Khaled Hosseini is an American novelist who was born in Afghanistan in 1965. Although he is a physician also, his fame resides in the publication of two remarkable novels “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. After graduation, Hosseini joined the medical profession in California. However, after the successful publication of “The Kite Runner”, which is set in Afghan society, he left medicine to pursue his writing career.
A major feature of Hosseini’s novels is a vivid representation of his native land, Afghanistan. He shapes his protagonists either as submissive women characters facing patriarchal domination in the Afghan life, or people suffering from the repressive strategies of the state and society. His voice can be regarded as a representative of the Afghan culture. He highlights the traditional values and notions of Afghan society by making them known to the modern world.
A Short Biography of Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini was born on 4 March 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan. His father, Nasser Hosseini, worked as a diplomat in the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hosseini’s mother, supposedly from a Mohammadzai family, was a teacher of history and Persian at a Kabul high school. They both were from the town Herat. This gave Hosseini the ethnicity of both Tajik and Pashtun origin.
He lived in a middle-class area of Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood for eight years of his early life. He remembers only good memories from the area. For example, he recalls that his sister, Raya was never handled like a submissive gender. He also flew kites with his family members and friends in his childhood, which provided a biographical experience for Hosseini’s “A Kite Runner”.
In 1970, when Hosseini was eight years of age, the family moved to Tehran, Iran. Nasser Hosseini was appointed in the Embassy of Afghanistan in Iran. They returned to Kabul in 1973 and the youngest child, Hosseini’s brother, was born in the Hosseini Family.
When he became 11 years of age; the Foreign Ministry designated Nasser Hosseini in Paris, France, in 1976 to work in the Afghan Embassy there. When they were about to return to their homeland in 1980, the Soviet invasion and communist takeover (1979) made it difficult for them to come back. Due to the Saur Revolution (1978), the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan took control of the Afghan government.
Therefore, the family applied for political asylum in the United States. They were granted permission and they shifted to San Jose, California in September 1980. Hosseini later described the experience as a “cultural shock” because he could not speak English and was not accustomed to western life.
Khaled Hosseini was admitted to a high school and graduated in 1984. In 1988, he received a bachelor’s degree in biology at Santa Clara University. The next year, Hosseini was enrolled in the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. In 1993, he finally got the degree and completed his post-graduate training in Los Angeles at Cedars-Sinai medical center in 1997. Later, from 1996 to 2004, he was an intern and a private practitioner in medicine.
He did not go back to his country until 2001. When he visited Afghanistan for a short trip at the age of 36, he “felt like a tourist” in his native homeland, Hosseini later said. He also suffered from “survivor’s guilt” for leaving his country before the Soviet invasion and wars.
He got married to Roya Hosseini and has two children, Haris and Farah Hosseini. Haris Hosseini is a competitive speaker and the family lives in Northern California together.
Writing Career
Beginning of Career
Khaled Hosseini began his writing career with “The Kite Runner” in 2001. He used to write the novel at 4 am before going for work as a practitioner. It was published in 2003 by Riverhead Books which received instant fame. The novel became the New York Best Selling novel for a long time. This novel recognized Khaled Hosseini as one of the notable writers of the 21st century.
In “The Kite Runner” a young boy, Amir, struggles with the haunting memories of the past life. He also tries to create a harmonious bond with his father. The novel occurs in contemporary Afghan society. It is set in a period from monarchy till post-Taliban rule as well as in California in the San Francisco Bay area.
The protagonist lives in California but he spent his childhood in Afghanistan in the 1970s. In the past, he had a close friendship with Hassan, the son of a servant. Being the son of a respected family, he later dissolves his relationship with Hassan.
The novel is widely known for its strong storytelling technique. It is also criticized by some critics as having melodramatic effects. However, the sweeping popularity of “A Kite Runner” encouraged the author to become a professional writer for the rest of his life. He left medicine for a writing career in 2004.
