Khaled Hosseini herneemt in deze roman de schoonheid van Afghanistan, en in het bijzonder de stad Kabul. Hij volgt de reis van twee jonge vrouwen die gedwongen worden tot een onderdrukt leven, terwijl ze hun veerkracht tijdens hun beproevingen benadrukken: een herinnering aan de geest van de vrouwen in Afghanistan, ondanks degenen die hen van hun waardigheid proberen te beroven.
Now you know what you've given me in this marriage. Bad food, and nothing else.
RISING ACTION
Mariam is a harami, a bastard, the product of her mother Nana’s affair with wealthy businessman Jalil. Mariam loves Jalil, but on her 15th birthday, he refuses to take her to Herat to one of his cinemas. She waits outside of his house all night, and discovers that he is hiding inside. Upon her return, she finds that Nana has hung herself. Jalil’s wives marry Mariam off to a shoemaker named Rasheed, and Rasheed takes Mariam away to live in Kabul.
CLIMAX
At first, Mariam is nervous but content in her marriage to Rasheed. He makes her wear a burqa, but he’s nice to her otherwise. Then, Mariam can’t carry a child. Rasheed begins to physically abuse Mariam and their marriage becomes a nightmare for Mariam.
FALLING ACTION
A girl named Laila lives near Rasheed and Mariam.. Laila’s brothers are off fighting with the Mujahedin, and her mother, Mammy, suffers from bouts of depression. Her father is a book-learning man, and places great importance on Laila getting her education. After Laila’s brothers are killed and her best friend Tariq’s family flee, her parents are killed in a bombing of their house. Rasheed rescues Laila from the rubble. Laila is pregnant at 14 with Tariq’s child and agrees to marry Rasheed for safety.
RESOLUTION
Mariam and Laila’s relationship is strained at first because Mariam is jealous of Rasheed’s affections for Laila. She is also jealous of Laila’s daughter Aziza. However, they soon become friends and plot to flee together. They are caught, brought home, and Rasheed savagely beats them. After Laila gives birth to Rasheed’s son Zalmai, she discovers that Tariq is still alive. Mariam kills Rasheed with a shovel as he strangles Laila.
Laila, Tariq, and Zalmai recover Aziza from the orphanage where Rasheed had sent her, and Mariam turns herself in for Rasheed’s murder. She does this so that Laila, Tariq, and the children can escape from Afghanistan. Mariam is executed in Ghazi Stadium in front of thousands of people.
Tariq works in a hotel in Muree. After the fall of the Taliban, Laila feels pulled to return to Kabul, but she wants to stop in Herat first. She meets Mullah Faizullah’s son Hamza, who takes her to the kolba where Mariam grew up. He gives her a box that Jalil tried to deliver to Mariam years before, with an apology note, a copy of Pinocchio, and Mariam’s inheritance money. Laila uses the money for the orphanage in Kabul, and she is pregnant again. If it’s a girl, she will name the baby Mariam.