning and sudden intense interest in Laila's social life symbolizes how the hope of the Afghan people combines personal promise and political promise.

Laila, while also relying on familial ties, has a different reason for staying in Afghanistan, despite Tariq's proposal that she come with him to the safety of Pakistan. Laila is tied to her father who clearly can not leave Afghanistan because of Fariba, her mother. All of these characters are tied to Afghanistan for different, but familial reasons. This differs from Ahmad and Noor's ideological sacrifice for Afghanistan.

Laila and Tariq express their love physically, a direct consequence of their sorrow upon having to leave each other. The sheer emotion that drives this act symbolizes the true nature of their love. When Laila and Tariq have sex it can be much more closely related to making love than the harsh and forced sex had by Mariam and Rasheed. Though the act of Tariq and Laila is forbidden, and certainly considered illegitimate in Afghan society, it seems to the reader as a genuine act of love. The tone that depicts the lovemaking is not pornographic or heated, but rather passionate and loving.

Tariq and Laila's separation suggests that both will suffer now that they cannot be together. Additionally, Tariq's persistence in promising that he would come back for Laila foreshadows his reappearance later in the novel. Last, when Tariq leaves, Laila's solid foundation is practically pulled out from under her. This act foreshadows the crumbling of everything else around her and the implication that her life is about to take on a precipitous descent.

Laila feels guilty about having sex with Tariq, but at the same time, she feels that the act was right. She tries to remember every tiny detail about having sex with Tariq. Hakim, meanwhile, announces that the family will leave Kabul for Pakistan. Fariba is only convinced to leave after Laila is almost hit by a bomb. The family packs lightly and sells the rest of their belongings. While packing, the family house is hit with a bomb. Laila is outside the house at the time and survives, but just barely.

Laila wakes up in Mariam and Rasheed's house. Mariam and Rasheed had taken care of Laila, nursed her wounds and given her pills. Rasheed found her amongst the rubble and brought her into the house. Laila's parents had been killed in the blast. Mariam tries to comfort Laila, but can't find the words.

A visitor comes to see Laila, named Abdul Sharif. Sharif brings news of Tariq from Pakistan. Tariq has been in a special unit of the hospital with Sharif and in an accident, lost his other leg and suffered serious injuries. Hearing this, Laila is devastated, but Sharif continues that Tariq spoke of his home and his family, but he mostly spoke of Laila. Tariq had asked Sharif to find Laila and tell her that he was thinking of her. Sharif tells Laila that Tariq died soon after in the hospital, and Laila wonders if Tariq's death is her punishment for not properly mourning Ahmad and Noor.

Rasheed begins speaking again at meals, addressing Laila and telling her lies to attempt to impress her. Ultimately, Mariam figures out that Rasheed is courting Laila for marriage. Mariam objects profusely, but Rasheed does not care about her opinions or feelings. Rasheed threatens to Mariam that he will cast Laila out of his house if he does not ask her to marry him.

Mariam asks Laila for her answer, and Laila says that she will marry Rasheed. Rasheed tries to give Laila a wedding ring and flowers, but Laila says she just wants to get the wedding done with as soon as possible. Rasheed takes this as a sign of her eagerness to marry.

Laila had once thought about leaving Afghanistan before she had heard the news about Tariq's death. Soon after, she realizes that she is pregnant and now cannot leave. Laila considers the unborn child to be a miracle - a memory of Tariq. Marrying Rasheed is Laila's method of providing for her child. If they are married soon enough, Rasheed will be deceived into thinking that the baby is his. Laila and Rasheed marry and consummate their marriage, but Laila has to prick her finger in order to feign the loss of her virginity.

Analysis

While the focus of this section is still Laila, a key relationship forms between Laila and Mariam. Though Laila had referred to seeing Mariam at Ahmad and Noor's funeral, the interaction with Laila in Mariam's house allows the reader to not only notice how much Mariam has changed and become hardened by Rasheed, but also the differences between the two women. While Mariam is obedient and has been forced into submission, Laila is cunning and secretive in her attempt to save herself and her child.

A stark contrast is drawn between the true love shared by Laila and Tariq, and the social construction of marriage that Laila enters into out of desperation for her unborn child. Rasheed ignores Mariam’s feelings in the whole matter, which further exemplifies that their marriage has no element of respect or partnership. Despite Mariam's objections to the marriage, her softer side is alluded to in this section, as she prefers Rasheed to marry Laila rather than him to cast her out to die.

Laila’s pregnant status provides her hope, even after hearing the devastating news of Tariq’s death. She looks to this child for strength, and she finds a new kind of love that she has never known before. The unborn baby symbolizes Laila's immense love for Tariq. As in the style of the novel, this hope offers another possibility for the reader to take relief from the tremendous suffering occurring within and around the characters.

