A Thousand Splendid Suns Part 4

What has Tariq developed in part 4?

Really bad headaches-sometimes it's so bad that he is at the edge of the bed, rocking, with his shirt pulled over his head; he describes it as a butcher's knife burrowing in his temple, twisting slowly in his brain and poking at the other side.

"I can taste the metal, even, when they begin."

Tariq

When did Laila and Tariq marry and where do they live?

They married the day they arrived in Murree and they're living in Sayeed's hotel

Who put together Tariq and Laila's wedding-getting a mullah for the ceremony and buying wedding bands?

Sayeed

The night that Laila and Tariq married, what was the first difference in their relationship from when they were children?

They clutched each others' hands and didn't say a word; they used to fill the air with words and stories, always interrupting each other, and laughed and tugged at each other to emphasize a point; but the enormity of that night and the blessing to know that he was laying next her and he would forever, stole the words from her.

How does Laila feel about living in Murree?

She enjoys it-she likes the cool, foggy mornings, the green pines and squirrels, the fact that they have a bathroom instead of an outhouse, waking up to the sound of Alyona bleating in the morning and their chef, Adiba, cooking in the kitchen.

What does the whole family (Tariq, Laila, Aziza and Zalmai) do in the mornings?

They follow Tariq, from room to room, and clean the hotel rooms; Laila cleans makes the bed and cleans the rooms, Tariq scrubs the sinks and toilets, and Aziza wipes the windows.

What does Aziza still carry around with her everywhere she goes?

The miniature doll Mariam made for her

When did Laila tell Aziza about Tariq?

A few days after the nikka (wedding)

How did Aziza react to finding out that Tariq is her dad?

They act like they've known each other their whole lives; they finish each other's sentences, shoot private smiles at each other and act as if they are reunited companions rather than strangers.

What was the only thing that Aziza was worried about Tariq?

That he would leave

How does Zalmai feel about Tariq?

He is not fond of him; Tariq has bought him a rocking horse, built him a wagon and even makes paper animals for him, but Zalmai doesn't care for them and just yells at Tariq.

"You're a donkey...I don't want your toys!"

Zalmai talking to Tariq

"You're not my Baba jan! My real Baba jan is away on a trip, and when he gets back he's going to beat you up! And you won't be able to run away, because he has two legs and you only have one!"

Zalmai talking to Tariq

How does Tariq respond when Zalmai yells and says insulting things to him?

He stays silent and let's Zalmai

What lie does Laila tell Zalmai when he asks about his father, Rasheed?

She tells him that he has gone away on a trip and doesn't know when he will return

Where does Tariq take the family on his days off?

He takes them to the mall, where he buys them spicy kebabs and where they stroll by the Anglican church, or sometimes they'll ride a bus to Kashmir Point where he will show them the Jhelum River, the pine slopes. Another option is Nathia Gali, where they hold hands as they walk the roads to the Governor's House, stop by the old British cemetery or take a taxi up the mountain peak for a view of the valley.

When they pass by a store window, what does Laila always think about as she catches their reflections in it: man, wife, daughter, son?

She thinks about how, to strangers, they appear as an ordinary family, free of secrets, lies and regrets.

What has Aziza developed since moving to Murree?

She has nightmares that leave her shrieking

What kind of dreams does Laila have?

She imagines herself walking the hall at her house in Kabul, and as she's climbing up the stairs, alone, she hears the rhythmic hiss of an iron, bedsheets snapped, then folded, and a woman's low-pitched humming of an old Herati song behind a closed door. But when she walks in, the room is empty and it leaves Laila shaken.

How does Laila feel about not finding anyone in the room, in her dreams?

"Every time, it is devastating."

How does Ahmad Shah Massoud die?

He gave an interview to a pair of journalists who claimed they were Belgians originally from Morocco and as they were talking, a bomb was hidden in the video camera that went off, that killed Massoud and one of the journalists; people suspect that the journalists were Al-Qaeda men.

Who told Laila the news that Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed?

Tariq

Who does Laila recall as being Massoud's biggest supporter?

Her mom; she hung a poster in her bedroom of Massoud, she was grateful that he gave a graveside prayer at her sons' burial, even after the war broke out between his faction and the others, she refused to blame him, and even after everything went terribly wrong and Kabul lay in ruins, he was still the Lion of Panjshir in her eyes.

"He's a good man...He wants peace. He wants to rebuild Afghanistan. But they won't let him. They just won't let him."

Fariba talking about Ahmad Shah Massoud

Why was Laila not as forgiving of Massoud's actions, unlike her mother?

Massoud's violent end brought her no joy; she remembers too well the neighborhoods razed under his watch: the bodies of people dragged from rubble, hands and feet of children on rooftops; she also remembers too well her mother's face moments before the rocket slammed in and Babi's headless torso landing nearby.

