A Thousand Splendid Suns Love

Talk about finding love in a hopeless place. The characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns are wounded in wars, stuck in abusive relationships, and rejected by their families. They have to struggle every day to survive. How do they get through it? It's simple: love. It might sound clichéd, but love proves to be their saving grace.

Questions About Love

1. How does Mariam's love for Laila and Aziza transform her as a character?
2. How does Mariam's status as a harami prevent her from having loving relationships?
3. What societal pressures prevent Jalil from truly showing Mariam that he loves her? How does he overcome those pressures?
4. What sort of imagery does Hosseini use to describe love?

Chew on This

All you need is love—really. The characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns learn that the only refuge from a harsh, uncompromising world is the love between individuals.

The one enemy of love, according to the novel, is power. It doesn't matter if it's on a small scale or a big one—power will suffocate love at every turn.