Quarter 4: Week 2, Post B

So far I am really, really enjoying A Thousand Splendid Suns-much more than I thought I would. I mean, I've heard how amazing The Kite Runner is, and this is by the same author, but I definitely didn't expect to like it as much as I do. Mariam is easy to relate to in some ways because she's around the same age as me, she doesn't always get along with her mom, and she and her dad have a special bond-at least at first. However, in most ways our lives are very different. Mariam's parents are not married, she doesn't know any of her siblings (or half-siblings, technically) and her mother kills herself when Mariam is just fifteen years old. Also, she is forced into an arranged marriage and she is an outcast in her father's home. In these ways, her life is so vastly different from mine, it's hard to believe. She has so much struggle at such a young age, and many of these struggles are things that would never be encountered by the average American teen (aka the arranged marriage and dealing with her father's multiple wives). Overall, I really like Mariam so far. I think she's smart and very strong. Hopefully she can learn to stand up for herself a little more-she needs a little Minerva Mirabal attitude in her! I can't wait to keep reading and see what happens when Mariam gets married to Rasheed..should be interesting!