Laila needs to prick her finger to leave blood on the sheets in order that Rasheed will think that she is a virgin - and that the child she is bearing will be his own. Yet, this act also symbolizes the false nature of her marriage to Rasheed and foreshadows the lies that she will continue to tell him. It is at this point in which Laila begins to suffer the sexual burden of sleeping with Rasheed, and Mariam is conversely given reprieve from her dreaded duty.

Laila stays upstairs most days and avoids Mariam. In turn, Mariam also avoids Laila. Rasheed demands that they all eat together, and he forces conversation. Rasheed reveals to Laila that Mariam is a harami and compares her to a trusty Volga automobile. However, Rasheed equates Mariam to a Mercedes Benz - one that requires special care. Rasheed tells Laila not to leave the house without him and to wear a burqa when she does leave.

Laila tries to make conversation with Mariam, and she seems specifically interested in discussing the demands which Rasheed has placed on her. However, Mariam only speaks to Laila out of the neccessity to divide up the household chores. Mariam tells Laila that she does not want Laila's company. Laila apologizes, and Mariam tells her that she should be sorry.

Laila recalls hearing how Rasheed's son had drowned while Rasheed was drunk, which may concern her, as he will be raising her child. When Laila tells Rasheed that she is pregnant, Rasheed begins to pray for a boy. He also begins to hold Laila on an even higher pedestal than he did before. Mariam informs Laila that her pregnancy does not excuse her from doing chores. Laila is upset by her living situation in Rasheed's house, but she knows she has little choice.

In the war, Hazaras are fighting Massoud, but Sayyaf is fighting the Hazaras. Massoud is fighting Hekmatyar who supports the Hazaras. Kabul continues to be fraught with destruction due to the conflict.

Laila becomes nostalgic for her childhood and for Tariq. She has fallen into a daily routine of doing her chores. Rasheed takes Laila to visit his shop, a privilege which Mariam has not had. Laila and Mariam have a big fight that begins over a missing spoon. The fight is a cathartic release of both of their feelings of sadness and aggravation. Ultimately there is angry name calling, but Laila feels good about the fight afterwards, and thinks that Mariam probably did too.

Laila has her baby- a girl named Aziza. Rasheed cannot stand the smells and sounds of the baby, and has no affection for her. Rasheed tries to have sex with Laila before the six weeks after-birth that during which the doctor had ordered Laila to abstain. Laila refuses, and Rasheed gets angry.

Rasheed asks Mariam to help with the baby, but Mariam says she knows nothing about babies. Laila's life soon becomes consumed by cycles of washing, feeding, and changing Aziza. Laila is fascinated by her. Rasheed tells Laila not to get too attached, because one out of every four or five children die before the age of five in Afghanistan.

Rasheed blames Mariam for Laila withholding sex. He comes into her room and beats her, but Laila physically stops him. That night, Mariam goes into the kitchen and sees Laila and Aziza lying on the floor. Laila is asleep, but Aziza is awake and about to cry. Mariam takes care of her and allows her to hold Mariam's finger while she falls asleep.

Laila would whisper to Aziza about Tariq. Rasheed sometimes refers to Aziza being Tariq's daughter in a sort of sideways manner. Laila just acts as though she didn't understand his implications. Rasheed questions Laila's prior behavior with Tariq, implying something inappropriate had occurred. Rasheed says that if Tariq was alive he would kill him.

Since Laila was fed up with her living situation in Rasheed's home, she begins to rebel. Laila has been stealing money from Rasheed since Aziza was born, and she hid the money away. She is planning to run away with Aziza in the Spring.

Aziza has been dressed in boy clothes that Rasheed had bought prior to Aziza's birth. However, one morning, Laila finds dresses outside of her door- put there by Mariam. Laila thanks Mariam for the clothes, and Mariam says that she had them already, but had no use for them. She tells Laila that she had sewed the clothes during her first pregnancy. Mariam brings up the night that Laila stood up to Rasheed in order to stop him from hurting her. Mariam says that no one had stood up for her before, and that Laila should get used to this type of treatment in Rasheed's house. Laila and Mariam have a cup of tea together and made peace. Laila and Mariam start doing their chores together and begin to enjoy each other's company. Aziza begins to grow fond of Mariam, though Mariam is confused as to why.

Rasheed correctly predicts that the Uzbek Dostum will ally with Hekmatyar to fight against Massoud. This causes the war to escalate. The streets of Kabul become even more dangerous. Women begin to kill themselves out of fear, and rape victims are killed by their families in order to retain honor. Mariam wonders if it was as dangerous in Herat, and she hopes that Jalil was safe. The Mujahideen begin using torture tactics to force young boys to join.

Rasheed has to stay home from work during one particularly violent week, but then fighting subsides.

Mariam tells Laila about her past, and Laila reveals to Mariam that she is planning to run away in the Spring. She asks Mariam to come along.

Analysis

Laila and Mariam's first big fight over the spoon serves as a catharsis for the two of them to release their anger. They can finally yell and scream and curse, as they both had probably been wishing to do for a while. The fight offers a release of pent-up anger and frustration toward Rasheed, but also about their unfortunate situations in general. Though the words may have been directed towards an undeserving party, the fight appears to serve as a device to bring Laila and Mariam closer together.

Laila and Mariam finally become civil, even though it is through the unfortunate event of Rasheed’s violence. Laila's strength allows her to act on behalf of Mariam, in Mariam's best interest. This act is unlike any other that Mariam had experienced in her life thus far. Though characters have spoken for her, they never did so with her interests in mind, except for maybe Mullah Faizullah. The bond that Mariam and Laila form is new to the novel, one that is more than friendship, like a familial bond of two adult women.

Hosseini uses Rasheed's comment to Laila about not attaching herself to Aziza to allude to the high mortality rate of young Afghan children, which implies the tragic health conditions in Afghanistan. Though poverty is strewn throughout the novel, there are rare points in which Hosseini offers such jarring comparisons between the western world and Afghanistan. The mortality statistic provides context for the story.

The uprising of the Mujihadeen begins to affect the day to day life of the novel’s central characters. With Rasheed home during the day, the family will be affected both emotionally and financially. Mariam and Laila's escape plan again brings a glimmer of hope to the lives of these women. The plan will clearly be affected by whatever political rule surrounds them, due to consistently changing laws and social norms. Indeed, the value (or lack of value) of women is emphasized when Rasheed is clearly disgusted by Aziza. His disdain of Aziza distinctly contrasts with his excitement and joy in hoping and praying for a male. However, Laila's relationship with Aziza shows not only true maternal love, but also her indelibly fond memories of Tariq.

The morning of the planned runaway, Laila is sure that Rasheed must be aware of the plan. However, he leaves for work just as he does every other day, without mentioning anything to Mariam or Laila. The women pack up Aziza and take a taxi to the bus station. On the way, Laila noticd the destruction that had affected Kabul during recent fighting.

Once they arrive at the station, Laila plans to find a man to help her buy her bus tickets and act as her relative. Ever since the Mujahideen takeover two years earlier, women were forbidden to travel without a male relative, as per Shari’a, strict Islamic law. These laws also required women to cover themselves, and punished adultery with death. Laila and Mariam also looked ahead to their plan’s second most risky element, crossing into Pakistan, a nation so filled with Afghan refugees that it had to begin turning people away.

Laila and Mariam choose a manto pose as a relative. He agrees to help them buy their tickets, after Laila explains that she was a widow with her mother and daughter. The man buys their tickets, and tells Laila that he would say they were his cousins if any guards questioned them.

Laila thanks Mariam for her participation in the escape, and she confesses that she can’t do it without her. Laila becomes hopeful and strong. The family gets in line to board the bus with their posed male relative. However, after he enters the bus himself, the man whispers something to the militiamen guarding the bus. Laila, Mariam, and Aziza are told to step aside. The three of them are taken to the police station, despite Laila’s protests.

Laila is questioned by an officer, who ultimately determins that her story about visiting her uncle in Pakistan is false. The officer reveals that the escape that Laila attempts is not uncommon among Afghan women. Laila pleads with the officer not to send them back to a house in which they would be endangered, but the officer refuses to interfere with “private family matters.”

The police officers drops Laila, Mariam, and Aziza off at Rasheed’s house. Rasheed is enraged, and Laila attempts to explain to Rasheed that Mariam is innocent. After punching Laila, Rasheed draggs her with Aziza into a bedroom and locks the door. Rasheed then proceeds to beat Mariam, and locks her in a toolshed. Rasheed then nails boards across the window of the room in which he has thrown Laila and Aziza, leaving them in complete darkness.

Locked in the room, Aziza cries for milk, but Rasheed does not give them any food or water. Aziza quickly becomes dehydrated. Laila dreams that they found Tariq, but that he could not hear her. After three days, Rasheed opens the door of the room. He threatened that if she attempt such an act again, he would kill Mariam first, then Aziza, and then would kill Laila after making her watch the murders of the other two.

The novel now jumps ahead two and a half years, to September 27, 1996, the day of the Taliban’s arrival to Afghanistan. The Taliban are a group of young Pashtuns, many of which grew up as refugees. They follow Mullah Omar, a man of which the characters in the book know very little. Rasheed looks to the Taliban for hope to “clean up this place”.

Since Laila and Mariam’s attempted escape, Rasheed has begun to conceive of the two of them as one being that he detests. He rarely directs his speech towards the women. Rasheed, Laila, Mariam, and Aziza go out to greet the Taliban. Many Afghans they passed seemed hopeful as well. Along their trip, the family learns that Massoud has withdrawn from Kabul. The people of Kabul celebrate the Taliban’s arrival.

The main spectacle of the Taliban’s entrance is a scene in which a Talib stands with a megaphone next to two dead Soviet sympathizers hanging from traffic posts. The Talib proclaims that the men were infidels and their punishment reflects what will come to those who commit crimes against Islam. Rasheed seems pleased by this announcement.

