Khaled Hosseini

Author of the Month, March 2016
Khaled Hosseini

Date of Birth: 4th March 1965

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 1980, he relocated to the United States of America with his family after they were granted political asylum. Khaled Hosseini has degrees in Biology and Medicine. He practiced medicine for almost ten years before writing his first novel, The Kite Runner in 2003.

A look at his three books
1.The Kite Runner – His first book was The Kite Runner. I read it a while back and have to admit that it remains one of my all time favorite books. I remember reading the book late into the night up to 4am in the morning. It’s the kind of book that will make you cry as you turn the tear-soaked pages. The Kite Runner is a beautiful book about friendship. It was the first book that I read set in Afghanistan and it made me see the country in a different light from the war-torn images shown in the media.

 

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns– I got this book immediately after reading, The Kite Runner. The story was even more moving that the first book. In the first book, the theme of friendship between two men was the focal point of the narrative. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the story is about friendship between two women. The story also reveals the dynamics of gender roles and especially the position of women in the era of Taliban.

 

A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

3. And the Mountains Echoed– I liked Khaled Hosseini’s first two books and naturally, I had to get this one as soon as it was released. I enjoyed the book though not as much as his other books. It was an interesting read though. The main theme in this story was family.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

“They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.”
― Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

If you haven’t yet read any of the Khaled Hosseini’s books, then you definitely should. I  suggest that you get them in the order that he wrote them, that is, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and then The Mountains Echoed. I hope that Khaled is working on his next book. He is an amazing author and I can’t wait to read more from him.

 

Happy birthday Khaled Hosseini!

This is a review that I did some time back of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Sun