Khaled Hosseini | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hosseini in 2013 | |
| Native name | خالد حسینی |
| Born | Khaled Hosseini March 4, 1965 Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Occupation | Novelist, physician |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | |
| Period | 2003–present (as an author) |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | The Kite Runner A Thousand Splendid Suns |
| Spouse | Roya Hosseini |
| Website | |
| www | |
Khaled Hosseini (/ˈhɑːlɛd hoʊˈseɪni/;Persian/Pashto خالد حسینی [ˈxɒled hoˈsejni]; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician.[1][2] His debut novel The Kite Runner (2003) was a critical and commercial success; the book and his subsequent novels have all been at least partially set in Afghanistan and have featured an Afghan as the protagonist. Hosseini's novels have enlightened the global audience about Afghanistan's people and culture.[3]
Hosseini was briefly a resident of Iran and France after being born in Kabul, Afghanistan, to a diplomat father. When Hosseini was 15, his family applied for asylum in the United States, where he later became a naturalized citizen. Hosseini did not return to Afghanistan until 2003[4] when he was 38, an experience similar to that of the protagonist in The Kite Runner. In later interviews, Hosseini acknowledged that he suffered from survivor's guilt for having been able to leave the country prior to the Soviet invasion and subsequent wars.
After graduating from college, Hosseini worked as a physician in California, a situation he likened to "an arranged marriage".[5] The success of The Kite Runner meant he was able to retire from medicine in order to write full-time. His three novels have all reached various levels of critical and commercial success.[6] The Kite Runner spent 101 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, including three weeks at number one.[7] His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), spent 103 weeks on the chart, including 15 at number one[8][9] while his third novel, And the Mountains Echoed (2013), remained on the chart for 33 weeks.[10][11] In addition to writing, Hosseini has advocated for the support of refugees, including establishing with the UNHCR the Khaled Hosseini Foundation to support Afghan refugees returning to Afghanistan.[12]
- ^ Bilal ibn Rasheed The not-so-curious case of Khaled Hosseini Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Jang Group of Newspapers
- ^ "A Critical Response to the Pashtun Bashing in The Kite Runner, by Nationalist Pashtun Rahmat Rabi Zirakyar". Dawat Independent Media Center (DIMC). Archived from the original on August 15, 2014.
- ^ "Negotiating the Self and the Other in Times of Globalization: Unveiling Afghan Lives through Select Novels of Khaled Hosseini | Ensemble". doi:10.37948/ensemble-2020-0202-a018. S2CID 237822534. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ Grossman, Lev (May 17, 2007). "The Kite Runner Author Returns Home". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ Miller, David (June 7, 2013). "Khaled Hosseni author of Kite Runner talks about his mistress: Writing". Loveland Magazine. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ^ Kaur, Harmeet (August 21, 2021). "The author of 'The Kite Runner' has a message for anyone worried about Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "Best Sellers: Paperback Trade Fiction: Sunday, September 18th 2011". The New York Times. September 18, 2011.
- ^ Schuessler, Jennifer. "Hardcover". The New York Times.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. May 11, 2008.
- ^ Dallas Morning News archive. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ New York Times Best Seller list, January 12, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Khaled Hosseini". UNHCR. Retrieved March 25, 2021.