''Sea Prayer'' is an

illustrated novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

by Afghan-American author

Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini (;Pashto/Dari ; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan Americans, Afghan-American novelist, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. His debut novel ''The Kite Runner'' (2003) wa ...

inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis and the death of Alan Kurdi. It was first created as a virtual reality experience in 2017, and was published as a book in 2018, illustrated in watercolor 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 ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

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

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called ''Sea Prayer'' "Intensely moving" and "Powerfully evocative of the plight in which displaced populations find themselves." '' Publishers Weekly'' 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