This is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, author of “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” Published in 2013 by Riverhead Books, it deviates from Hosseini’s style in his first two works through his choice to avoid focusing on any one character.

Rather, the book is written similarly to a collection of short stories, with each of the nine chapters being told from the perspective of a different character. The book’s foundation is built on the relationship between 10-year-old Abdullah and his 3-year-old sister Pari and their father’s decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together.

The novel opens in the year 1952. When Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul, the choice devastates Abdullah, who raised Pari following their mother’s death in childbirth.

Then, Abdullah leaves Afghanistan. Many things happen in the years that follow.

In the final chapter, narrated by Abdullah’s daughter, Abdullah and Pari are reunited in California. However, he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and is unable to remember her.

The book is available at online bookstores.

(SD-Agencies)