Khaled Hosseini, author of the worldwide bestsellers "The Kite Runner," "A Thousand Splendid Suns," and "And the Mountains Echoed," has created a colorfully illustrated narrative that outlines the touching story of a refugee family from Syria in just a few pages. On September 2, 2015, Alan Kurdi drowned while trying to reach safety in Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. He was three years old and came from Syria. Khaled Hosseini himself was a refugee boy who grew up far from his homeland of Afghanistan. This experience of separation and longing shapes the unique emotional power of his books and has become both his literary motivation and a social-political mission. For many years, he has maintained his own foundation and serves as a special ambassador for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). In "The Night Before the Sea," both aspects come together. The atmosphere is dense and immersive.