Publisher sets release date for Hosseini's latest novel

NEW YORK -- Khaled Hosseini's next novel will be a journey across time and space.

The author of the million-sellers "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" has finished his third book, "And the Mountains Echoed." Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) and publisher of his first two novels, announced Monday that "And the Mountains Echoed" comes out May 21.

"I am forever drawn to family as a recurring central theme of my writing," Hosseini, the Afghan-born author and physician, said in a statement. "My earlier novels were at heart tales of fatherhood and motherhood. My new novel is a multigenerational family story as well, this time revolving around brothers and sisters, and the ways in which they love, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for each other."

Penguin president Susan Petersen Kennedy is one of the few people to have read the novel. She said "And the Mountains Echoed" takes place "in different parts of the world" and, as with his previous books, offers "such a clear experience and characters you can identify with even if their lives are very different from your own."

"He really opens you up to what it means to be human," she said.

Hosseini, 47, is one of the world's most popular authors, with his first two books selling more than 38 million copies.

"The Kite Runner," his debut, came out in 2003 and became a word-of-mouth sensation and book club favorite in paperback, spending two years on The New York Times' best-seller list. He suffered no second novel jinx; "A Thousand Splendid Suns," a 2007 release, received strong reviews and topped the Times' hardcover list.

Both stories were set at least in part in Hosseini's native country.

Financial terms for his new book were not disclosed. Hosseini was represented by Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell of the Washington, D.C.-based Williams & Connolly, where clients range from President Barack Obama to Barbra Streisand.