A Thousand Splendid Suns, Part I (Chs. 1-15)

Use these questions to guide your reading of Part I of Suns:

1) The novel opens with a curse word, uttered in frustration by Mariam's mother, when Mariam breaks a treasured heirloom. What does Mariam's memory of this suggest about her sense of herself and her relationship with her mother? How does this opening set the tone for the novel?

2) Jalil is a complex character. Does he love his daughter? How does he show his love? How does he show that he does not fully recognize her as his daughter? Why does he treat her as he does?

3) Why does Mariam ask her father to take her to the cinema for her 15th birthday present? What does she want?

4) Why does Mariam finally say "yes" in the marriage ceremony to Rasheed? What does Mariam realize about her father? How does that make her feel? Does this explain why she goes along with the marriage to Rasheed?

5) What are Rasheed's reasons for making Mariam wear a burqa and what do they tell us about his ideas about his role as a husband and man and his expectations for Mariam?

6) Mariam learns some of her husbands' history when she looks inside the drawers in his room. Why does she rationalize about what she sees?

7) Why does Rasheed want a boy? How might life have been different for the family if Mariam could have had a baby?