Sea Prayer
Published September 18th 2018 by Riverhead Books (first published August 30th 2018), Kindle Edition 48 pages
A short, powerful, illustrated book written by Khaled Hosseini in response to the current refugee crisis, Sea Prayer is composed in the form of a letter, from a father to his son, on the eve of their journey. Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city's swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone.
Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed upon the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution, and he will donate author proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe. Hosseini is also a Goodwill Envoy to the UNHCR, and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Truly one of the best books of 2018. Impactful and difficult, reading this with my 8 year old was a daunting yet necessary task.
Rating: really liked it
Khaled Hosseini's
Sea Prayer isn't a book—it's a poem. But it's more than a poem—it is, in essence, a letter written from father to son, a prayer lifted up on the eve of a journey away from their war-torn country, a journey which could prove tremendously dangerous.
In less than 50 pages, Hosseini's words and the beautiful illustrations break your heart. This was inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy believed to have drowned during his family's attempts to flee their country, but it could be anyone's story. The remembrances of better times, reflections of a country once utterly beautiful but now devastated by war and the resulting effects, words that a young boy might not understand now but might grow to appreciate later.
I read this in just a few minutes and it punched a hole in my heart. We often don't take the time to think of what families must go through when they leave their homes which are welcoming no more. We don't think about their fears, their memories which make them reluctant to leave, the dangers they face along the way.
Hosseini, author of
The Kite Runner and
A Thousand Splendid Suns , will donate his proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe.
Sea Prayer is short and powerful, and once it is read it will not cease to be felt or forgotten. Thank you, Khaled Hosseini, for reminding us of the emotional and physical costs of immigration.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
Rating: really liked it
I'm really not sure how to describe this book. It's a letter from a father to his son, the night before they leave their war-torn country for a safer place. It's not great and the father is terrified because it involves a great deal of danger (especially for the portion of the trip that's by boat). You can feel his fear and at the same time his knowledge that there's no real good choice. Leaving is dangerous and there's a very real chance that one or all of them will die. But staying isn't a good option, either. If you stay, you'll almost definitely die. There aren't any safe choices.
There are pictures throughout the book, these gorgeous sketches, and they absolutely broke my heart. It's almost excruciating to read the few lines of text and look at the pictures. And there's no resolution, because it's the night before they leave.
I think it's impossible to read this and not feel so much compassion for refugees. (But, of course, the people who need to find their compassion are the same people who would never read this book.)
Highly recommended.
Rating: really liked it
Wave after wave......
From calm seas of memories to the over-powering turbulence of the present, Khaled Hosseini presents a story drifting from father to son in the form of a tragic letter. From the shores of chaos come words that touch the lips and soften the heart in slow steady beats.
What was is no longer and what will be is only for fate to decide.
Hosseini's father figure grasps the small hand of his son and tries to paint within him a canvas of what life was like in his grandfather's house in Syria so long ago. Time and place belonged to this family and it was solely theirs. But now, memories serve only as a conduit to the treasured people and daily events that have been savagely torn away by the bombing and the senseless war.
Sea Prayer is so very brief in its size, but its impact is profound. The watercolor illustrations seem to glide from one page to the next. The hues call out for simple compassion. And those words, those words will take residence in your heart. How can we not listen and take heed? How can we not?
Rating: really liked it
A beautiful and moving story from a father to his son about their life before their world was ravaged by war. This is such an important book -- one which makes me thankful for literature and its power.
Rating: really liked it
Sea Prayer is a beautifully illustrated short story (very short), where a father reminisces with his sleeping son in his arms. They are refugees waiting for the next stage of their journey. The father recalls how he and his brothers enjoyed their summers at their grandfather’s farm, knowing that his son won’t be able to share this same experience. They are fleeing from Syria, but, it could be any one of several countries.
There are many reasons that people seek refuge in countries other than their own, e.g., religious persecution, war, violence, starvation, slavery, etc. They are seeking a better life for themselves and their families.
Sadly, often these refugees don’t reach their destination. Khaled Hosseini was inspired to write this short story by the news and photo many of us read and saw of the little boy that drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea in 2015.
Also, sadly, often the refugees that do make it to another country are not welcomed. The United States once welcomed refugees. Now not so much.
The illustrations were done by Dan Williams. Hosseini has pledged proceeds from this book to the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Rating: really liked it
EDIT 3, 3 stars. So I've been thinking about this for a few months now. A few months ago I read Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and I loved it. I thought if I liked that one, why couldn't I like this one, since they are similar - picture books, targeted mostly at children, but adults can enjoy them too. On one hand it was the fact that I had high expectations from Sea Prayer, based on Khaled Hosseini's previous books, whereas in the case of Julian Is a Mermaid I didn't have any, I went in completely blind and let myself be surprised by the ending. On the other hand it was the price, yes, but I checked the price of JIaM and it was more or less the same (it was actually more expensive). However, I got Julian Is a Mermaid for free, so I didn't think of the price I should have paid for reading that book when I formed my opinion about it. That being said, while I don't disagree with my previous opinion, it makes no sense to have liked one book and disliked the other when they are so similar. So I'll change my rating to 3 stars.
*******************************
EDIT 2, 1 star. No, actually I'm not OK. Give me something that's worth 10$...
********************************
EDIT 1, 2 stars. It could have been so much more, while still being a short thing (not that short tho). 2 stars for the message and for the theme and for the cute poem... but otherwise... it was... a waste... of money. Sorry.
********************************
Original: 3 stars.
*
I think I could read it while holding my breath.
*
WHAT IS THIS, A STORY FOR ANTS?
*
VERY, VERY, VERY SHORT.
*
And overpriced. You can find it on Youtube.
*
I love you, KH, but why am I feeling scammed?
*
I will still buy your books tho. But I will CHECK THE NUMBER OF PAGES.
Rating: really liked it
I'm speechless and crying. With a few words and some illustrations this guy told the world all that is to tell
Rating: really liked it
I read this short offering by Hosseini, an author I very much admire, in a matter of minutes. In the title is the word prayer, and it is a prayer to a child, a people, young people who will never know the country of their birth, Syria, without bombs, towns in ruins and starvation. Not the vibrant place it had been. A prayer to all people for compassion, understanding, for a little hope for the refugees fleeing for their life. The illustrations are beautifully wrought, from color to black and white. It is indeed a homage to the many who have lost their lives to the sea, fleeing a worn torn country. Among the 4, 176 who died or went missing attempting this journey, was a three year old named Alan Kurdi, and Hosseini wrote this short, beautiful piece for them. Heartbreakng.
Rating: really liked it
Sea Prayer is like that rare songbird singing on a winter morning, only to fly away in a moment. Inspired by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on the beach in Turkey in September 2015, it is a touching tribute to the families of the refugees who've lost everything but their memories of wartime.
Alan Kurdi, another life lost at sea. Its only flaw, though, is its incredibly short length. Written in the form of a touching letter from a refugee father to his child, author proceeds from this book will be donated to UNHCR and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation in the hopes of giving the ones who've lost all to war and persecution a better life.
Sea Prayer is a father’s reflection as he watches over his sleeping son, on the dangerous journey across the sea that lies before them. It is also an account of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city’s swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone.
The book is beautifully illustrated by British painter Dan Williams.
Rating: really liked it
(Throwback Review) This book, written by Khaled Hosseini, is dedicated to refugees and was written in response to the refugee crisis in Syria. It shows us how the war destroyed Syria.
Nobody can forget the heartbreaking image of the young three-year-old Alan Kurdi's body lying on the beach in Turkey. Khaled Hosseini decided to pay homage to Kurdi and millions of other refugees by writing about them in this book.
This is a book that should be on the reading list of everyone. This is also a book that you should buy and add to your own home library, as all the author proceeds are donated to fund life-saving relief efforts to help refugees.
Rating: really liked it
Even amongst the bombs, starvation, and burials, hope never dies. Witness here a father’s prayer that his son shall know safety, security, and home as a place of happiness. A short read that is poignant and powerful.
Rating: really liked it
Let’s Help Them
In the year 2015, Alan Kurdi, a three years old Syrian refugee was drowned in the Mediterranean Sea whilst trying to reach safety in Europe.
The following year, 4176 others died or went missing attempting that very same journey.
The moment Hosseini knew about it, he sent an SOS to World — he wrote a bunch of simple heartfelt words, turned into pictures by the hand of Dan Williams, and that was it!
Now it’s up to us:
The moment we buy a copy of this book, we are helping those syrian refugees who left everything behind, carrying nothing but one purpose — remaining among the nondeads.
Right now, they could use all the support they can get!
Let’s help them!!!
Rating: really liked it
Short and poignant with beautiful illustrations. I wish it was longer.
Rating: really liked it
A moving little story - a letter, really - from a father to his son, as he prays he will survive his sea voyage as a refugee in search of a better life. I just wish there had been a little more substance to it. It's so short that I read it in less than five minutes.
