| Mariam is the daughter of a wealthy married man and a servant. Her poverty and her status as a "harami", an illegitimate child, place her in a very lowly position in Afghanistan's culture. At fifteen, she is forced into a loveless marriage with the shoemaker Rasheed, a callous and selfish man. Rasheed eventually takes a second wife, Laila. While Mariam is initially jealous, she eventually develops a loving, sisterly bond with this woman. Laila marries Rasheed out of desperation after she is separated from her childhood sweetheart Tariq and loses her parents in the bombing of Kabul. The political upheavals in Afghanistan are seen over the course of several decades through the lens of how these changes affect the characters of the book. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - very sensitive (sigh) Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's Ethnic/Regional/Religion Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians Yes Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Conflict: Woman's story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - long lived adults Ethnicity/Nationality Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () City? Yes Small town? Yes Misc setting Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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