A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

Characters
Herat	Kabul	Other
Mariam Nana – mother Habib Khan – village Arbab Bibi jo Mullah Faizullah – Koran tutor Jalil – Mariam’s father Wives – Afsoon, Khadiha, Narbis Son – Muhsin, Farhad, Ramin Daughters – Saldeh, Naheed, Niloufar	Rasheed Yunus – deceased son Mariam – first wife Laila – second wife Aziza – Laila’s baby with Tariq Zalmai – baby with Rasheed Abdul Sharif – paid by Rasheed to tell Laila that Tariq was dead Fariba Hakim – husband Children – Noor & Ahmad: killed in battle; Laila (born 1978) Tariq -Laila’s friend Zaman – director of orphanage	Salim – prisoner Tariq met in jail Sayeed – brother who gave Tariq a job Naghma – in prison with Mariam

 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Whose version of Mariam’s birth (page 11) do you believe: Nana’s (two days, no help, cut cord herself) or Jalil’s (sent Nana to hospital and birth was quick)?
2. Was Mariam to blame for Nana’s suicide?
3. Discuss the various characters and their motivations.  Could anyone have acted differently than they did?
4. Both Mariam and Laila said that wearing a burqa was oddly comforting.  Were you able to understand their feelings?   In chapter 11, did the author do a good job of describing what it was like to suddenly have to wear one?
5. In chapter 18, Laila thought about the difference between how girls and boys think of friendship.  She and her friends were always saying they missed each other after a few days apart, but, “Boys, Laila came to see, treated friendship the way they treated the sun: its existence undisputed; its radiance best enjoyed, not beheld directly” (page 118).  Is this an accurate description of how boys and girls differ in this area? 

6. At the funeral for Noor and Ahmad, there were women that monopolized Fariba’s time and attention.   The author described them as “women who relished all things that had to do with death, official consolers who let no one trespass on their self-appointed duties” (page 124).    Have you met such people?   Is this an aspect of aging?
7. In the same vein, when Mariam was in prison she met Naghma, who the author described as, “the sort of person who found it entertaining to disperse news of misfortune, whether others’ or her own” (pages 322 & 323).  Have you met someone like this?  Why do you think they find this sharing of information satisfying?
8. Early on in Mariam’s marriage to Rasheed, Jalil parked outside their house in order to see Mariam but she did not acknowledge him (page 100).   Would things have been different if she had seen him?
9. Discuss the format of chapter 44 where the author went back and forth between Laila talking to Tariq and what happened after he left and Zalmai told Rasheed he had been there.   Was this an effective way of telling the story?
10. Did Mariam have any other choice but to kill Rasheed?  Would anything she said have made a difference in the outcome of her trial? 
11. The judge at Mariam’s trial seemed to empathize with her and wanted to be kind, but felt he had no choice but to sentence her to death.  Also, the guard who accompanied her to her execution was kind.   Did you find any other examples of kindness in the novel?
12. Discuss your reading experience.  Did you enjoy novel?  Are you glad that you read it?   What did you learn?

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