''Sea Prayer'' is an illustrated novel by Afghan-American author

Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini or Khalid Husseini (; Pashto/Persian: , ; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. His debut novel '' The Kite Runner'' (2003) was a critical and commercial success; ...

inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis and the

death of Alan Kurdi Alan Kurdi (born Alan Shenu), initially reported as Aylan Kurdi, was a two-year-old Syrian boy (initially reported as having been three years old) of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 2015 ...

. It was first created as a

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

experience in 2017, and was published as a book in 2018, illustrated in

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

by Dan Williams.

Plot

The book is written in the form of a letter from father to son; the two have fled their home in

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

due to the Syrian Civil War, and face the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called ''Sea Prayer'' "intensely moving" and "powerfully evocative of the plight in which displaced populations find themselves." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote that it "does not dwell on nightmarish fates; instead, its emotional power flows from the love of a father for his son."

References

2018 American novels Novels set in Syria Works about the Syrian civil war Bloomsbury Publishing books Novels by Khaled Hosseini Books about ISIS Riverhead Books books 2018 Afghan novels {{2010s-novel-stub