A Thousand Splendid Suns Part 1 (Chapters 1-15)

when was the first time Mariam heard the word harami? (means bastard)

from her mother when she was 5 after she broke a piece of the tea set

what does mariam do on thursdays?

received a visit from Jalil at the kolba (the shack/house where she lives with Nana)

what was the sole relic nana had of her mother, who died when Nana was 2?

a blue and white porcelain tea set

what piece of the tea set did mariam accidentally break?

the sugar bowl with a dragon meant to ward off evil

who had a lazy eye?

nana

what was the injustice of the word harami?

the creators, and not the harami, are to blame

what would mariam never have?

legitimate claims to love, family, home, acceptance

what did jalil call mariam?

his little flower

what had once been the cradle of Persian culture?

Herat, the city where she lived

who is buried under a pistachio tree in herat where jalil claims to have taken mariam when she was too young to remember?

the great poet jami

"rich man telling rich lies...he cast us out of his big fancy house like you were nothing to him"

Nana describing Jalil

when did mariam feel deserving of all the beauty and bounty life had to give?

when jalil came to visit--she loved him for this

what was the rest of jalil's family like?

he had 3 wives and 9 (now 10) legitimate kids

who was one of Herat's wealthiest and best connected men?

jalil

(he owned a cinema, land in karokh, land in farah, 3 carpet stores, a clothing shop, black 1956 buick roadmaster

what did jalil own and describe to mariam?

his private cinema--kids got free ice cream on tuesdays (her mother was angry that mariam only got stories of ice cream while strangers got it free)

who was Nana to jalil?

had been a housekeeper but he got her pragnant and she was disowned by her family (father left to Iran), he shamed by his family who wanted her to be kicked out

what does Nana say both her father and jalil didn't have the heart to do?

the honorable thing--her father to sharpen his knife and do it, which nana thinks would've been better for her and mariam, and jalil to tell his wives and family the truth and own up to what he'd done

what were mariam and nana to jalil and his wives?

weeds that had to be replanted and given food and water (the deal he had struck to save his name)

who suggested the clearing where nana and mariam live?

jalil's oldest son Muhsin

how does nana describe jalil when he found the spot for their house?

"like a warden bragging about the clean walls and shiny floors of his prison"

when had nana almost been married? what happened?

when she was 15 to a parakeet seller but then a jinn had entered her body (probably a seizure) and spooked off the boy and his family

when was the only time in her life nana was happy?

the days leading up to her wedding before it was canceled

what was jalil's idea of penance?

building her house himself and sending two of his sons (muhsin and ramin or ramin and farhad) once a month to deliver supplies to the house instead of sending servants

what happened on the day mariam was born according to her mother?

nobody came to help her mother so she lied on the ground for 2 days waiting for mariam to come and then cut the cord herself

what did mariam realize was unfair about the story of her birth?

she always apologized to her mother for taking 2 days to come out even though it wasn't her fault

what was the story jalil told mariam of her birth?

he said that he was away but he arranged to send nana to a hospital to birth her and it had taken less than an hour (mariam believes this version of the story)

what was one of mariam's earliest memories?

the boys pushing the ration wagon to their house

what made nana laugh so hard mariam thought she would have one of her fits, and then cause her to tell mariam she was a good daughter?

when mariam told muhsin his mouth was shaped like a lizard's ass so she would please nana

who were the people that nana allowed to visit?

- Gul Daman's leader, Habib Khan who brought food and dyed eggs for mariam

-an old woman, Bibi, whose father had been friends with her father and who brought gossip from the towns and candy or quinces for mariam

-Mullah Faizullah, the village Koran teacher(its akhund) who taught her to write and her koran recitation and namaz prayers

who was mariam's favorite visitor besides jalil?

Mullah Faizullah the Koran teacher

who was Hamza?

Mullah the Koran teacher's russet haired son who was a few years older than Mariam

what happened whenever mullah came over?

mariam kissed his hand, which felt like kissing twigs with a layer of skin over them, and he kissed her brow

what did mullah find shaped into the seeds of his watermelon outside the blue mosque in Mazar?

