Novelist Khaled Hosseini Brings Large Turnout
Saratoga Reads brought best-selling novelist Khaled Hosseini to Saratoga Springs on Saturday evening, April 5, in celebration of the community reading program’s 10th year.
A highlight of the visit was An Evening with Khaled Hosseini in the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College, an event that filled the Zankel’s 600-seat concert hall. The evening offered a discussion moderated by Joe Donahue, of “The Book Show” and “The Roundtable” on WAMC Northeast Public Radio, and included a question-and-answer session and book signing.
The author addressed a wide range of topics, including his approach to writing fiction, his fascination with storytelling, his life as a medical doctor, his childhood memories of life in Afghanistan, and the prospects for the current elections in that country. He also discussed the Khaled Hosseini Foundation, which he founded to assist Afghan refugees.
In addition, Hosseini attended a breakfast gathering Saturday morning with community members at Northshire Bookstore.
Hosseini is a writer of special significance for Saratoga Reads, which began a decade ago with the selection of his first novel, The Kite Runner, for community-wide reading and discussion. The program has returned to its roots this year by naming Hosseini’s third novel, And the Mountains Echoed, as the book of choice for 2013-14.
All of Hosseini’s novels draw heavily on his native Afghanistan and its struggles with foreign invasions and social, religious, and political turmoil.
The event sponsors included Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs Public Library, Skidmore Student Speakers Bureau, Bonacio Construction, and Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
