A part-by-part summary of the novel, the full character list, key themes and symbols, and a vocabulary glossary. All summaries are written in our own words for study — read the novel itself for the full experience.
The Breadwinner (2000) is a novel by Canadian author and activist Deborah Ellis. It is set in Kabul, Afghanistan, under the rule of the Taliban, who banned girls from school and forbade women from working or leaving home without a man. It follows Parvana, an eleven-year-old girl who cuts her hair and dresses as a boy to become her family's breadwinner after her father is arrested.
The novel explores courage, family, and resilience — how an ordinary child does extraordinary things to keep her family alive, and how friendship and hope survive even under oppression. It is the first book of a trilogy (followed by Parvana's Journey and Mud City).
In Taliban-controlled Kabul, eleven-year-old Parvana helps her father in the market, where he reads and writes letters for people; he lost part of his leg when his school was bombed and needs her to help him walk. The family — Mother, teenage Nooria, little Maryam and baby Ali — has been shut in one room for over a year. Parvana loves the story of Malali, a girl who once led Afghan soldiers.
One night, Taliban soldiers search the home and arrest Father for his foreign education, knocking Parvana down. Parvana and Mother walk all the way to the prison to demand his release, but a guard beats Mother with a stick. They return home exhausted, in pain, and with no news of Father.
Mother sinks into a deep depression, and the family's food and water run out. Sent to shop, Parvana is chased by a Talib and rescued by Mrs. Weera, a fearless former gym teacher who moves in and takes charge. With no man to shop for them, the women decide to disguise Parvana as a boy.
They cut her hair and dress her in the clothes of Hossain, her brother who died on a land mine. As the boy "Kaseem," a cousin from Jalalabad, Parvana walks the market freely and finds she is invisible in a new way — just one more boy on the street. Grief-struck at the sight of Hossain's clothes, Mother whispers, "Go to sleep, Hossain."
As Kaseem, Parvana takes over Father's blanket and reads letters — including a heartbreaking one for a weeping Talib whose wife has died, which teaches her that even Taliban men can grieve. Mrs. Weera moves in fully and, with Mother, plans a secret women's magazine. A hidden "Window Woman" begins dropping small gifts onto Parvana's blanket.
Parvana recognizes a tea boy as her classmate Shauzia, disguised as "Shafiq." They become friends and dream of buying trays to sell from. At the end of the part, Shauzia hints at a risky but well-paying new way to make money.
The risky work turns out to be digging up bones in a graveyard to sell to a bone broker; the girls even nickname a skull "Mr. Skull." It pays well, and they buy trays to sell cigarettes and gum. Mother is horrified by the digging, but Nooria unexpectedly defends Parvana, and Mrs. Weera says unusual times call for ordinary people to do unusual things.
Hoping to sell at the sports stadium, the girls instead witness the Taliban punishing prisoners; kind men shield them, and Parvana stays home for days, shaken. Shauzia reveals she is saving to escape to France. A secret school for a few girls begins with Nooria as teacher — and the family shares surprising news: Nooria is getting married.
Nooria's wedding is to be in Mazar-e-Sharif, where girls can still go to school, so the family travels there — but Parvana stays behind with Mrs. Weera, afraid Father won't find them if he is released. During a rainstorm she finds Homa, a terrified girl who fled Mazar after the Taliban seized the city and killed her family. Then, at last, Father returns from prison, weak but alive.
With Mazar fallen and the family out of reach, Father and Parvana plan to search the refugee camps; Mrs. Weera will take Homa to Pakistan to run the magazine and schools. Shauzia plans to join nomads heading to the sea and reach France — the friends promise to meet in twenty years at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Parvana plants flowers in her market spot, and she and Father set off, hopeful.