## The Impact What Hosseini has done with this story goes beyond what our newspapers and other media are capable of doing. Through the eyes and hearts of two ordinary fictional women, he has pulled a veil from the reality of the lives of Afghani women. He shows plainly the darkness they face every day, but couples it with the faint hope that comes with the realization that not only could it be much worse, but that there is a God (Allah) who will not allow the suffering to go on forever.*(pq)No matter how bleak their hearts, there is always a word from God to encourage.* Amid circumstances American women today could never imagine for themselves, we see strength of character and duty filled with mindful wisdom. These women seem to age much more quickly in their world and the author does well in making the reader feel the prematurity of this aging, but also the admiration that we should all be obligated to feel for such women. And although the world in which we see these women is harrowing and seems to have no out, we also see a glimpse of some good men along the way. Though the author stresses the courage of women, he also makes plain the positive impact a decent man can have in giving a woman her strength. > “Laila remembered Mammy telling Babi once that she had married a man who had no convictions. Mammy didn’t understand. She didn’t understand that if she looked into a mirror, she would find the one unfailing conviction of his life looking right back at her.” Here was a good man who loved deeply long after he had lost the respect of his wife for allowing her sons to go to war. This goodness and strength is passed on to his daughter so that through what the author describes poetically as an _impotent rage_ against her abusive husband, Laila can carry herself through all sorts of pain for the sake of others.