A thousand splendid suns begins with the story of one of the novel’s central character Mariam’s calamitous life. Being born “harami” an illegitimate child, Jalil, her father, builds a little shack for Mariam and her mother in a desolate area. Away from her three wives and nine children. Away from civilized world. She is snatched all the very basic, usual human rights, She lives in kolba all time, she is forbidden to go out of it, even when she asks to be allowed to get education like her father’s legitimate children, she is forbidden. Her mother warns her about people’s behavior for a bastard.
She gets Quran lessons from Mullah Faizullah, the old man, he is very good friend to her. Mariam shares her thoughts with him, even which she don’t share to her parents.
Her father, Jalil, visits her every Thursday. She waits for him impatiently. Whenever he comes, he bring gifts and toys for her, to make her feel that he care for her. Though he didn't. He had three wives, from them he had ten children. He loved his legitimate children more than illegitimate one. While Mariam was oblivious of it. For Mariam her father was everything to her. When Nana, her mother, would tell her true story of her delivery, her misfortune life, she used to listen dutifully. Though she unbelieved. She believes the version of the story told by Jalil. She is obsessed with her father's love and care that he shows her off, whenever he come to meet her.
One day she stubbornly asked Jalil to get her too with her other children to cinema, Jalil reluctantly promised her to pick her too for cinema, but he didn't come next day, she waited the whole day but her wait was fruitless. She get her out from kolba and went for searching Jalil. She reached her doorsteps. She is told that he is out for the business purpose, it is unknown to them, when will he return. She waits for him outside the house, whole night. But he never comes, disappointingly she comes back to her home realizing the truth told by her mother about Jalil, her trust fades away for Jalil. She reaches Kolba seeing her mother suicide with hanging rope. She accuses herself for her death, once she said that she'll die, if she left her. And that happened.
Jalil took her to his house. Placed her into a guest room. But soon his wives arrange her marriage with a 40 years old widower, a shoemaker, Rasheed. Their life is limited to Rasheed’s enjoyment. When she gets pregnant, he only talks about boy, whom he will name Zalmai, his lost child’s name from his first wife. He behaved well until he knew about his miscarriage of a baby. She had countless miscarriages. She is unable to give her a child, a boy. So when his desire is not fulfilled, he behaves brutally to her. And so the never ending cycle of misfortunes for Mariam, even worsen with the passage of time.
On the other side of the story we have another main character of the novel, Laila. She belongs to a well-educated father and a short tempered mother. Her father encourages her to get education, because a time will come when their country will need her. His two other elder sons are sent for jihad, for their country. Whom Laila hardly remembered. She loves her child friend Tariq. Her impatience for returning Tariq when he goes to meet her uncle, for two weeks, shows us that since childhood she has limitless affection for him. In fact, they love each other immensely. They even commit copulation.
Tariq leaves Afghanistan and moved to Peshawar. But before going, he assured her that he will send his parents to hers for her hand. Laila farewells him dejectedly. Soon she loses her parents too by an explosion. Luckily she is alive. Taken to Rasheed and Mariam. They soothe her internal and outer injuries that she got when she came to know that her parents are no more. She gets pregnant with Tariq’s child. Living in Rasheed’s house, Rasheed wants to have her as her second wife, while he’s at his 60s and Laila is of 14. She doesn’t say no, in order to save her honor. To save her illegitimate child. But against Rasheed’s choice she gives birth to a girl. Whom he bitterly hat. Mariam at first becomes rival to her but after birth of Aziza, Laila’s baby, they have friendly relationship. Mariam loves Aziza infinitely.
Another aspect of the story is warlike situation of Afghanistan. Where killing of people is common. Laila’s both brothers has been martyred during war, years before her parents. The country is in chaos and devastation. Most of families are obliterated. The invasion of Taliban on Afghanistan worsen the livelihood of the people. They define strict rules for Afghanis. In which women are bastille to their homes. They are forbidden to get education. They are forbidden to go out of home without their mehrams and without burqas. They can’t go out with makeup on their face and with polished nails. For men, they will offer Namaz five times a day, no drugs, no cigarettes. They will grow beard. They will have religious dressing.
In this situation of Kabul, Laila was unable to find a hospital to give birth to her second child. But after a lot of patience and pain, she gives birth to a baby boy. And Rasheed named it Zalmai. Rasheed loves him selflessly. He takes him with himself while going to work. He brings toys and dresses for him, which he never brought for Aziza.
Soon Rasheed loses his job, and they live hand to mouth. Aziza has become too thin due to starvation. They send her to orphanage in order to fulfill her food and clothing needs. Laila goes to meet her daily. And also she is beaten by Taliban because she comes out alone without having a Mahram with herself.
In these days he suddenly meets Tariq. He tells him his past story; how he served a prison sentence for years. How he shifted to Murree. And Laila tells her about hers. Their love is still same as before. When Rasheed comes to know about Tariq through Zalmai he beats Laila and Mariam severely. And during that when he is about to kill Laila, Mariam kills Rasheed through Shovel and frees herself and Laila from the never ending, bound relationship. That gave them nothing but miseries, misfortunes, malice, meanness and mutilation.
Mariam consolidate Laila, says her to move having your children with Tariq. She’s unwilling with her will and want to move with Mariam, but Mariam wisely takes her decision that she should move with Tariq, let her get sentenced for her crime. She should save her children and live their life as they want. She then moves with Tariq to Pakistan. Mariam is sentenced to death for her crime. She has lived her whole life in adversity. But now she realizes that her death is more beautiful than her birth. “She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, an unintended thing, a pitiable, regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian, a mother. Person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad, Mariam thought, that she should die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings.” (ch. 47)
Soon Laila and Tariq get married, and after a year she wants to go back to her native land Kabul, Afghanistan. But before that she wants to visit the Kolba where Mariam has spent beautiful fifteen years of her childhood. She meets with Hamza, the son of Mullah Faizullah. After visiting kolba he hands him an oval-shaped, tin box. In it she finds a letter, a burlap sack and a videocassette. The box was handed over to Mullah Faizullah for Mariam, two years ago. The letter was about her father’s confession that he was not a good father, he gave to her nothing but afflictions. He wrote in letter that she has lost a lot of things after marrying Mariam. He lost her some of family members in war. He said that he has given his share of property to her in this box. And do forgive him, though he is not able to be forgiven.
Returning back to Kabul, the situation is much better than before, they start working in Orphanage, they completely change it and Laila teaches over there. Missing Mariam, who sacrificed for her, she searches in her children’s giggles and in heart.
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