But in my postpartum state I was unable to read past the part where Rasheed locked Mariam, Laila and Aziza up in the dark with with no water.  I just couldn't stand that Laila couldn't protect her baby.  I decided to wait for the discussion here to see how things turned out.

for starting this thread.  I know I volunteered to do it, but every time I sat down to start, I got overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of this book.

One aspect of this book that I found so moving was it's focus on the small moments of life, of women's relationships to each other, and to the men around them.  Hosseini is so good at showing how a single word (harami) or a specific action (passing a mirror under a shawl) can reveal many layers.  And the characters are interesting and complex.  Even Rasheed is not a total villain - in the beginning there was some tenderness, and you can see him also as a product of the environment in which he was raised.  And although Mariam is ultimately not able to define her life outside of her relationships to men, she is able to build a unique sister/friend relationship that transcends the ugliness of life.

The focus on women (in comparison to TKR's focus on men) allows the book to show us the small (and big) aspects of women's lives under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.  There's an intimacy to this book that makes its emotions hard to shake.

Mariam is such a hard character to get a handle on - she is so much the victim, and also sometimes too passive.  In the end, though, her refusal to allow an active defense, her "willingness" to die, is a way for her to rise above passive victim and shape some part of the world, to give Laila the closure she has in the end.

Finally, as to why women accept the Taliban - it seems like both Laila and Mariam, in different ways, show the effect of their limited view of the world.  In order to protest the Taliban rule, they would have to have a clear idea of another option.   Since they are always at the mercy of men (that bus station scene had me almost in tears), both their information and their ability to act is severely limited. Hosseini sets this up right from the first chapter, when the first thing we know about Mariam is her birth status - her mother's unfortunate (non-married) relationship with a man.

What else was Mariam going to do?  The system was totally stacked against her, and she knew it.  She was going to die, but she had already won her victory--Laila and the children were safe.  It was incredibly brave, but also incredibly realistic.

I do believe that the US invasion made things better for the women.  The book tells us as much when the family goes back.  This is one of the reasons why the Iraq War pisses me off so much.  We are losing ground in Afghanistan as resources are sent to Iraq, and the Taliban is making a comeback.  Moreso than Al-Qaeda regaining a safe haven, or an incredibly pissed off and re-empowered Taliban looking for revenge against the US, I worry about the women and the girls.  How horrendous to have to go back to living like that.  Some women in Afghanistan already have gone back, and it makes me so angry.

For me, the scene that dominates this book was the hospital scene, when Laila delivered her son.  It hit me like a punch to the gut.  No medicines or anesthesia for the women's hospital.  A deliberate policy choice by one of the most misogynistic societies ever envisioned.  How those men hated their own mothers!!!  The thought of delivering by C-section with no drugs like Laila did horrifies me.  And if she gotten an infection, there would have been no medicines.  Back to the freakin' stone age, in the 21st century.  The scene truly haunts me.

This was one of the most powerful books I have read in a long time.  I had never even thought to imagine such an oppressive society for women.  I knew about the burqas, and the no driving.  But it was jaw-dropping for me realize that those restrictions were NOTHING at all.  I have a pampered, entitled life in the US.  Pregnancy discrimination at work is nothing.  This book really really made me think about how women suffer in a different way.  And the only reason this book was able to do this for me was because the characters were so real.  Hosseini really developed amazing women.  I was worried about a man writing this book, but it was so well done.

I read this back in June on our vacation.  Not a good vacation pick, so so sad, and I couldn't put it down at night so I would stay up way too late.

It was an excellent book though.  I was so sad when it didn't have a happy ending either.