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Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the United States in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner,was an international bestseller, published in forty-eight countries. In 2006 he was named a U.S. Envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. He lives in northern California.
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
- The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck
(literature and fiction, classics)
"I remember reading The Grapes of Wrath in high school in 1983. My family had immigrated to the U.S. three years before, and I had spent the better part of the first two years learning English. John Steinbeck's book was the first book I read in English where I had an "Aha!" moment, namely in the famed turtle chapter. For some reason, I identified with the disenfranchised farm workers in that novel -- I suppose in one sense, they reminded me of my own country's traumatized people. And indeed, when I went back to Afghanistan in 2003, I met people with tremendous pride and dignity under some very bleak conditions; I suspect I met a few Ma Joads and Tom Joads in Kabul. "
Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
- The God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy
(literature and fiction)
"A hypnotic novel about damaged people and forbidden love. The writing is as lush as the landscape, the imagery rich (see the opening page), and the array of characters unforgettable. The use of language -- such as the children's lingo, which runs throughout the narrative, or the use of nouns as verbs and adjectives as nouns -- was brilliant, and the metaphors will always stay with me: A man's muscular stomach is a slab of chocolate; a bitter, divorced woman gazes at her wedding picture and thinks that applying her makeup that day had been "like polishing firewood." " - Frankenstein By Mary Shelley
(literature and fiction, classics, horror)
"With daily news about our rapidly advancing biomedical technology and reports of humans already cloned, I lately find myself thinking of this great novel (which I first read in high school), and the questions it raises on the perils of unattended scientific creation and the manipulation of nature." - Animal Farm By George Orwell
(literature and fiction, classics)
"I have always loved this fable-like, allegorical little novel, written about what happened in Russia in the early 20th century but still so relevant in today's world, where still far too many totalitarian regimes oppress people while claiming benevolent intentions. " - The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck
(literature and fiction, classics)
"This story of the Joad clan and the hardships suffered by oppressed migrant laborers in the 1930s still resonates with me today as much as it did when I first read it in high school. The theme of the exploitation and oppression of dispossessed people appeals to me, and I think the final scene of selfless sacrifice -- Rose of Sharon breastfeeding the dying man in the barn -- is the most haunting final scene I have ever read. " - I Know This Much Is True By Wally Lamb
(literature and fiction)
"Troubled love between brothers, regret, overpowering fathers, and the human need for redemption and freedom from the burden of one's own past are themes that I also felt compelled to explore in The Kite Runner, and it is no wonder that I admire this daunting (at 900-plus pages) but enthralling novel by Wally Lamb. " - Lolita By Vladimir Nabokov
(literature and fiction, classics)
"This book can be as highbrow as it can be vulgar and obscene. I love books with marginal characters as protagonists, as Nabokov gets us to, if not like, at least empathize with Humbert." - Life Of Pi By Yann Martel
(literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
"Destined to be a classic. From the very beginning -- including the so-called Author's Note -- to the conclusion, nothing is what it seems in this book. Or is it? An astounding statement on the nature of faith and how far we will go to find it." - Middlesex By Jeffrey Eugenides
(literature and fiction)
"This is an enchanting novel about, among many other things, the meaning of identity. It took Eugenides nine years to write this book, and every minute was worth it. This is the kind of book that brings other writers dangerously close to simply giving up." - Being Dead By Jim Crace
(girl fiction, literature and fiction)
"Two dead bodies on a beach make for an unforgettable and unsentimental look at death. One of the bravest premises ever for a novel. " - The Ruba'iyat Of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyam
(literature and fiction)
"I used to memorize his irresistible quatrains as a child:
Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown forever dies."
Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
I give novels as gifts, and there is nothing I like to receive more as a gift. My last three birthdays, I have asked my wife to skip the tie and cologne and get me a good novel. She responded with Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Waiting by Ha Jin, and She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Who could ask for better gifts?
Why should you listen to him?
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In September of 1980, Hosseini's family moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego's School of Medicine, where he earned a Medical Degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Hosseini was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004.
While in medical practice, Hosseini began writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, in March of 2001. In 2003, The Kite Runner, was published and has since become an international bestseller, published in 48 countries. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns was published in May of 2007. Currently, A Thousand Splendid Suns is published in 40 countries. Khaled has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The concept for The Khaled Hosseini Foundation was inspired by a trip to Afghanistan Khaled made in 2007 with the UNHCR. He lives in northern California.
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