A Thousand Splendid Part 3

Author-Khaled Hosseini

Chapter 41-End

Summary
Years pass and Aziza and Zalmai are older. Rasheed focuses most of his attention towards Zalmai buying him new clothes and toys. He pays little to no attention on any of the women. Aziza however is very mature for her age and constantly helps her younger brother. After excessive spending including a tv for Zalmai which is forbidden for citizens to own by Taliban rule the family becomes very poor. Rasheed tells Aziza to go beg. Laila refuses to let her daughter do this and Rasheed becomes more violent. At one point he sticks a gun in her mouth. The chapter ends with Mariam and Laila burying Zalmai's tv.
Years later the family becomes more and more poor. Rasheed's store burns down and is fired from two jobs he had. Mariam believes it is best to make up with her father and ask him for financial support. After many calls trying to find her father she learns he died years ago. The family decides that it is best to leave Kabul and go to Karteh-Seh. They are only able to support one child so they must drop Aziza at an orphanage. The orphanage has very poor living conditions but a nice man named Zaman runs it. Rasheed eventually finds work at a hotel and Laila visits Aziza often.
One day The family comes home and Laila finds Tariq next to the house. Mariam noticed that the doorman at the hotel Rasheed works at is the same person that gave a notice about Tariq's death. She knows Rasheed payed him to say Tariq died. Laila and Tariq connect instantly but keep their relationship a secret. Tariq and Laila tell stories to each other and eventually meet Aziza together. However Zalmai notices this behavior and tells Rasheed. Zalmai also tells him that Laila lets Tariq see her face. Rasheed is furious and beats Mariam and Laila when they return. He attempts to kill Laila but is hit by Mariam. Laila then cuts Rasheeds neck with a broken glass piece and Mariam hits him hard with a shovel knocking him out.
Mariam just realizes what she has done. Rasheed is stone cold and completely knocked out. We find out that Mariam has just killed Rasheed. They decide its best not to let Zalmai see Rasheeds dead body. They hide it behind a working bench. When Zalmai comes they tell him that Rasheed has gone away but will return. They also tell him that they will need to leave. Laila asks Mariam to come with her but Mariam believes it is best that Laila goes with Tariq and the children. She knows that the Taliban will come after the whole family if they find a man dead and no woman. She also can not look at Zalmai without crying after killing his father. Laila and Zalmai leave the house very depressed. Eventually Mariam is captured by the Taliban and put into a woman's prison. She tells her story to others in her cell. They all praise her for what she did and say it was the right thing. Eventually Mariam is put on trial. She claims that Rasheed would have killed her if she did not do anything. The Taliban do not believe her and sentence her to death. Mariam begins to have dreams of people in her past such as Nana and Jalil. Eventually Mariam is executed. Laila and Tariq are married in Murree, an area in Pakistan. Laila eventually tells Aziza that Tariq is her real father. Zalmai continues to have a hard time getting over the fact that Rasheed is not home.
Eventually 9/11 happens and there is war in Afghanistan. Laila feels scared and misses Kabul. She tells Tariq that she wants to go back to Kabul but stop at Herat which was Mariam's home town. He agrees and they leave. Laila is surprised at how Herat looks. She finds Mullah Faizullah's house who was Mariam's teacher and tutor. There they visit his son Hamza. He reveals that Mullah has died and they reveal that Mariam has died. Hamza decides to give them a box that Jalil had give to them. He was supposed to give it to Mariam. In the box is a video of Pinocchio as well as a letter explaining how he regrets sending Mariam away. It also says how he wants Mariam to visit him because he is dying. Also in the box is money which Mariam was suppose in inherit. Laila cries and thanks Hamza. Laila and Tariq return to Kabul and they find the orphanage Aziza stayed at. They decide to help out the place and rebuild. Laila ends up teaching at the orphanage. The book ends with everyone thinking of Mariam. Laila finds out she is pregnant again. They discuss boy names however she knows that if it is a girl she will be named Mariam.

Who should read this section
I think that anyone that likes a good story should read this section. I also think that anyone who likes slightly sad but happy endings should read this as well as people interested in Afghanistan and daily life as well as anyone who read the previous book by this author "The Kite Runner".

Why should they read this
I think that people that like good endings would like this because the ending was kind of sad at first, however you realize the significance of Mariam's death. This makes the ending happier. The book does a great job describing daily life in Afghanistan. It does this every section and chapter of the book. Also this book kind of relates to the kite runner in terms of the ending. One friend dies and the other lives with something to remember the other friend by. In the kite runner it was the friends child. In this book its the name that Mariam gives to her newborn. So I think anyone that enjoyed the Kite runner would like this book.

Did I like this book
Overall I thought this section was great. I really enjoyed the ending. The significance of Mariam's death was to save Laila and her family. I also thought this book had a good theme. The theme was to always hope and believe that your life will be better. I like how the author ended this story with Laila and her family working at the orphanage. I also like how they show the inheritance box. This shows what Jalil thought after Mariam left. Overall I really liked this section and the book.