Khaled Hosseini Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-born novelist.  Some of his award-winning books include The Kite Runner and AThousand Splendid Suns

Childhood And Early Life

Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965, in Kabul, Afghanistan.  His father Nasser was a diplomat in Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  His mother taught Farsi at a girl's high school. 

The family enjoyed a middle-class lifestyle in Afghanistan. Khaled Hosseini enjoyed writing and often wrote short stories.  The Hosseini family lived in his birth country until 1976 when Nasser had a job in Paris. 

When he was 15, Khaled Hosseini moved to the United States.  The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, so the family sought political asylum in California.  

Education

Khaled Hossein went to Independence High School and graduated in 1984.  Later Khaled Hosseini earned his bachelor's degree at Santa Clara University.  His major was biology.  

Khaled Hosseini earned his medical degree in 1993.  Khaled Hosseini had his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Career

After college, Khaled Hossein worked as a physician for ten years.  During that time, he wrote his first novel, The Kite Runner.  It is a story of a young boy and his best friend in Kabul with themes about the complexities of relationships. 

The semi-autobiographical novel was published in 2003.  Since then it has been translated into 40 languages and sold over 12 million copies around the world.  It was also adapted into a graphic novel in 2011.

After the initial success of his first novel, Khaled Hossein only practiced medicine for another year and a half before he changed his career to writing.  In 2007, he published his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. This novel had women as the main characters and gave a hard look at the discrimination of women in Afghan culture.  The novel sold more than 38 copies worldwide.

In 2013, Khaled Hosseini published And the Mountains Echoed.  This novel which has a multi-generational story has sold more than three million copies.

Personal Life And Legacy

Khaled Hossein married Roya while working on his residency.  The couple has two children.

Khaled Hosseini's books were published after 9/11 and after the war in Afghanistan.  However, it did not focus so much on the trendy view of the country.  It looked more into social and cultural issues, but most of all it looked at the family.  

Philanthropic Works / Humanitarian Work

Khaled Hossein was named a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency.  During that time he traveled to Afghanistan.  He established The Khaled Hosseini Foundation for the humanitarian assistance to the Afghani people, particularly children, and refugees.

Awards And Achievements  

•    The Kite Runner spent more than three months on The New York Times bestseller list
•    Barnes and Nobel Discover Great New Writers Award, 2003
•    Borders Original Voices Award, 2003
•    ALA Notable Book, 2003
•    Alex Award, 2003
•    South African Boeke Prize, 2004
•    The Kite Runner named Penguin Reading Group Book of the Year, 2006 & 2007
•    The Kite Runner was also adapted into a film in 2007
•    A Thousand Splendid Suns debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for fifteen weeks; it remained on the bestseller list for almost a year
•    Amazon's #1 book of the year, 2007
•    Book Sense Picks Highlights, 2007
•    ALA Best Book for Young Readers Award nominee, 2008

Summary Of Major Works

•    The Kite Runner (2003)
•    A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)
•    And the Mountains Echoed (2013)