The next day, the people of Kabul receive a message that lists the laws enacted by the Taliban. These new statutes require strict adherence to Islamic law. For the men, this includes growing beards and wearing turbans. Women are forbidden from leaving the house unaccompanied, showing their faces, or speaking without being spoken to first. The punishment for women who laugh in public or neglect to wear a burqa is a beating by the Taliban. All schools for girls are immediately shut down, and women are forbidden from working.

Laila is in disbelief about the forced house arrest of women that the Taliban enforced, yet Rasheed assures her that the rest of Afghanistan had been following these practices already. Laila is thankful that her father could not see what the Taliban had done to their country. Universities and museums are ravaged, and artifacts and books are destroyed. Talibs patrol the streets, beating people for violations of the strict laws. Cinemas are ransacked and the graves of entertainers are terrorized. Mariam wonders what happened to her father and his cinema.

Rasheed is tolerant of the Taliban takeover, and even seemed satisfied by some of their twisted law enforcement practices. He reveals that he notices that Aziza’s eye color does not match his or Laila’s. He also threatens Laila, telling her that he can go to the Taliban if he chooses to explain that he suspects he is not Aziza’s father. Laila calls Rasheed despicable, and Rasheed assures her that he is the only thing keeping Laila and her daughter off the streets. Laila knows that he is right.

Laila soon realizes that she is pregnant again. She prepares to abort her unborn child, using a bicycle spoke. She does not think she will have the capability to love Rasheed’s child as she does Tariq’s. However, while sitting on the bathroom floor, she could not go through with the abortion. She realizes that her battle with Rasheed does not involve the baby, and that killing the baby would be another murder of an innocent, when so much killing has been going on around her.

On the day that Laila goes into labor with her second child, she and her family are forced to travel around Kabul due to the Taliban’s shifting of the hospital system: separating men and women into separate hospitals. The family is directed to Rabia Balkhi hospital, which they learn does not have clean water, medications, or even electricity.

When they arrive at the hospital, the waiting room is packed by women and their families. Mariam makes an effort to assure Laila that she will be seen by a doctor, fighting through the crowd in the waiting room. In the process, Mariam begins to realize the sacrifices made by a mother, and she reflects on her betrayal of Nana. Mariam learns that there are only two doctors working at the hospital, and a nurse instructs her to take a walk with Laila and to wait.

When Laila is finally seen by a doctor, the delivery room is completely open, so that all of the women delivering can see one another. The doctor wears a long burqa, and she tells Laila that she needs an immediate caesarian section. However, the doctor whispers to Mariam that there is no anesthesia available for the procedure. Despite Mariam’s protests, the doctor insists that the hospital has very little medical equipment in general. Mariam attempts to get the name of th anesthesia so that she could go get it for Laila, but Laila just asks the doctor to “cut me open and give me my baby.” The doctor goes ahead with the procedure and Mariam is amazed by how long Laila is able to go without screaming.

In the Fall of 1998, a drought falls over Afghanistan. Mariam has the idea to dig a hole in the backyard to find a spring. Mariam is now forty, and she is showing signs of her age. Zalmai, Laila’s son, is now two years old. He is a sweet child when alone with Laila, but when with Rasheed, Zalmai became more brash, which Rasheed condones.

Rasheed began to spend excessive amounts of money on Zalmai, not reusing any of Aziza’s old toys or diapers. Rasheed informs the family that despite slow business, he is able to borrow the money for Zalmai’s things from his friends. He insists that their financial situation will turn around soon. Rasheed is often annoyed if Laila speaks to the two of them when they are together, and he is hurt if Zalmai reaches for Laila when he is present.

The culminating purchase of Rasheed’s spending spree for Zalmai is a television and a VCR. These were illegal according to the Taliban, but Rasheed is able to buy them in an underground market. Rasheed proclaims the TV to be Zalmai’s alone.

In the meantime, Aziza had grown up to be a very mature and thoughtful child, despite her young age. She had taken on great responsibility in helping to take care of Zalmai. Rasheed decides that he wants Aziza to beg on the streets, to help cover the money that he had borrowed for Zalmai’s things. Laila protests against this decision and Rasheed slaps her in response. Laila punches Rasheed in retaliation. Rasheed leaves the room, and he returns to put the barrel of his gun in Laila’s mouth. But he does not shoot.

Mariam and Laila bury “Zalmai’s TV” in the backyard. While they dig, Laila daydreams that she and Mariam are not burying the TV, but rather, they are burying Aziza. In the dream, Aziza is begging for the women to let her out of the hole, to stop covering her with dirt. Laila keeps reassuring Aziza that this is only a temporary situation, and then she and Mariam will dig her out of the hole.

Analysis

Ironically, the people of Afghanistan welcome the Taliban as a force that will change Afghanistan’s chaotic and impoverished state. However, the Afghan people do not seem to truly understand what the reign of the Taliban really will mean to their day to day lives. Once their strict laws are announced to the people, it seems as if the idyllic hope of the Afghan people once again dies. However, Rasheed’s affinity for the Taliban further allows readers to see insight into his sexist attitudes, and how he can use the Taliban reign to gain even more power within his household.

