Khaled Hosseini
b. 1965
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan
Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American novelist and physician. After graduating from college, he worked as a doctor in California, a situation he likened to "an arranged marriage." He has published three novels, most notably his 2003 debut "The Kite Runner", all of which are at least partially set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghan as the protagonist. Following the success of "The Kite Runner", he retired from medicine to write full-time. Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. His father worked as a diplomat, and when Hosseini was 11 years old, the family moved to France; four years later, they applied for asylum in the United States, where he later became a citizen.
“It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.”
Timeline
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan
Family relocated to Paris, France
Family sought political asylum in the United States
Graduated from high school in San Jose, California
Received bachelor's degree in biology from Santa Clara University
Earned medical degree from University of California, San Diego
Started practicing internal medicine
Published debut novel "The Kite Runner"
Established The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan
Published second novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
Published third novel "And the Mountains Echoed"
Published illustrated book "Sea Prayer"
Notable Quote
It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.
Khaled Hosseini
Influences
- Persian poetry
- Afghan history and culture
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- John Steinbeck
Achievements
- Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction (2007)
- Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Fiction (2005)
- South African Boeke Prize (2004)
- UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador