Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American author who is famous for his three novels: The Kite Runner (2003), A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), in addition to And The Mountains Echoed (2013). All of the novels are set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghan as the main character, showing the author’s interest in his home country and his full knowledge of it.
Khalid Hosseini books are read all over the world due to their depiction of heart-breaking realities and themes, such as social class, multigenerational relationships, injustice in fate and destiny, the effect of parents’ decisions on their children, and the contrasting realities of legitimate vs illegitimate children.
The genre of Khalid Hosseini books is historical fiction or war literature and our blog post provides you with deep insights into Khalid Hosseini books in order, so enjoy reading!
The Kite Runner – 2003
“When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.”
The Kite Runner is one of Khaled Hosseini books that was originally published in 2003, depicting the story of two young boys Amir and Hassan in Afghanistan, their home country.
The Kite Runner plot revolves around the relationship between Amir, a rich Afghan boy, and his friendship with Hassan, a servant’s son working for Amir’s family. Ironically, Amir finds out that Hassan has been his half-brother, but only after Hassan dies.
Even though The Kite Runner is greatly about Amir and Hassan’s friendship, it is also about the relationship between a father and his son and how the father’s decisions affect the son’s life.
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini discusses several themes such as:
- Quest for redemption
- Family love and control
- Friendships
- Betrayal
- War in Afghanistan
- Immigration to America
- Religion
- Loyalty
- Wealth and poverty
- Escaping the past
- Love
- Forgiveness
“I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t. I just watched. Paralyzed.”
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini was recognized for being a New York Times best seller for more than two years, and it was turned into a movie because of the book’s huge popularity in the United States, Afghanistan, and all over the world.
“And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”
What’s also captivating about The Kite Runner is its depiction of multigenerational relationships and how each generation deals with the occurring devastating events.
A Thousand Splendid Suns – 2007
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of Khaled Hosseini books that depicts a mother-daughter story contrary to The Kite Runner which depicts a father-son story.
Published in 2007, Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns is globally read for the heartbreaking destinies of Mariam and Laila, the two women who end up forcefully married to a shoemaker from Kabul named Rasheed.
Laila comes from a privileged background and loving family who dies from a bomb explosion, whereas Mariam is seen as an illegitimate child whose mother commits suicide out of fear that her daughter would leave her alone.
Both women suffer greatly in their personal lives prior to marriage, however, the suffering and torture continue even after their wedding to Rasheed.
“Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.”
Like The Kite Runner, other Khaled Hosseini books like A Thousand Splendid Suns discuss familial lives in times of war in Afghanistan and how relationships are built or ended due to war, death, violence, and political authorities.
Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns discusses themes like:
- The rights of women during war in Afghanistan
- Shame and reputation
- Love and loyalty
- Family comes first
- Survival
- War’s effects on women and men
- Marriage
- Female friendships
- Fate and destiny
- Oppression and hope
“Learn this now and learn it well. Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.”
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are both tragic Khaled Hosseini books that are set in Afghanistan dealing with similar themes of war, redemption, love, injustice, and multigenerational relationships.
Two boys Amir and Hassan come from different backgrounds and suffer differently in their lives, and Hassan, the unprivileged illegitimate child, dies in the novel.
Similarly, A Thousand Splendid Suns show how two women, Laila and Mariam, who come from significantly different backgrounds, suffer differently in life. Laila ends up marrying the love of her life, while Mariam suffers a ruthless death.
This brief comparison between The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns gives us some insights into Khaled Hosseini books and his outlook on how legitimate vs illegitimate children end up living their lives.
And The Mountains Echoed – 2013
“It’s a funny thing… but people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really, what guides them is what they’re afraid of. What they don’t want.”
Like the rest of Khaled Hosseini books And The Mountains Echoed is set in Afghanistan, specifically Kabul, showing us that Hosseini chooses this setting for all of his novels and proving that he fully knows the country.
And The Mountains Echoed novel discusses the different destinies family members are set to experience after tragic events take place. The siblings, Abdullah and Pari are inseparable from the beginning of the story, however, their lives take a huge turn once they take a trip to Kabul.
Pari is sold to a new family who moves to Paris, whereas Abdullah has a family in Afghanistan and he’s running his kebab restaurant. As you can see, And The Mountains Echoed presents two realities of siblings who are separated from a young age, leading them to live hugely different lives, and by that, we mean one of them is more privileged than the other.
“J’aurais dû être plus gentille—I should have been more kind. That is something a person will never regret. You will never say to yourself when you are old, Ah, I wish I was not good to that person. You will never think that.”
Khaled Hosseini novels and this one continue to prove the randomness of fate between family members and how social classes play a huge role in each one’s destiny.
“Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly.”
Many things can affect one’s fate, such as beauty, social class, money, privilege, parent’s control over their kids, and the justifications those in power use to either help or abandon those in need of help.
Comparing Khaled Hosseini Books
What distinguishes And The Mountains Echoed from other Khaled Hosseini books is the number of perspectives we are presented to. For example, in his first book The Kite Runner, we only see the perspective of Amir and see the events through his eyes. In the second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, we see the perspectives of both Meriam and Liala, giving us a dual outlook on the events and the lives of both women. In the third novel, And The Mountains Echoed, we are presented with more than two perspectives; each of them is significantly different from the other, leaving us shocked and in the realization of fate’s unfairness and our own lack of power against life’s unexpected hardships.
This concludes our explanation of Khaled Hosseini books and novels and we hope you benefited from the information we provided. Continue checking Read & Blog for more articles, book reviews, book recommendations, quotes, and much more.