Laila’s inner turmoil about whether or not to abort her unborn child provides insight into the multiple layers of her character, and how her character has changed since she has become hardened by Rasheed. Prior to Rasheed’s harsh treatment of her, Laila could not have conceived of abortion for she was immensely protective of life and her own maternal ambitions. However, she has become so hateful and angry over the severe abuse from Rasheed that she battles herself over whether or not she could ever properly raise a child fathered by him. Ultimately, the mothering, caring side of Laila overwhelms the hateful side, and the baby is saved.

Laila’s delivery of Zalmai adds two levels of insight to the novel. First of all, the struggle that the family endures just to see a doctor shows how far the Taliban have gone to subjugate women. The Taliban have denied women even the most basic right, that of healthcare. The only women’s hospital in the city is in poor conditions, and is insufficiently equipped. Additionally, the scene depicts the sacrifices made by a mother. By allowing the operation to go forward without anesthesia, Laila subjects herself to excruciating pain and severe risk. Yet, she puts her child before herself, and does her best to tolerate the pain at hand.

Laila’s vision of Aziza down a hole in place of Zalmai’s television symbolizes how Aziza is suffering the consequences for Rasheed’s excessive spending on his son. For example, due to the family’s poor financial state, Rasheed is willing to put forth Aziza as a beggar. Additionally, this vision of Laila reassuring Aziza that it is a temporary arrangement and Aziza begging her not to go through with it foreshadows how Aziza will be left in an orphanage later in the novel. Laila is rendered helpless in the situation, except to do her best to reassure Aziza.

The year is 2000, and the national drought has gotten worse, and people become nomads looking for water. Aziza insists that the family "play Titanic" repeatedly. The movie is sweeping through Kabul through smuggled copies. Soon all kinds of products sold in Kabul are named after the movie. Laila speculates that everyone attached themselves to the movie because they wanted to be rescued from their current awful situations in Afghanistan.

Rasheed's store burns down in a fire, so they have to sell everything that they could spare to make ends meet. Rasheed is home during the day, because he got fired from working at two local restaurants. Laila harasses Rasheed about why he got fired, and Rasheed beats her, saying she would make him kill her. Food is running out, and the family is forced to skip meals often. Rasheed steals food when he can, but the family begins to realize that they might starve.

Mariam has a plan to save the family from hunger. She and Rasheed go to the Intercontinental Hotel. At the hotel, they see many men in turbans armed with guns. Rasheed says that these are the Islamists using the Taliban as puppets. During their visit to the hotel, Mariam realizes that the doorman looks familiar, but at the time she can't place him.

Rasheed and Mariam use a phone to call Jalil. Mariam reflects upon when Jalil came to see her in Kabul but she would only glance at him through a window. Mariam asks the operator in Herat for Jalil, but Mariam learns that Jalil had died in 1987.

In 2001, Ahmad Shah Massoud goes to speak with the European Parliament to get support for an opposition alliance against the Taliban. He warns Europe of the terrorists and asked for their support. Laila learns that the Taliban had destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas and the world took notice after this destruction.

Rasheed, Laila, Mariam, Aziza, and Zalmai leave Kabul for Karteh-Seh. They are dropping Aziza off at what they tells her is a "special school", but in reality it is an orphanage that is in bad shape. Laila and Mariam promise that they would visit Aziza. The orphanage is led by a kind man named Zaman. Laila tells him that she is ashamed to leave her child in an orphanage, but Zaman understands. When Laila and Mariam leave Aziza, they try to be calm, but Aziza yells and panics.

In the beginning of Aziza's stay at the orphanage, Rasheed walks Mariam, Laila, and Zalmai to the orphanage to visit for 15 minutes. Sometimes, Rasheed starts walking and forces all of them to turn around because he does not want to walk. Then Rasheed begins refusing to go at all, so Laila attempts to walk alone. She is often beaten by Taliban members. However, she feels that the pain is worth it to spend time with Aziza. Aziza tells Laila that Zaman teaches them new things in secret every day.

Rasheed takes the family to the orphanage. Aziza demonstrates what she has learned. Zalmai would always ask if Aziza is coming home at the end of every visit. Aziza tries to comfort Laila and Mariam about the conditions at the orphanage, but Aziza begins to develop a stammer, which worries Laila.

Rasheed has begun work at the hotel and at times is able to bring home food. The family picks up Aziza and goes on an outing into Kabul. Rasheed lets Aziza pick a toy, but makes her put it back because he could not afford to buy both the gift for her and the gift for Zalmai. As they leave the orphanage, Laila suspects that the stammer might be indicative of something deeper.

When they return home, they see a man leaning against the door of their house. Laila recognizes it as Tariq, and she runs toward him. Mariam watches Zalmai while Laila visits with Tariq. He cries until Laila comes home to coddle him. Mariam then recalls that the doorman at the Intercontinental Hotel had looked familiar because he is the man that posed as Abdul Sharif and told Laila that Tariq had died. Mariam wonders how much Rasheed must have paid the man to lie to Laila.