What do Laila and Tariq see on the TV on BBC news?

A building, a tower, with black smoke billowing from its top floors collapses and soon after another plane crashes into the adjacent tower, exploding into a fireball.

Who was America's president during the 9/11 attack and what did he do to fight back?

George W. Bush and he declared war on Afghanistan

Who thinks that a war in Afghanistan won't be such a bad thing?

Tariq

Why does Laila get angry at Tariq when he expresses that he feels that a war in Afghanistan won't be so bad in the end?

She views the situation as bombs falling everywhere and killing hundreds of innocent people, just like what had happened to her family. She can't stand the thought of having another child's parents die from a rocket and having to become an orphan, just like her.

"Not so bad? People dying? Women, children, old people? Homes destroyed again? Not so bad?"

Laila talking to Tariq

"You left when the Mujahideen began fighting, remember? I'm the one who stayed behind. Me. I know war. I lost my parents to war."

Laila talking to Tariq

"What I meant was that maybe there will be hope at the other end of this war, that maybe for the first time in a long time..."

Tariq talking to Laila

What does Laila keep reminding herself about life in Murree?

It's a good life, a life to be thankful for. It's a life she used to dream for herself in her darkest days with Rasheed

Even though her life in Murree is everything she has ever wanted, and more, why does it still feel insufficient to her?

She misses the city of her childhood, Kabul. She has been plagued by restlessness-she hears of schools being built in Kabul, roads repaved and women returning to work. When she is relaxing and doing nothing in Murree, it feels like she is wasting her life.

"You can be anything you want...I know this about you. And I also know that when this war is over, Afghanistan is going to need you."

Babi talking to Laila

Why does Laila want to return to Kabul?

There is a part of her that wants to return to Kabul for her Mammy and Babi, for them to see her brothers' dreams come true through her eyes. Also, for Mariam; she keeps asking herself if Mariam sacrificed herself so Laila could be a maid.

"I am happy...But, where do we go from here? How long do we stay? This isn't home. Kabul is, and back there so much is happening, a lot of it good. I want to be a part of it all. I want to do something. I want to contribute."

Laila talking to Tariq

"Me...I'll follow you to the end of the world."

Tariq talking to Laila

"Let's go home."

Tariq talking to Laila

In which moment, did Laila claim, that she loved Tariq more than ever before?

When he allowed to move the family back to Kabul because Laila wanted to go back home; there was no arguing and no second thoughts.

Before going back to Kabul, where did Laila want to stop at first?

Herat

Why was Aziza agitated when discovering that they were moving back to Kabul?

She still has nightmares and gets startled to death when she hears shots going around in the air. Laila wanted to explain that the Taliban won't be in Kabul when they return and that there will be no more fighting. And especially that she will not have to be sent away to an orphanage ever again, they'll all live together.

On the day that they left Murree, why is Zalmai heartbroken?

He had to leave behind Alyona.

How does Tariq manage to pry Zalmai off the goat?

He promises him that he will buy him a goat just like Alyona in Kabul

What does Sayeed do on the day they left Murree, to wish them good luck?

He holds the Koran by the doorway for Tariq, Laila, and the children to kiss three times, then holds it high so they can pass under it.

Who drives them to the bus station, and stands on the curb waving good-bye as the bus pulls away?

Sayeed

What does Laila wonder to herself as they are pulling away from Sayeed at the station?

She has a moment of doubt and wonders if leaving behind the safety of Murree is the right thing to do.

During her moment of doubt, what reminds Laila that she is doing the right thing by leaving and going back to Kabul?

She remembered two lines of poetry from Babi's farewell ode to Kabul:

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,

Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

Since the wars in Afghanistan had ravaged the roads connecting Kabul, Herat and Kandahar, which country did they have to pass through to get to Herat?

Mashad, Iran

How does Laila describe the city of Mashad?

It's a crowded and bustling city with parks, mosques, and kebab restaurants. It also has a shrine with glistening tiles, minarets, and a magnificent golden dome.

How does Laila describe Herat?

It's made up of streets that are paved and lined with fragrant pines, parks and libraries in mid-construction, courtyards, freshly painted buildings, traffic lights and electricity.

Who helped rebuild the city of Herat?

Herat's feudal-style warlord, Ismail Khan, with the considerable customs revenue that he collects at the Afghan-Iranian border, money that Kabul says belongs not to him but to the central government.

Who was rumored to have slept in the same hotel in Muwaffaq as Laila and Tariq?

Osama Bin Laden

Who is the young girl in the photo taped to the driver's windshield?

It's his sister when she was 12-years-old, who was killed by rockets during the uprising in March 1979.

What does Laila find in common about every Afghan story?

It is marked by death and loss and unimaginable grief

What is Gul Daman?

