Khaled Hosseini on the Refugee Crisis and What It Means to Be Human
;void(0);){kind=link}
Today marks the much anticipated Riverhead release of new work by Khaled Hosseini, one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the world. His short, illustrated book titled SEA PRAYER, our Igloo Book Buzz selection, has been called “essential” by the San Francisco Chronicle. It was written by Hosseini as a response to the current refugee crisis and the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was found washed up on the Turkish shore on this day three years ago. Kirkus, in a starred review, wrote, SEA PRAYER is “an emotional gut-punch” and “impossible to read without feeling intense compassion for those—and there are thousands—whose lives resemble those of the characters in the book.”
This week, Hosseini will appear on NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers, PBS & CNN Amanpour, and NPR Morning Edition to talk about the book and the ongoing plight of refugees. “SEA PRAYER is an attempt to pay tribute to the thousands who have lost their lives at sea, both before and after the photo of Alan Kurdi’s body shocked millions and prickled the conscience of the world,” Hosseini said. “I have written this short book in the hope that it will spark compassion and much needed conversation.” Proceeds from the book will go to the UN Refugee Agency and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund life-saving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe.
Riverhead Editor in Chief and Hosseini’s long-time editor, Sarah McGrath, shared: “Any new project from Khaled Hosseini is momentous. He is without doubt one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. But this work is particularly poignant in its heartbreaking engagement with the refugee crisis. SEA PRAYER is a book for readers of all ages, and from every background. It’s a book to share with the children in your life as well as the adults. It is, quite simply, a book for anyone with a heart, about what it means to be human and a part of the world at this moment in time. ”