When Tariq arrives, Laila throws her arms around him and cries. He tells her stories of his time in Pakistan. Laila is ashamed of her looks and her missing tooth. Tariq has aged as well, lost a tooth, and lost some hair.

Tariq says that his parents had died, and Laila shares news that hers have died as well. Tariq had lived in the foothills of Pir Panjul in Pakistan. Before that, he spent time in a refugee camp. He speaks of hunger, disease, the death of his father, and the pneumonia caught by his mother. He describes how he had to threaten a child in order to get a blanket for his mother. Tariq had tried to find work, but had difficulty doing so because of his missing leg. Once he was hired to transport a coat to another city, despite his suspicion that he would actually be smuggling drugs. The police cut the coat open and found hashish inside. Tariq was sent to prison.

In prison, Tariq met and befriended an older man named Salim who had connections to the outside world. Tariq learned of his mother's death while in prison. Upon Tariq leaving prison, Salim gave him his brother's address for a small hotel in order that for Tariq to have a place to stay. Salim's brother Sayeed hired Tariq as a handyman and a janitor. Sayeed is kind to Tariq, put him up in a shack behind the hotel, fitted him for a new leg, and bought him a coat. When Tariq had enough money, he bought his goat, Alyona.

Laila loves when Tariq speaks, but she does not want to tell him about her life. Tariq tells Laila that in prison he had learned to speak Urdu, and that he wrote to her often in the seven years he spent incarcerated. Laila eventually divulges everything to Tariq. She tells him how she thought he had died, got scared, and married Rasheed. She tells Tariq about Aziza. Tariq does not blame Laila for marrying. Tariq says that he wants to meet Aziza, and Laila says she would arrange a meeting.

Laila wonders what Tariq thinks of her now. When Laila is with Tariq, she feels as if nothing had changed between them since they had been together. Tariq realizes that Rasheed has beaten Laila, and he tells Laila that he wished he had taken her with him. Tariq apologizes for barging into her life, and he says he would leave if she wanted. Laila begs Tariq to stay, and they set up a time to visit Aziza.

Tariq tells Laila that he is not scared of Rasheed, and though Laila does not know what the future will hold, she becomes hopeful. Throughout Tariq's and Laila's visits, Zalmai tells Rasheed about "mommy's new friend". Rasheed figures out that Tariq is visiting Laila, and she accuses him of lying. Rasheed reminds Laila that she had also lied about who Aziza's father is. Rasheed calls Laila a whore.

Zalmai tells Rasheed that Laila lets Tariq see her face. He would cry every time Tariq came to visit, out of respect for Rasheed. Rasheed would question Zalmai about Laila's talks with Tariq. After hearing about Laila's talks with Tariq, Rasheed sends Zalmai upstairs. Mariam tries to stop Rasheed, but he beats Laila. Laila tries to fight back, and Mariam is yelling at Rasheed and trying to block his blows. Then, Rasheed beats Mariam.

Laila takes glass and cuts Rasheed's cheek. They fight, and Mariam tries to help Laila. Rasheed tries to suffocate Laila, and she begins to turn blue. Mariam hits Rasheed with a shovel. She calls his name to assure that he watches her beat him. Mariam thinks he appears regretful for a second, but then he looks as if he is about to strike back. Mariam strikes him with the shovel again, as hard as she can.

Analysis

Mariam's attempt to contact Jalil for money offers significant revelations about her character. First of all, she is willing to swallow her pride in order to assist the lives of Laila and the children, and has shown a selfless but loving nature. Mariam does not exhibit shame in asking for money, but she does seem shameful that she did not hear Jalil out when he came to visit her in Kabul.

The solution provided for the family’s poverty (to send Aziza away) is evidence that she is the most expendable member of her family. Aziza’s strength throughout the whole ordeal allows her to do her best to assure Mariam and Laila that her life in the orphanage is fine. Zaman becomes the first male character in the novel since Hakim to place an emphasis on the education of girls.

Aziza develops a stammer which suggests her suffering and internal pain. Though it seems as if she is well taken care of within the orphanage walls, it must be difficult to acknowledge that her parents were willing to send her out of the house. Additionally, though she may be be better off in the orphanage than she might have been in the house, all of Afghanistan is suffering and her fate is no different regardless of where she remains.

Tariq’s return to Laila suggests that their true love has not faded, despite the fact that years have passed while they were apart. Additionally, the two love each other regardless of their ragged appearances. Tariq is loyal and understanding of Laila’s marital and child-bearing situation. The amount of tolerance and patience they have for each other displays how much unconditional love they both share.

Rasheed’s final attempt to subordinate his wives comes as a result of him learning about Laila's time spent with Tariq. His rage is certainly not born out of lost love, but rather that he has been shamed. Something of his has been taken by another man. The struggle between Laila and Rasheed ends in poetic justice with his murder by Mariam. Mariam was the first woman that the reader witnesses Rasheed torture, and she endured the longest span of abuse.

