Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly.

It's tremendous what can happen when suddenly you make an emotional connection.

I returned to Afghanistan because I had a deep longing to see for myself how people lived, what they thought of their government, how optimistic they were about the future of their homeland.

and yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had love and been loved back. she was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. a mother. a person of consequence at last.

My wife is my in-home editor and reads everything I write.

The bulk of our efforts [in The Khaled Hosseini Foundation] has focused on helping build permanent shelters for returning refugees who are homeless, living out in the open or in makeshift homes. This is an area of urgent need as Afghanistan's natural elements are quite harsh, with very hot summers, and freezing winters.

But if you have a book that needs urgent reading,' she said, 'then Hakim is your man.