Summarized and Analyzed: a Thousand Splendid Suns

The story covers the time period a little before the Soviet war until the Taliban rule. On the basis of the subject matter, the book can be divided into four parts: first focusing on Mariam's growing up. She is an illegitimate child who is raised in poverty in a small hut outside the city of Herat. The second part tells the story of Laila. She happens to be one generation younger than Mariam. She has a highly privileged youth. She is born in Kabul and she spends her childhood with her two parents. Her father has hopes from her and he believes that Laila will contribute to Afghan society. In the third section, there is the description of how the lives of Mariam and Laila intersect. The final or fourth part of the book tells us about the separate paths that Mariam and Laila take.