It is a village of a few walled houses rising among flat kolas built with mud and straw

Who did Laila end up meeting in Herat?

She went to Mullah Faizullah's house to talk about Mariam, where she conversed with his son, Hamza.

How does Hamza react when he hears Mariam's name?

He gets overwhelmingly excited and grows a huge smile on his face.

"He visited every week, never missed...He was her tutor, yes, but he was a friend too. He was a charitable man...It nearly broke him when Jalil Khan gave her away."

Hamza talking about Mullah Faizullah

Where did Laila ask for Hamza to take her?

She wanted to see where Mariam lived.

When did Laila have an easy time remembering the details of Mariam's face?

When she sat inside her kolba

As Laila sits in Mariam's old kolba and closes her eyes, how does she envision Mariam?

She sees a young Mariam making a doll and humming, and Laila starts to think that in a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on life, will never burden others, will never let on what she too has had sorrows, disappointments, and dreams that have been ridiculed. She will be a woman who endures without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washes over her.

When does Laila say her final good-bye to Mariam?

As she leaves the kolba

What does Hamza give to Laila as a present Jalil was saving for Mariam?

An old chocolate box with a locked latch.

"My father never unlocked it. Neither did I. I suppose it was God's will that it be you."

Hamza talking to Laila

What is inside the old chocolate box Jalil saved for Mariam?

An envelope, a burlap sack and a videocassette

What was playing on the videocassette that Jalil left for Mariam?

Walt Disney's Pinocchio

What did Tariq buy for the kids at the market?

For Aziza, he bought silver earrings with a butterfly on each and for Zalmai he bought an inflatable dolphin that squeaks when its snout is squeezed.

Why did Jalil write Mariam a letter?

To explain his feelings, of regret and remorse, and ask for her forgiveness

What was in the burlap sack?

Mariam's inheritance from Jalil

What did they do for Aziza's tenth birthday?

They went to Cinema Park to watch Titanic

How does Aziza keep Mariam close to her always?

Through prayers

Where does Tariq work in Kabul?

He works with a French NGO that fits land mine survivors and amputees with prosthetic limbs

How has Kabul changed since they've been back?

Everyday they spot people planting saplings, painting old houses, and carrying bricks for new ones, digging gutters and wells, flowers are being planted in old Mujahideen rockets, and there is music, for the first time in years, at Kabul's street corners.

As Laila sees the Land Cruiser speed down the streets, those that killed her parents and have killed thousands of other innocent people, what is going through her head?

At first she is angered, because these are people who have done monstrous things yet are living in posh homes and walled gardens and have been appointed ministers. But then she remembers what Mariam would have said, "What good is it, Laila jo?" and decides to not be crippled by resentment. She she resigns herself to moving on.

What are the two things that Laila has learned to do in order to live her life peacefully and happily?

To move on and hope for a better change

What was Laila's first contribution to her Kabul community?

She planted a row of apple saplings at the orphanage's playground, she got a new swings, new monkey bars and a jungle gym. They have also repainted both the exterior and interior of the orphanage, repaired all the roof leaks, patched the walls, replaced the windows, and carpeted the rooms where the children sleep and play.

When Laila was looking at the newspaper article about the renovation of the orphanage, what does she remember one of her friends saying?

She remembers Hasina saying, "By the time we're twenty, Giti and I, we'll have pushed out four, five kids each. But you, Laila, you'll make us two dummies proud. You're going to be somebody. I know one day I'll pick up a newspaper and find your picture on the front page."

What was Laila's new job in Kabul?

She worked as a teacher at the orphanage

How do the orphans react to seeing Laila?

They run at her at full tilt and she is swarmed by a flurry of high-pitched greetings, tugging, and jostling one another to climb into her arms. Some even call her Mother.

What is nailed above the classroom doorway?

Four lines of poetry, with Zaman's answer to why those who promised to aid money to Afghanistan isn't coming, that the rebuilding is going to slowly, that there is corruption, that the Taliban are regrouping already and will come back with vengeance, and that the world will forget about Afghanistan once again.

"Joseph shall return to Canaan, grieve not,

Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve not.

If a flood should arrive, to drown all that's alive,

Noah is your guide in the typhoon's eye, grieve not."

Why is Laila no longer distressed that she doesn't know where Mariam was buried by the Taliban?

She sees that it doesn't matter because Mariam is never very far. She is within the walls they've repainted, the trees they've planted, the blankets that children warm, the pillows and books and pencils, the verses Aziza recites and in the prayers she mutters. But, most importantly, she is in Laila's heart.

Why do Laila and the family play a naming game as their nightly ritual?

Because Laila is pregnant again and she needs to find a baby name for a boy. The game only involves male names because if it's a girl, they already have a name for her: Mariam.