There isn't, even now, a great tradition of novel-writing in Afghanistan. Most of the literature is in the form of poetry.

She would grab whatever she could -a look , a whisper , a moan - to salvage from perishing , to perserve. But time is most unforgivving of fires , and she couldn't , in the end , save it all .

I started a foundation, called The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The mission has been to help the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan. So the focus has been on women, children, and homeless refugees, most of whom are in fact women and children.

I also felt The Kite Runner was a story that would lend itself well to a visual retelling in a graphic novel.

So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one.

The Chinese say it's better to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one.

hills that stand soft and a sky that stands high and blue, and the sun setting behind a windmill, and always, always, hazy strings of mountains that fall and fall away on the horizon.