A Thousand Splendid Suns

Ten episodes. First broadcast from 20070924 to 20071005.

Seeta Indrani reads from Khaled Hosseini's eagerly awaited second novel.

 
 
EpisodeFirst
Broadcast
Description
0120070924Two women, whose lives collide under the brutal Taliban regime, develop an unlikely friendship characterised by fierce loyalty and profound affection.
0220070925After the death of her mother, Mariam is taken to stay at her father's house. The reality of living with his three wives and her half-brothers and sisters is far from the dream existence she had always imagined.
0320070926Fifteen-year-old Mariam has been forcibly married to a shoemaker from Kabul, 30 years her senior. She begins her new life 650 miles from home.
0420070927A few houses down the street from where Mariam lives with her husband, nine-year-old Laila is pining for her playmate Tariq, who has gone to stay with his uncle in Ghazni. Her mother pines for her sons, who are fighting with the Mujahideen.
0520070928Soviet troops leave Kabul and the Mujahideen prepare to leave the mountains and reclaim their city. Laila's heart is filled only with thoughts of Tariq.
0620071001Laila's house is turned to rubble by a rocket attack and both her parents are killed. Rasheed brings her home to be looked after by Mariam.
0720071002After the pain of having to share her husband with Laila, Mariam is devastated to discover the girl is pregnant. But when the new parents return home with their baby, Rasheed is barely speaking to his young wife.
0820071003As the Taliban take over Kabul, Laila is relieved that her father is no longer alive to witness the devastation. The oppressive regime is mirrored at home as Rasheed's sour temper is only lightened by the presence of his long-awaited son.
0920071004As poverty spreads throughout Kabul, Laila has been forced by Tariq to take her daughter to an orphanage. Returning home from visiting her one day, she finds Tariq on her doorstep.
10 LAST20071005Laila and Tariq have escaped to Pakistan with the children. Laila realises that although in many ways she has the life she once dreamt of, it has been at an unbearable price. As the Taliban are forced out of Afghanistan, she longs to return home to take part in her country's reconstruction.