Hosseini’s Wide Recognition
This recognition as a supporter of Afghan refugee issues and social disturbance triggered his appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2006 for the UN High Commission for Refugees. He also founded The Khaled Hosseini Foundation after a visit to Afghanistan with UNHCR. It provides support to the needy people in Afghanistan.
Second Novel
In 2007, Hosseini issued his second novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. It depicts similar themes of political and social struggles as “The Kite Runner”. However, the story turns towards a feministic perspective and narrates the life events of two female characters, Laila and Mariam, both living with their aged offensive husband.
The story depicts the individual lives of the involved characters during the chaotic thirty years of Taliban and soviet rule. The novel received its inspiration from a visit of Hosseini to his homeland where he saw women wearing veils and living a dependent life. The second novel was also issued by Riverhead Books in 2007.
And the Mountains Echoed
In 2013, Hosseini produced “And the Mountains Echoed”. It represents the entwined relationship of love and sacrifice of a brother and sister when they get separated. The sister is given to a family for adoption because her family cannot afford more members. It foreshadows the 1950s siblings’ divergence in Afghanistan.
Hosseini’s 2018 short story, “Sea Prayer” is inspired by the most popular incident of the death of a Syrian infant refugee. He drowned in 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea. In the short story, Hosseini reflects on a father and son’s wish to leave war-torn Syria.
Themes
Life in War
In the backdrop of a war-torn country, Hosseini highlights the importance of life and the value of personal relationships. His novels are mostly set in the wartime society of Afghanistan. Therefore, his works depict how war affects the lives of the characters in every possible way. The individuals live in a persisting fear and threat of death. Moreover, they wake up with the news of the death of their loved ones and live amid riots and bombing.
Whenever life is in threat, we care for loved ones and family life regardless of material prosperity. In this way, through Hosseini’s novels, we realize the importance of life and family when we are forced to think like a war situation and perceive the death of near ones.
As in “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, Laila loses her family in a bombing incident. She witnesses her father and mother dying before her eyes with their bodies shattered in the air. Only then, she realizes how important survival is in a war-torn society and marries an elderly man for her survival.
Loss
Because of the personal experiences of Hosseini’s family of losing their family and homeland, his novels are marked by a common theme of loss and disillusionment. The characters face loss in the form of family life, friends, love, dignity, property, and innocence.
For example, in “And the Mountains Echoed”, the presented family loses their daughter because of their financial crisis. In “The Kite Runner”, the protagonist faces a loss of connection and love with his father and his best friend Hassan.
The Feeling of Love
In his novels, Hosseini depicts his idea of love how love affects the life of a person. Love needs sacrifices and patience. Moreover, he presents love as a powerful feeling that induces intense care and compassion in individuals. It also tests the vulnerability of characters to risks in the journey of protecting their loved ones.
Nonetheless, for Hosseini, love is not only the emotion of two opposite genders. He depicts multi-natured relationships of love i.e. between family members, parental love, romantic attachment, and friendship. In all of Hosseini’s novels, the theme of love encourages the characters to fight for a better existence, make struggles for freedom, and grant forgiveness.
Partiality and Injustice
Another significant theme of Hosseini’s novels is the partiality and injustice that his characters face. They suffer through the hands of an insulting husband, forced marriages, war, and dominating parents. The main lesson these victims of society teach is how to fight off the negative impacts of the issues they face.
For example, in his novels, the characters fall in a pit of rejection, depression, anger, and confusion when they face injustice by society. In “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, Laila and Mariam face harsh circumstances because of a failed marriage but they cope with it by gaining independent encouragement. Mariam kills her oppressive husband and Laila begins a new life with Tariq, her former love.
Male Dominance
One of the most important issues of Eastern society that Hosseini portrays is the patriarchal oppression and male dominance in society. The women are treated as submissive and possession of men. As in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” the female characters are considered toys of their husband, Rasheed, who forces them to work for him. He also beats them like animals. At the end, the first wife kills him. This shows that women are also living beings with emotions and they need love and respect.