Laila senses Rasheed strangling her, and she thinks she will die. Suddenly, she realizes that she can finally breathe, and Mariam checks to make sure she is alright. Laila realizes what Mariam has done to Rasheed and that he is, in fact, dead. Mariam and Laila do not want Zalmai to see Rasheed, so they drag Rasheed into the backyard behind a work bench. Mariam tries to heal Laila's wounds.

Mariam tries to come up with a plan, and Laila says that they must leave. Laila tells Zalmai that Rasheed has gone away. Zalmai asks questions, and Laila tries to assure Zalmai that it is not his fault. Mariam tells Laila to leave with Tariq and the children in the morning.

Laila insists that Mariam come along, but she refuses. Mariam says that eventually the Taliban will come after all of them if they find Rasheed dead and the women missing. Mariam says it is unfair for the children to have to live on the run, and that she cannot look at Zalmai every day knowing that she has killed his father. Laila tries to make excuses, but she knows that Mariam is right. Laila weeps. Laila and Zalmai leave the house, never to see Mariam again.

Mariam is put into a women's prison guarded by the Taliban. She shares a cell with five other women and four children. She refuses visitors. Mariam is one of very few women that has committed a violent crime, and she becomes famous within the prison walls for her offense. Women offer her blankets and food. One particular woman, Naghma, takes a special liking to Mariam and tells her how she had been sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to run away and elope. Naghma announces that she is suicidal. Mariam remembers Nana's advice that a man always finds a woman to blame.

Mariam's trial is short. She waives the right to witnesses. She pleads guilty, but she explains that Rasheed will have killed her if she had not struck him first. The Talib overseeing her trial does not believe her, and Mariam is sentenced to death. The Talib justifies his decision because he "must follow the law of Allah". Mariam signs the document which explains her sentence, and she recalls her wedding.

The night before she is to be executed, she dreams of young Jalil, Mullah Faizullah, and Nana in the kolba. On the way to the stadium on the day of her execution, a Talib assures Mariam that it is normal to be scared, and Mariam cries. She is nervous about her behavior at the execution. She does not want to make a scene. Yet, she thinks of what she has done to Zalmai, and she is able to remain composed walking into the stadium. Mariam thinks about how she'd miss Laila, and would like to see Aziza grow up and have children. Mariam reflects on her life and thinks that this is a "legitimate end to a life with illegitimate beginnings". She recites lines from the Koran asking for mercy, kneels, and is killed.

Laila and Tariq are married in Murree, the Pakistani town where he had lived prior to coming to visit Laila. Their wedding is simple, but Laila realizes that she is blessed to have him. Laila enjoys her life in Murree, and she feels very grateful for all that she has. She helps Tariq clean the hotel, and Aziza and Zalmai come along.

Laila tells Aziza that Tariq is her real father, and the two of them bonded rather quickly. Aziza is concerned that Tariq might leave them, but Laila assures her that he never will do so. Zalmai takes more time getting used to Tariq, crying that he is not his own father. Laila continues to lie to Zalmai, telling him that she does not know when Rasheed is coming home. She realizes that one day, the pain Zalmai feels will dissipate.

Laila dreams of Kabul and Mariam. Tariq reveals that Ahmad Shah Massoud has been killed by who he thinks are Al-Qaeda men. Laila recalls the respect that her mother had for Massoud and her claims that he wanted peace and to rebuild Afhanistan. Laila is unmoved by the news.

Two days later, Tariq and Laila rush to the lobby of the hotel after hearing a commotion. They watch the events of 9/11 unfold, and they hear the discussion that follows about Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden. Tariq tells Laila that Afghanistan will not turn over Osama bin Laden, because they are claiming to adhere to a Pashtun custom of hospitality, but Tariq knows that the Taliban are distorting the custom. Laila and Tariq learn that President Bush declares the war on terror, naming Afghanistan as an enemy.

Though Laila and Tariq have to be careful about making love in the same room as the children, Laila feels that the precautions are worth the experience. After making love, Tariq and Laila discuss the situation in Kabul, with American bombs falling on the city. Tariq claims it is not so bad, but Laila responds that innocent people are dying. She snaps that he does not know war, because he had left Kabul. She later regrets this comment. Tariq indicates that he is hopeful that peace will come to Afghanistan.

That night, Zalmai is awakened by his cough, and Tariq comforts him. Tariq is moved to tears. Tariq and Laila discuss the changes back home: The Taliban has been chased out by coalition forces, and an interim president, Hamid Karzai, has been appointed. Laila realizes that she misses Kabul. She hears about life returning to normal, and feels that her life in Pakistan is inconsequential. She is reminded of Hakim's words that Afghanistan will need her and her mother's words about seeing peace in Afghanistan to honor Ahmad and Noor.

