A Thousand Splendid Suns

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Leslie Schwartz, Honi Werner, and Wendy Pearl. Special thanks to mysharp-eyed copy editor, Tony Davis, who missesnothing, and, lastly, to my talented editor, Sarah McGrath, for herpatience, foresight, and guidance.Finally, thank you, Roya. For reading this story, again and again, forweathering my minor crises of confidence (and a couple of major ones),for never doubting. This book would not be without you. I love you.for more e-books, visit www.intexblogger.com
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www.intexblogger.com
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Khour Rivekhead Booksa member of Pe
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PART ONE1.Mariam was five years old
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there once, to the tree. You were l
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Jalil didn't have the dil either, N
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center, in the shade of the willows
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uneventful forty-year reign. She sa
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"Well, one of," he said and smiled.
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* * *In the mornings, they awoke to
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He said they comforted him, eased h
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Mariam did."Only one skill And it's
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would squeal.Suspended in the air,
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He was the one who told her in the
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gone, he would surely take her with
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Mariam remembered him telling her t
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to the north of the city, Char-suq
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She waited until her legs were stif
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from hookahs.The old man turned ont
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Mariam only looked at him."I'll tak
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the cold leather of the backseat.*
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It was when Mullah Faizullah's slig
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chest with a flower vase on it. The
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Mariam shrugged. She didn't say to
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friend at the door, his white beard
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1 hey sat across from her, Jalil an
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Mariam fixed her eyes on Jalil, her
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"He's so old and weak," Khadija eve
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pair of matching sandals.She was ta
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"Mariam," Jalil whispered."Yes," sh
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Mariam could not bring herself to a
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"We're in Deh-Mazang," he said. The
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"What's this crying about?" Rasheed
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"Yes.""You can thank me then.""Than
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mother, feeling nauseated and homes
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say to you about the crying?"* * *T
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face. Her lips were much fuller tha
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again and running, bolting past the
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Mariam blinked."It's a joke. Of cou
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air smoky. The walls smelled faintl
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and kissed on the cheek, Mariam sto
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* * *That night, Rasheed visited he
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Except for a handful of days, Rashe
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out "Eidmubarak" to her as they pas
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On every page were women, beautiful
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unsettling about the way Rasheed se
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hammering- She wrapped a shawl arou
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Mariam stroked the softness of her
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"What kind of answer is that?" he s
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Other days, Mariam was besieged wit
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"Are you?"His eyes shifted to her.
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On April 17,1978, the year Mariam t
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apologies and sometimes not.In the
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salty or too bland for his taste. T
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yellow, an exhausted Fariba had pro
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Through the mouthful of grit and pe
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parents were fighting. Again. Laila
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go to war-Mammy too had thought Bab
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pulled tightly back and tied in a b
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with her books pressed to her chest
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"Beans, girls," Hasina said. "You r
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understand it-couldn't quite pictur
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the conversation, as the women talk
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* * *Mammy had pulled the yellowish
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"The usual.""Did you eat?""I did.""
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"Of course you do. Shut the curtain
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"What did you do 1 ?" she exclaimed
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thanks to God.""Heart attack. His s
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it's nonsense-and very dangerous no
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"Your masculine smarts? Really? Tel
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himself more upright, taking on a s
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reasons people out there took up ar
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duties."It's under control. You go
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But the feeling didn't last. It was
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would obliterate her in death. Mamm
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to be there when it happens, when A
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* * *Half an hour later, the driver
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ditches, on the banks of which tiny
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physically. He planted a brisk kiss
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* * *Later, after they'd eaten a lu
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22.January 1989One cold, overcast d
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They "went to Cinema Park later tha
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Three years passed.In that time, Ta
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thoughtful face, eyebrow cocked and
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"I see you want to," Laila said, ir
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that some, if not most, of the neig
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"Oh, he has the most handsome smile
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off his newly muscular arms-complim
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repertoire of poses: back to the wa
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precisely at the midpoint between m
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And when the rockets began to rain
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"I don't like it," she said. "Guns
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In June of that yeah, 1992, there w
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One daY that same month of June, Gi
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"And my mother is not a young woman
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"Let me marry you, Laila. Today. We
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Laila couldn't decide which he had
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stood by the front gates, leaning a
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wedding band-and most of her old cl
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She thought suddenly of her dream.
