Headscratchers / A Thousand Splendid Suns

• How come there's never any mention of Rasheed's house being in danger of being bombed? Didn't he and Mariam live like right next door to Laila's house?
  • Since Rasheed was so abusive, his beatings were a more of a real, immediate threat to Mariam than the bombs could ever be. The outside world might as well have been another planet for her.
  • That doesn't really answer the question though, his house could still be bombed even if it wasn't the first Miriam thought of. Sounds like their house was just among the lucky ones.
• How did Laila escape scot-free at the end? Wouldn't neighbours and anyone knowing Rasheed know that he had two wives and thus question where the other one went when Mariam was taken in?
  • It might be possible that Mariam just told the Taliban court where Laila went, or at least that she left. With some minor judicious edits to the story, Mariam could have made it sound like she'd left with a male relative of either hers (Laila's) or Rasheed's. What would they want with Laila? Laila didn't commit the crime. Mariam did, and she confessed. As for the neighbors, Tariq mentions when he first comes back that he doesn't recognize anyone. It sounded like there weren't many neighbors left to get to know. I mean, it's hard to say what the Taliban would have done in any situation, but with Mariam confessing to the crime they had no real reason to pursue Laila.