Text in Arabic. Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed.

Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter.

When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear.

Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

The sense of longing evoked in Khaled Hosseinis novel is compelling and universal: the passionate search for love, family, home, acceptance, a healthy society, and a promising future, regardless of the obstacles.

This novel transcends boundaries and illuminates the people and culture of a region that has been reluctantly thrust into the international spotlight.