Khaled Hosseini, the Afghan-American author whose novel, The Kite Runner, was this year’s Santa Monica Citywide Reads selection, will speak at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 21 in the Santa Monica Pavilion. The event is free.
Set in Afghanistan and California over a period of three decades, the novel chronicles the relationship between two boys and the complicated father-son relationship. The first Afghan novel to be written in English, the book includes an examination of the turbulent, recent history of Afghanistan.
Citywide Reads encourages people to read and discuss one book. This year’s began April 12 and ends May 21.
A series of related events have been scheduled at libraries, bookstores and other locations throughout Santa Monica.
Hosseini was born in Kabul in 1965 and immigrated with his family to Northern California in 1980, where he began practicing medicine in 1996. The Kite Runner is his first novel. It was a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year.Hosseini’s talk at SMC is part of the college’s continuing Literary Series and is cosponsored by the Santa Monica Public Library and the SMC Associates, a private organization that funds speakers and other special programs on campus.
