When Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, was published in 2003, he had no idea that it would become something of a phenomenon. That book and the books he has written since contain similar themes expertly woven about the history of Khaled’s homeland, Afghanistan, and all of them have topped bestsellers lists and garnered legions of fans.

There exists an ineffable sadness in all his works. But this is bolstered by themes of friendship, courage and self-sacrifice. Still, after reading a book like A Thousand Splendid Suns one comes away from the experience feeling raw, conflicted, heartbroken, almost as if having seen the best and the worst of humankind.

Khaled’s writing mirrors his own experiences. A medical doctor by profession, he grew up in pre-Soviet era Kabul, a time to which he traces many happy memories. The Soviet backed invasion of his country forced his family, who were stationed in Paris where his father was employed, to seek asylum in the USA, and it was in America that he was trained as a physician and where, from afar, he watched Afghanistan disintegrate into civil war and Taliban rule. The history of his country is mirrored in the experiences of his characters who struggle desperately to find solace and happiness in a country riven by conflict.

May 2013 saw the publication of his latest book And the Mountains Echoed. This is a family saga set against the backdrop of the Afghani turmoil. You can find it here on bidorbuy.