Why The Setting Is Important in "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

Why the Setting is Important in "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
Author, Khaled Hosseini
Review by, Mathilde

The time and setting of "A Thousand Splendid Suns", a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, create unique and unforgettable images for the reader and are an essential part of the story that Hosseini is telling.
The story is set in Kabul, Afghanistan during the last thirty years. Afghanistan is an area of the world that is not really well-known or understood. The novel starts off with the Soviet invasion and ends after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. The time period is significant to the story because the characters in the story are affected by both the Soviet invasion and the Taliban's rule. The main characters, Mariam's and Laila's, lives are especially changed when the Taliban takes over. Under the Taliban, women had no rights; and food was harder to come by. The Taliban changed their lives dramatically and these changes become an important aspect of the story.
It is clear that Khaled Hosseini wrote this book so that readers would have a better understanding of women's lives in Afghanistan as well as to show how major political changes in Afghanistan impacted people's lives, which makes the time and setting of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" vital to the story itself.