NB: This is not spoiler free.
"Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.”
Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, published in 2007, is a tragic story of love, loss and sacrifice. This “mother-daughter story,” as Hosseini described it, spans over thirty years of Afghan history from Soviet occupation to Taliban control, depicting themes of domestic and sexual abuse, the violent reality of warfare, and the toils of everyday life. This beautifully written book is a gripping account of how women have had to navigate Taliban control, leaving the reader heartbroken, yet hopeful. However, the concluding tone of hope is particularly painful with the knowledge of how women’s lives in Afghanistan have changed since the rapid withdrawal of US troops in April 2021, and the Taliban takeover mere months after. Reading Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns nearly twenty years on is a sobering reminder of how the lives of women and girls in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan have yet again been taken from them.
The dual-narrative follows the lives of Mariam, a young girl born in Afghanistan in the 1950s, and Laila born in the late 1970s, showing how their lives became intertwined after both of their marriages to Rasheed, a shoe maker from Kabul. Rasheed’s cruelty towards the women is documented thoroughly throughout the book and readers watch as the two women form unbreakable bonds with each other in the face of tyranny. When Tariq, a figure from Laila’s old life, returns one day, Rasheed is furious and attempts to suffocate Laila. Mariam realises, as Rasheed’s grip gets tighter, that he is finally trying to carry out what he had been threatening all this time. Mariam saves Laila’s life by killing Rasheed, and to ensure Laila and her children’s freedom, she confesses to the murder of her husband. The final part of the book sees Laila leave Kabul with Tariq and her children, Aziza and Zalamai, where they watch from afar as the Taliban are driven out. The book ends on a positive note with Laila returning home, renovating an orphanage, and becoming a teacher. The reader is left with a sense of optimism at the open-ended possibilities.. However, when reading the book in 2025, we can see that this was not how reality panned out.
It is integral to refer back to the quote at the start of this piece: "Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.” Mariam is told this at the beginning of the book by her mother, Nana, and the quote rings true throughout the novel. Hosseini’s handling of the deeply-embedded societal scapegoating of women, whilst still placing women’s voices at the fore, is carefully considered and impactful. Throughout the story the reader is regularly confronted with examples of this, which make you think back to Hosseini’s poignant words. By centering the story on the lives of two women, their maltreatment is stark, making the strength of their love for eachother and Laila’s children even more impactful. Their voices are illuminated and remain the focal point of the book. Combined with the intricate weaving of historical information within the story, readers are confronted with the harsh reality of the lives of Afghan women under Taliban rule.
Hosseini’s handling of characters is extraordinary. In declaring A Thousand Splendid Suns a “love story,” he breaks from the expectation that love stories are between two romantic partners. Instead the love story is about the growing bond between Mariam and Laila – two women who initially saw in each other nothing but their own suffering. As the book progresses, their relationship blooms and transforms into a quasi mother-daughter bond. Hosseini successfully shifts the expectations of what constitutes as love and the traditional narratives surrounding it, making the reader examine one’s own relationships. As a reader, you accompany these characters through childhood, seeing them grow up, experience trauma and heartbreak, and ultimately come to look out for one another. I finished this book with a deep attachment to these women, making it an even more emotionally-driven read, and Mariam’s ultimate act of sacrifice for Laila all the more heart wrenching.
The ending of the book was by far the most impactful part. I was left with a hopeful feeling as Laila returned to the liberated Kabul and became a teacher. But this feeling was all too quickly squashed when I was reminded of the current situation in Afghanistan. As previously mentioned, after the decision made by the Biden Administration to withdraw US troops in 2021, the lives of women quickly became oppressed under the new Taliban regime. Women like Laila: women who have ambition, women who have dreams, once again had their livelihoods and identity stripped from them. The knowledge that Laila’s newfound slice of freedom would have been eventually stripped away from her again weighed extremely heavily. Again, we need to go back to the quote at the start. The declaration that women are blamed “always,” truly stood the test of time. Women are once again at the end of a man’s pointed finger, facing the brunt of Taliban force. Reading this book in 2025, we are reminded that a woman’s freedom can, and will, be taken away just as quickly as it was granted.
Overall, this book has left an undeniable mark on me. Readers are with Laila and Mariam as they grow from young girls to grown women and experience unimaginable fear and sacrifice, but also love and friendship. Hosseini beautifully intertwines fiction with historical events, highlighting the plight of women in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. He has an ability to bring the characters to life, leaving you feeling as if you are watching someone you already know. The optimistic ending where a spark of ambition is set alight in Laila is a bittersweet reminder of how the lives of women in Afghanistan have changed since the book was written in 2007. I cannot recommend this book enough. And so, reading Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns nearly twenty years on is a thought-provoking, heavy experience which left me with one question playing on my mind – where would Laila and her family, especially her daughter, Aziza, be now?