"Allah Akbar"

who "at times...did not understand the meaning of the Koran's words but...liked the enchanting sounds the Arabic words made as they rolled off his tongue [because] they comforted him, eased his heart"?

Mullah the Koran teacher

"God's words will never betray you"

Mullah to Mariam

what did Mariam tell Mullah that she would never are to tell nana?

that she wished she could go to a school like Jalil's other kids

what is nana's response when mullah asks her to send mariam to school?

"what's the sense schooling a girl like you? It's like shining a spittoon. And you'll learn nothing of value in those schools. There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they dont teach it in life...tahamul. Endure"

how did jalil and nana acknowledge each other on his visits?

an uneasy nod and smile

what did mariam and nana fight about after one of jalil's visits?

nana said that since his wife was expecting he wouuld now have 10 kids, and he agreed (which left mariam out of the count)

what was mariam's link and proof that the world existed at large?

the clippings from Herat's newspaper, Ittfaq-i Islam, that jalil brought every thursday

who was overthrown in a bloodless coup when she was 14, in 1973?

King Zahir Shah

what did mariam do as Jalil left every thursday?

held her breath and pretended thaat for every second she didnt breath God would grant her another day with jalil

what does mariam tell her father she wants for her 15th birthday in spring of 1974? what are her parents reactions?

she wants to see Pinocchio in her father's cinema, and her morther says its a bad idea and her father says the quality isnt that good and the sound is bad and the projector is malfunctioning, but then he finally agrees

"A man's heart is a wretched thing...it isnt like a mother's womb. It wont bleed, it wont stretch to make room for you. I'm all you have in this world...when I'm gone you'll have nothing"

Nana to Mariam when she wants to go to the movies with Jalil

what was mariam jealous of and why?

the swallows and birds that had been to herat and maybe her father's house

what was the game mariam played privately?

arranged pebbles into columns--4 in the first for Khadija's kids, 3 in the second for Afsoon's, 3 in the 3rd for Nargis's, and an 11th lone pebble in a 4th column

what does mariam take with her the day she is to meet Jalil for the movies?

the 11 pebbles

what did she find when she went to herat?

she was marvelously ordinary

how does mariam get to jalil's house?

gets a ride form the owner of a horse drawn gari

what does mariam find when she comes home from trying to visit jalil?

nana hanging from a tree branch

how did mariam's view of her father change after her mother's death?

she could hear the insincerity in his voice, hear him with nana's ears

where do jalil's wives tell mariam she is to go?

they say she will marry Rasheed and move to kabul and jalil has already accepted the offer for her so she will leave the next day

what did she notice about her father's table after being told of her marriage?

every time she breathes out, the surface fogs and she disappears from his table

what did mariam notice first about her husband?

his smell--cigarette smoke and thick sweet cologne, and then his huge size (tall and thick around the middle)

what did rasheed's voice remind mariam of?

dry autumn leaves crushed underfoot

how many times does the mullah have to ask mariam if she will have rasheed as her husband?

4 (though he said he should only have to ask her 3 times before she answers because rasheed is seeking her, not the other way around)

what does the book mention as she is signing her marriage contract?

that she will sign another contract with a mullah present in 27 years

what does she tell jalil?

she used to worship him but she didnt know he was ashamed of her and tells him not to visit her again because she wont see him

what does rasheed say to her when she gets on the bus?

he puts his hand on hers and says there there girl but distractedly looks out the window, not at her

what is nearby to their house?

the zoo and university

what color does she wear on her wedding day that is also shown a lot around rasheed's house?

green (mostly dark green)

what does rasheed become cross with her about?

she bursts into tears bbecause everything she knew has been replaced with this unfamiliar new life

what is the one thing rasheed says he cannot stand?

the sound of a woman crying

whagt did rasheed place in the window of her room?

a basket of white tuberoses

what was the first lie in their marriage?

she said she wasnt afraid of him

what made mariam anxious everyday?

the suns westward climb--the coming of night for fear that he might take her to his bed

what did rasheed believe about superstitions?

they were largely a female preoccupation

what does rahseed tell mariam?

that a woman's face is her husband's business and it embarrases him to see woman walkign through the streets with only a scarf on their heads, and he buys her a burqa

what does she find comforting about the burqa?

