Laila and Miriam are both interesting characters, but for different reasons. Both are married to Rasheed, a violent older man. It quickly becomes both their salvation and their destruction, in a war-torn country. The catalyst for Miriam's perpetual guilt throughout the novel (or part of it) occurred when she was driven home by Jalil's driver and found her mother hanging from the willow tree. Before Miriam left for her father's house, Nana begged Miriam to stay, and those words haunted her. “I will die if you leave. The jinn will come, and I will have one of my attacks... Don't leave me Mariam jo. Please stay. I will die if you leave. P.27. So when Miriam came back and found her mother dead, she felt responsible. If it had been Laila, the incident would not have marked him in his adult life. Laila always cared for her mother, even when her mother yelled at her or was deeply depressed. So, even in her extremely difficult situation, Laila never imposed herself emotionally, never felt guilty about things she could not control. So, if Laila were placed in the same situation, that of seeing her mother commit suicide,...