Political Conditions of the Time
Hosseini vividly portrayed the political conditions of Afghanistan in his novels. Although he was not living in his homeland, he was aware of the political chaos and reflected it in his work. This added realism to his work because he precisely pointed out the era of Soviet invasion and Taliban rule in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and “The Kite Runner”. Also, he discussed the siblings’ divergence of the time in “And the Mountains Echoed”.
Khaled Hosseini’s Writing Style
Khaled Hosseini is one of the notable American writers. His writings reflect on the life of the Afghan homeland he had left as a child. Therefore, he is considered as a “spokesperson” for Afghan values.
Empathetic Tone
Hosseini’s novels are famous for their empathetic tone and common human feelings. His stories penetrate deep into the human soul and dig out the universal nature of humanity and their values that separate good from the bad. For example, Hosseini’s works have a unified sense of the fundamental human emotions like love, hatred, betrayal, revenge, power, forgiveness, redemption, and loss.
For example, in “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, there is enough destruction caused by the powerful sects on a larger as well as individual scale. Likewise, there is a mutual feeling of love and intimacy between Laila and Tariq, and Laila and Mariam. Similarly, the domination of Rasheed over his wives also shows power over the weak and submissive. These instances create an empathetic feeling with the social life of Middle Eastern people. These universal feelings also develop oneness with the whole of humanity.
In “The Kite Runner”, this empathetic tone continues to recur. For example, the protagonist has an intimate relationship with his servant. However, as he grows with time and his social standing is distinguished, he breaks up with him. This is also a universal human trait.
Middle Eastern Stereotypes
As the readers roam around the dramatic lives and problems of Middle Eastern characters, they develop a strong bond with them. Particularly, Hosseini’s major concern was to impart a positive image of the Middle East. He also tried to change the stereotypical concepts of the West about eastern life.
This struggle can be seen in all of his novels in which he describes the cultural and traditional values of Eastern life in satisfying terms. For example, in “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, the stereotypes of veil “burqa” and “nang” (honor) are discussed from the perspective of an abusive husband. These are then challenged when a dependent and submissive wife kills her husband to get her family out of his unnecessary oppression.
Sympathetic Tone
Hosseini’s writing style is that of a sympathetic and disgusted tone for the main characters as they face the brutality of the social system in their everyday lives. However, he uses the tone of disapproval for the brutal dominant figures of society. Moreover, Hosseini enforces his tone and thoughts vividly through the use of imagery and symbolism.
As in “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, when Mariam is compelled by the situation to live with her father who had long deserted her, the author uses the tone of extreme sympathy and pity for her.
Optimism
The works of Hosseini reflect a hidden optimism in the minds and actions of the characters. As they face rejection and failures in their lives, they still succeed in getting themselves out of the challenges. For example, in “The Kite Runner”, Amir is caught in a conflicting situation with a troubled relationship with his father and the disturbing memories of the past. However, he actively struggles to resolve his inner and outer conflicts.
Likewise, in ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns”, Laila moves from traditional conservative family life to a liberal and modern lifestyle by defeating the obstacles that come in her way to get a better modern life.
Dialogues and Imagery
Hosseini also sometimes applies a dialogic form to his narration to give it a conversational form. For instance, when Nana forbids Mariam from going to the cinema with her father in “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, the narration takes the form of dialogues.
Likewise, his novels have visual representations and create lucid imagery to present his thought more clearly and precisely.
Achievements
Hosseini received several prizes for his great pieces of literature with a realistic depiction of Eastern society. He was awarded the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize for “The Kite Runner in 2004. In 2008, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was awarded British Book Awards for Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year. The same year, the novel was awarded Book Sense Book of the Year Awards for Adult fiction and California Book Award Silver Medal in 2007. In 2013, “And the Mountains Echoed” got the Goodreads Choice Award for fiction.