it buffered her from the scrutinizing eyes of strangers and she stoped worrying if they all knew the secrets of her past

which car does mariam say is her favorite?

the soviet volga, which makes rasheed laugh

what does rasheed buy mariam when he's taking her around the city?

ice cream

when rasheed greeted friends did he introduce mariam?

no he told her to wait outside their shops

what is the one thing you can't find on chicken street?

chickens

who drew mariam's eyes the most while she was visiting the town with rasheed?

the women (especially the modern women)

what mystified mariam and made her aware of her loneliness, plain looks, lack of aspirations, and ignorance?

the modern women with painted nails and rustling skirts and handbags

what did rasheed buy for mariam?

a "true gift"--a dark maroon silk shawl with beaded edges, embroidered with gold fringe

what touching thing did rasheed do when he gave mariam her isft?

averted her gaze

what did rasheed's overpowering cheerfulness leave room for?

nothing but meek gratitude

what was the difference between jalil's gifts and rasheed's?

jalil's were half hearted tokens of penance more for his own appeasement than hers but rasheed's was true

what did mariam see for the first time at ramadan in 1974?

how the sighting of a new crescent moon could transform an entire city and alter its rhythm and mood, and she was able to taste the sweetness of a communal experience when she broke her ramadan fast with bread and a date

hwo did ramadan change rasheed?

he bacame irratable with fasting, on the few days when he did fast, and one night when she was late with dinner he wouldnt speak to her and ate bread and radishes instead

how did mariam celebrate Eid at the kolba?

she and nana would sit for tea with jalil while ha gave her presents (one year it was a wool scarf) and the mullah faizullah would bring her chocolates and dyed eggs and cookies, but she dreaded eid because of the people showering each other with endearments and goodwill in Herat that filled her with a forlornness

why did mariam wish her mother was alive at Eid?

to see that beaut and contentment were not unattainable even for the likes of them

who were the Eid visitors?

all men--mariam had to go upstairs until they left, which she was flattered by because he wanted to protect her honor

how did mariam end up in rasheed's room on the third day of Eid and what did she do there?

she was cleaning up after the guests because rasheed went to visit a friend and she'd had a quesy stomach--she stood in fron tof the mirror and pretended to smoke

what disquited mariam about rasheed's room?

he had a gun whose sole purpose was to kill others (she assumed it was for their safety) and magazines full of naked women and lastly a picture of a boy (Yunus) who ooked about 4 or 5, and a younger rasheed looming over a woman who seemed to be slightly tilting away from his grasp

when did she feel kinship with rasheed for the first time?

picturing him pacing the banks of the lake where his son had drowned, panic-stricken and helpless

what strange thing was happening to mariam on the ride back from the doctor's?

she saw bright colors everywhere

what does rasheed say about the baby?

it is going to be a boy named Zalmai, but if it is a girl she can pick the name

what made her feel that there was no more need for pebble games?

her love for the baby growing inside of her that dwarfed anything she'd ever felt before

what happened when mariam went to the bathhouse?

there was blood around her and she was screaming--she miscarried

"each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world...as a reminder of how women like us suffer...how quietly we endure all that falls upon us"

mariam remembering what Nana had said

what did she believe about the baby some days?

that it was an undeserved blessing, a punishment for what she did to nana

what change came over rasheed after the miscarriage?

he didn't talk as much came home later, didnt buy her gifts, didnt laugh, seemed irritated by her

what does mariam ask to do that makes rasheed angry?

have a burial for the baby--he says he's already buried one son and wont bury another and she has to do it alone if she wants to do it

what happens at the beginning of chapter 15?

April 17, 1978--the year she turned 19--Mir Akbar Khybar (a prominent communist) was found murdered and there was a large demonstration in kabul

what did mariam endure and why?

she saw how mucha woman could tolerate when she was afrais and she was afraid of his shifting volatile moods that ended in abuse

how many miscarriages had she had since the first?

6 more

what did she do in an attempt to please him that ended in tears of shame?

wore makeup, but his look of distaste sent her running to the bathroom

what happened april 27?

there were bombings--daoud's loyalist forces were all but defeated and kabul was in the hands of the people now