Laila tells Tariq that she wants to return to Kabul, and Tariq agrees. Laila wants to stop in Herat before going to Kabul. Both of the children needed to be reassured about the move, as they had attachments in Murree and bad memories of Kabul. As they leave, Laila wonders if they are making the right decision. The trip to Herat is long, and they have to travel through Iran due to destroyed roads in Afghanistan. Laila is surprised by the stable condition of Herat. She heard that Ismail Khan, the warlord of Herat, had helped to rebuild the city.

Laila travels alone in Herat to visit Mullah Faizullah's house. Laila meets with his son, Hamza. She tells Hamza that she is visiting about Mariam, and Laila reveals that Mariam has passed away. Laila tells Hamza Mariam's story, and he reflects upon Mullah Faizullah's relationship with Mariam. Hamza tells Laila that Mullah Faizullah has died, but he lived to be a very old man. Hamza takes Mariam to the clearing which houses the kolba, but Laila visits the building by herself. It is run down, but Laila imagines Mariam as a child.

Hamza gives Laila a box that Jalil had given Mullah Faizullah to give to Mariam. The contents of the box include a tape of Walt Disney's Pinnocchio, which confuses Laila. Pinnocchio is the cartoon that Jalil promised to take Mariam to see, when he never came to pick her up. Jalil wrote Mariam a letter revealing that Afsoon, Nilofaur, and his son Farhad had been killed. Jalil writes that Mariam is a good daughter and he regrets not taking her in. Indeed, Jalil had lost much of his wealth to the communists, and he sold the rest of his land. Jalil asks Mariam to come visit him, because he says he is dying soon. He has enclosed Mariam's share of the inheritance in the box, converted into U.S. dollars. Laila shows Tariq the money in the box, and she cries.

The drought in Kabul has ended, and Tariq, Laila, and children, have rented a townhouse. Aziza continues to insist that Laila do the morning prayers with her, which Laila thinks is Aziza's way of remaining connected to Mariam. Tariq has begun working at a non-governmental organization which fits land mine victims with prosthetic limbs. Aziza's stutter begins to lessen, and both children attend school.

Kabul is changing, which Laila finds strange. The changes are mostly good, rebuilding and replanting. Laila wishes her parents could see Kabul today. However, Laila is distraught that the former warlords of Afghanistan now live in mansions and drive SUVs. However, Laila realizes that there is no point in resentment, and she lives on in hope.

Tariq and Laila volunteer at the orphanage which used to house Aziza. They work with Zaman to refurbish the facility. Laila and Tariq had been recognized for their contribution in the local newspaper, which reminds Laila of her friends' predictions. The children at the ophanage love Laila. Laila teaches a class which Aziza attends.

Laila reflects that she originally wished that she had known where Mariam is buried, but now she knows that Mariam is never far from her. Mariam is in Laila's heart. Laila becomes pregnant, and the family has been discussing only boys' names. If the child is a girl, she will be named Mariam.

Analysis

Mariam makes the ultimate sacrifice for Laila and the children, as she is willing to take the blame, and ultimately suffer the ultimate punishment for Rasheed’s death. Her comment concerning her death as a legitimate end to illegitimate beginnings is an interesting one, because readers may consider this execution to be the epitome of illegitimacy of power, authority and control. However, Mariam knows that her actions against Rasheed were completely justified, and her execution is therefore a legitimate manner of death.

Laila finally finds the life she has been dreaming of with Tariq in Pakistan, but still yearns to go back to Afghanistan to help her country. Even after the world’s eye has focused on Afghanistan, she insists on returning and rebuilding. Before, Laila's insistence to remain in the land of Afghanistan was based on familial ties. Now, however, she has no familial ties left in the land, but feels a patriotic draw to assist her nation, despite the horror that she suffered there.

The end of the novel comes full circle with Tariq and Laila working to assist Zaman in the orphanage and ultimately ending up local heroes. Laila ending up in the newspaper mirrors the predictions made by her childhood friends earlier in the novel, but the work that she is doing also follows the predictions of Hakim that Afghanistan would need Laila.

The unknown location of Mariam's burial first upsets Laila, but later the unknown location serves as a symbol of the ubiquitous nature of Mariam's memory and soul. Since Mariam's body is not assigned to a specific known location, her soul remains unassigned a specific place as well.

Laila’s new pregnancy offers hope to the end of the book, and the determination to name a female child after Mariam is a fitting tribute to her. The image of the family sitting around the table discussing names parallels the images of Rasheed's family around the table. Yet, the tone of the scene is far more relaxed and joyful than any scene involving Rasheed. The end of the novel encapsulates a hopeful moment, one of Laila's pregnancy, a Kabul that is rebuilding, and a complete loving family. Yet, this is the first time in the novel that there is no chance for the next few pages to lay devastation to this hope. While Afghanistan's political woes obviously continue in reality, there are no more pages to ruin the lives of Tariq and Laila, and therefore the reader can only hope that they lived with reasonable peace and happiness, freed from the scourge of virtually permanent suffering.

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