Recommended by: Emily, STL Information Desk student assistant
Call Number: Stacks PS3608.O832 T46 2007
Audiobook Media/Audio Computer Disk PS3608.O832 T456 2007c
This beautifully written novel takes place in Afghanistan
and chronicles two main characters: Miriam and Laila.
Miriam grew up with her mother, a former housekeeper to
the richest man in town who happened to be her father. She
only saw him occasionally, and after her mother committed
suicide he sold her to a man almost forty years older than
her for marriage. As if all she was going through was
not enough, her new husband mistreated her and abused her
repeatedly. Miriam’s husband lives in another village and
she is relocated against her desires to live with him. In
that village, a girl named Laila lives with her family.
She is a beautiful and smart young girl and is madly in
love with her best friend. She has her whole life ahead of
her with countless opportunities, but when war breaks out
in the village, her family is killed by bombs and she is
wounded, she must make the most difficult decision of her
life; in Afghanistan it is socially acceptable for a man
to have several wives, so she decides to marry Rasheed,
Miriam’s husband. After marriage, both women are
frequently abused and must work together to get along with
each other, and try to overcome society’s and their
husband’s harsh rule.
This novel gave great insight as to the struggles women
are forced to go through, and although the story may seem
bleak at times, it is a must-read.
