Hosseini was born in Afghanistan, studied medicine at the University of California, and became a surgeon. However, the author, who never breaks away from literary environments, continues to follow the traces of his own geography. He is interested in the realist fiction of classic American writers such as Steinbeck and Hemingway.
Khaled Hosseini is a literary figure known worldwide for his powerful fiction and impressive narration. Born in 1965 in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Hosseini spent his childhood in different countries due to the work of his father, who was a doctor. Hosseini, who left Afghanistan with his family in 1980 and settled in the United States, studied medicine there and worked as a doctor for a while.
He entered the world of literature with his novel "The Kite Runner", which he published in 2003. The work made a big impact by describing the political turmoil and social problems in Afghanistan through the eyes of two childhood friends. The novel became an international success for its treatment of deep human emotions and cultural conflicts, being translated into many languages and selling millions of copies.
Khaled Hosseini (born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. 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.
Hosseini's second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns", was published in 2007 and once again proved the author's literary talent. In this work, he focused especially on the difficulties and resilience of women, focusing on the story of two women struggling with the difficulties in Afghanistan's recent history.
With his third novel, "And the Mountains Echoed", published in 2013, Hosseini addressed the themes of connection, family relationships, and sacrifice through the stories of characters living in Afghanistan and different parts of the world.
The book "Sea Prayer", published in 2018, presented a powerful and moving story about the issue of immigration. The book is about the difficulties and dangers experienced by people trying to cross from Afghanistan to Europe illegally in search of a better life.
Details of life story
'There are many children in Afghanistan, but there is no childhood'
Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan. His father worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1970, when his father took office in the Afghanistan embassy, Hosseini and his family settled in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
In 1976, when father Hosseini found a job in France, the family moved to Paris. The reason why the family settled in Paris instead of Kabul was the political turmoil in Afghanistan at that time. For this reason, the family received asylum in the USA in 1980. The breezes of this migratory life were included in the work called The Kite Runner, which will be the author's first book.
Khaled Hosseini graduated from Independence High School in 1984 and continued his education in the Biology Department of Santa Clara University. The author graduated from this department in 1988 and then started studying medicine at the University of California and received the title of surgeon in 1993.
Khaled Hosseini gained international acclaim with his first book, The Kite Runner, published in 2003 and was translated into many languages. In this first book, the author was inspired by his own life and carried the traces of the civil war in Afghanistan, which is still not concluded today. This work of the author was adapted to the big screen by director Marc Foster in 2008. The film of the book was also appreciated by the audience and received many awards.
The author published A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2007 and And the Mountains Echoed in 2013 which has created a wide readership. Sea Prayer was published in 2018.
Hosseini is married to Roya, an American of Iranian origin, and they have two children from this marriage, Haris and Farah. He lives in Northern California with his family. He speaks Persian and Pashto, and Hosseini describes himself as a secular Muslim.