A short life of the author
Khaled Hosseini (b. 1965) was born on 4 March 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, the son of a diplomat and a schoolteacher. His family left Afghanistan in 1976 when his father was posted to the Afghan embassy in Paris, and they were unable to return after the Soviet invasion of 1979. The family sought political asylum in the United States and settled in San Jose, California, where Hosseini grew up as a refugee, learning English, attending high school, and eventually earning a medical degree from UC San Diego. He practised internal medicine for over a decade before publishing his first novel.
Life and Career
The Kite Runner (2003), written in the mornings before his medical practice, is a novel about Amir, a Pashtun boy from a privileged Kabul family, and Hassan, his Hazara servant and closest friend. Their relationship — marked by an act of betrayal and decades of guilt — unfolds against the fall of the Afghan monarchy, the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Taliban, and the Afghan diaspora in California. The novel was a publishing phenomenon, spending over two years on the New York Times bestseller list and selling over 12 million copies in the United States alone.
A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) tells the story of two Afghan women — Mariam, an illegitimate daughter from Herat, and Laila, a Kabul girl orphaned by war — whose lives intersect in a marriage of shared suffering and unexpected solidarity. It outsold The Kite Runner in its first week.
And the Mountains Echoed (2013), his most structurally ambitious novel, is a multigenerational family saga spanning Afghanistan, France, Greece, and the United States.
Hosseini is also a goodwill envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and founded the Khaled Hosseini Foundation to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
Major Works and Themes
Hosseini writes about guilt and redemption, the bonds between parents and children, the devastating effects of war on civilian populations, and the Afghan experience of exile and loss. His prose is accessible and emotionally direct — he writes to be understood by the widest possible audience, and the emotional impact of his novels is undeniable.
The Kite Runner (2003) is his essential work: a novel whose exploration of betrayal, class, and the possibility of moral redemption resonated with readers worldwide.
Critical Reception and Legacy
Hosseini is the writer who brought Afghanistan to the world’s attention through fiction. His critical reception has been mixed — literary critics sometimes find his prose conventional and his plotting melodramatic — but his cultural impact is unquestionable. He is the most widely read Afghan author in any language.
Key Works
- The Kite Runner (2003)
- A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)
- And the Mountains Echoed (2013)
- Sea Prayer (2018, illustrated)
Collecting Hosseini
The Kite Runner (2003, Riverhead Books, New York) is one of the most sought-after modern first editions. The first printing was very small for what became a mega-bestseller. True first printings in the dust jacket bring $500–$2,000 in fine condition. Signed copies command $800–$3,000.
A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007, Riverhead) had a larger first printing but is collected at $75–$250.
Hosseini signs at events and has done book tours. Signed copies of The Kite Runner first printings are premium items.