City News

Sea Prayer is a letter from a father to his sleeping son as they await a boat at the break of dawn. Alongside the thousands of awaiting refugees, all searching the tide for a promise of a better life, the father whispers a tale of remembrance and hope to his son, Marwan. 

The book begins with the father recollecting memories of his childhood in the summers spent in Syria. As he reminisces the tales of his boyhood, he paints a picture of beautiful pastures, dam-filled creeks, sooty farmhouses, and the bustling city of Homs, all glazed in nostalgia. From the swaying of distant olive trees to the clanking of his grandmother’s pots, every memory is sprinkled with longing, and regret for what Syria had become. 

As the father continues, he begins to describe the Syria that Marwan has come to know, starting with the protests and the sieges, then the bombs that hailed down from the sky, and finally the aftermath of starvation, blood, destruction, and death. Times of laughter and serenity have long since passed -- replaced by the need for survival. With these memories from ages ago to the mere days before they had fled, the place that they had called “home” their entire lives emerges, soon to be left behind. 

But facing the open sea through the moonlit night, the father retraces his hope for the boy, who is fast asleep against his chest, and promises him all that he can. Though he is powerless to change the uncertainty that lies ahead, the father continues to pray, for his son’s safety, his happiness, his future -- “Inshallah, inshallah, how I pray the sea knows this.”

Sea Prayer was inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned while trying to reach safety in 2015. The heart-breaking photograph of the lifeless body washed up on the shore shocked countless numbers of people across the world. To further raise awareness about the refugee crisis in Syria, the author Khaled Hosseini, published this book. 

Unlike many of Hosseini’s other books, Sea Prayer is structured more like a picture book, with spare prose accompanied by watercolor illustrations. The writing was almost like poetry in the way things were described to express the father’s emotions, as well as the simplicity in the raw emotions that were conveyed. The illustrations, too, were absolutely beautiful and further captured the message of the letter. To some, the book may seem too short to be considered an actual read, seeming more like a fundraising attempt, but I thought everything about the book, including the length, the format, and the style, was appropriate considering the message. 

I personally adore this book, and would rate it a ten out of ten. It’s not something that I would pick up for entertainment or even just a light read, both because of how short it is and also due to the heaviness of the content. However, since the Syrian refugee crisis is such an important topic right now, I think it’s something that everyone should be informed about or read about. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, including all other Young Adult readers.

Checkout Sea Prayer at the Newport Beach Public Library.