Guilt

The central theme of the novel is Guilt. The events of the novel are driven by an inciting incident in Chapter 2 in which Mariam, the youngest member of the family, is accidentally left behind in the confusion as the family tried to escape from Afghanistan. The guilt that each family member feels about what happened to Mariam is central to the novel and central to the reader’s understanding of each character. The most prominent depiction of guilt comes through Fadi as the novel’s protagonist. Fadi was holding on to Mariam’s hand right before she was lost. Mariam let go of Fadi’s hand because she dropped her doll. Fadi blames himself for what happened because Mariam had asked him to put the doll in his backpack and he refused. When Mariam lets go of his hand in order to go back for her...