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Somewhere, an accordion playing.Mer
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she had to retch."How long is she s
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at the girl, at her blond curls, he
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names added to theshaheed list. Nor
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an image of Tariq's parents present
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bleeping, syringes all over the gro
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the guns the CIA handed him in the
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it was as thick and coarse as ever.
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But this is for the best. You'll se
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Not with this daily retching.This n
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31.MadamIn the daytime, the girl wa
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"No matter. The point is, I am your
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could hear the creaking of its hing
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"You can imagine the rest. The boy
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he's siding with Massoud. And Hekma
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imagined. He had her sit behind his
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Jbarly one morning the next spring,
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"Not yet, Rasheed. No. Let go. Come
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"I was listening to the radio the o
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anything.In the end, Mariam knew th
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Mariam pulled her finger free. The
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"Which was it?""He was like both.""
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Laila sat in a comer and draped her
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Mariam gave a half smile. "It's a g
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* * *Early the following yeah, in J
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loaded gun near Aziza.One day that
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azan rang out, and then the morning
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Mariam shifted Aziza in her arms. "
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Laila gave him their names, and he
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"You're not going to get on this bu
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died. Sometimes they're telling the
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to go-"Laila didn't see the punch c
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"Soon." Laila kissed her daughter,
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country that will hold me accountab
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They "went our that day, the four o
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Shar-e-Nau, in Karteh-Parwan, in Wa
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Ever cared to visit the real Afghan
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punishment. Then, on Fridays, he we
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to guide the spoke, if indeed she c
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Before the registration window was
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aluminum table. The top shelf had a
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you'll find yourself in a bidding w
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behind their parched lands, selling
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with Laila. He had bought him a new
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were inseparable now. Of late, with
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sound like dropping a rice bag to t
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their livestock. When they found ne
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few toys Laila had fought Rasheed t
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of her children. She had saved the
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"What's taking him so long?" Mariam
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lived in Shar-e-Nau and owned the c
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the ragged net lying limply in the
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On the way to Karteh-Seh, Zalmai bo
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you won't go hungry. They have rice
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Next to Laila, Aziza snorted.Zaman
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bless you, brother."***But "when th
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warn you.""I'm coming with you," Ma
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"They're fractures along the earth'
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transpiration.More than once, Laila
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bewildered, almost harmless. Like s
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perfectly still and looked at Tariq
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LailaIariq said that one of the men
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"I'm so sorry.""Well. Yes. Me too.
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"I don't recognize Kabul.""Neither
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long to see the doctor, Tariq said.
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"He was only visiting," Mariam said
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guilty to feel that about Zalmai, w
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new leg. Tariq said he'd wept at th
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"I'll count the minutes."Almost ten
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"And then…Idon't know. I have to
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touched her fingers to her temple,
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Mariam clawed at him. She beat at h
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LailaLaila was aware of the face ov
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say anything for a long time.Laila'
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"Somewhere with trees," she said. "
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"I don't know, my love."When was he
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a while, wait for things to calm do
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awaited planting and chickens that
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glass. There were no curtains eithe
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It was just as well, she said, her
Page 359 and 360: "Well, then." He threw up his hands
Page 361 and 362: walls. She watched the winds stir m
Page 363 and 364: A lump closed off her throat. In a
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Page 367 and 368: It was Sayeecl who summoned a frien
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Page 371 and 372: delivered again.At some point, Lail
Page 373 and 374: "Did you hear?" he says, panting a
Page 375 and 376: In less than two hours, both towers
Page 377 and 378: But it rankles Laila, what Tariq is
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Page 381 and 382: "I am happy," Laila says. "Of cours
Page 383 and 384: As she leans back and watches Sayee
Page 385 and 386: is a painting of the poet Khaja Abd
Page 387 and 388: she is alive and sitting in this ta
Page 389 and 390: the wall They sit by the open windo
Page 391 and 392: mosquitoes hovering in front of her
Page 393 and 394: summon Mariam behind the lids of he
Page 395 and 396: "Let's go back," he says. Then, "I
Page 397 and 398: * * *Tariq and the children come ba
Page 399 and 400: deserved you. Now all I can do is a
Page 401 and 402: Zalmai's new goat. Laila watched th
Page 403 and 404: Laila yanks her children back onto
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Page 407 and 408: blankets that keep the children war
Page 409: AcknowledgmentsA few clarifications
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A Thousand Splendid Suns

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