Source : Times of India
Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner, is soon to release his latest book Sea Prayer. Published by Bloomsbury and illustrated by Dan Williams, the book marks the third anniversary of the death of the three-year-old Syrian refugee, Alan Kurdi.
Written in the form of a letter, Sea Prayer is a father’s reflection as he watches over his sleeping son, on the dangerous journey across the sea that lies before them. It is also an account of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city’s swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone. Originally produced in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Sea Prayer was first released as a Guardian virtual film on 1st September 2017.
Khaled Hosseini explained, “We are living in the midst of a displacement crisis of enormous proportions. Sea Prayer is an attempt to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Alan Kurdi’s, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution.”
Alexandra Pringle, group editor-in-chief at Bloomsbury, said in a press release that Bloomsbury was glad to be working with Hosseini “to create a beautiful book from his lyrical and intensely moving story, a book to be cherished by people of all ages all over the world.”
Award-winning author Khaled Hosseini has written extremely moving and impactful tales like The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed, which have sold over 55 million copies in over 70 countries worldwide. He is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
Hosseini was impelled to write Sea Prayer by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed upon the beach in Turkey in September 2015.
Dan Williams is a London-based artist and illustrator. His work has appeared in various international publications including The Guardian, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and The Wall Street Journal.
Sea Prayer will be published on August 30, 2018.
