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The Bookseller of Kabul | 
 enlarge | Author: Asne Seierstad
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (44) Used (119) Collectible (2) from £0.01
Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 3037
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1844080471
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN: 9781844080472
ASIN: 1844080471
Publication Date: March 4, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 There's a rat in my kitchen, what am I gonna do? September 18, 2008
A. J. Judge (UK)
This account of an Afghan middle class family in the period immediately after the fall of the Taliban gives some acute and depressing insights into the routine and unthinking oppression that is the lot of many Afghan women. The bookseller - head of a large family - dragoons his sons into working long hours in his various bookshops and cruelly disregards the feelings of the female members of his family. He takes a young, uneducated second wife after he tires of his older, educated first wife. She is left to languish in Pakistan for years, cut off from her sons and daughters, until Sultan relents and allows her to return to Kabul. Sultan's younger sister is reduced to the role of a domestic servant, and her desire to teach is thwarted. The treatment of the male members of Sultan's family, despite them being allowed more freedom in Afghan society, is also callous and tyrannical.
It is easy to understand why the bookseller in question decided to take legal action against the author. The Bookseller of Kabul is billed as a non-fiction account of life with an Afghan family, written in the form of a novel. This is the source of much of the controversy surrounding the book, and, for me, created a strong sense of moral unease. If the author wished to write a true-life account of the sufferings of women in a traditional Afghan family, why did she not do so? Simply changing the name of the real life bookseller to her fictional Sultan Khan was not enough to protect the anonymity of her sources. Whatever one thinks about the bookseller - and his behaviour towards his family, if accurately reported, is indeed despicable - it is difficult not to conclude that Seierstad is guilty of a huge betrayal of trust. She must have known that merely changing the name of her subject would not protect his identity, when he is apparently such a high profile figure in Kabul. More importantly, she has exposed the identities of all of his family members, some of whom may now suffer the consequences.
Despite my misgivings about Seierstad's personal conduct in producing the book, it did provide a poignant account of the suffering and unhappiness that some Afghan women must endure at the hands of their men folk.
An interesting portrayal of life in Kabul at the beginning of the 21st century September 2, 2008
Helen Simpson (Leeds, England)
Seirstad begins the book with a foreword in praise of Sultan Khan, the bookseller she meets in Kabul. I (or the reader) is maybe expecting a warm account of family life amongst the unsettled times in Kabul during 2002, and after the terrorist attacks in America. Alongside that, a little history of Afghanistan and the political environment that saw soldiers burning his books in the street.
However...what we get is a disturbing account of everyday life for that particular family and others who are mentioned. The author tells us that this is not necessarily a picture of all Afghani families but a picture she gleaned from her stay with the Khans. It is clear however that there are many families that the women gossiped about who have a similar way of life.
It's sociologically interesting because Sultan's sons are a different generation and don't necessarily have the views of their father. They are are scared to go against him because he will disown them...and no matter what culture you are from it would hurt to be disowned by your family. Yet unlike more western cultures where you would remain in contact with some members of your family, the women in this account are so suppressed that they follow their husbands no matter what their own views.
It was sadly ironic to read of Leila's hard and unfair life to which she wakes every day "...to the sound of 'Allahu akhbar' - 'God is great'. A new day which smells and tastes like every other day: of dust."
How awful it must be to worry about things (the sex of an unborn baby, or an attraction to someone from the opposite sex) that are out of your control, for fear of how you or your children will be treated.
Although written in novel form, you are always aware that the people in the story, albeit with changed names, are very real.
 Another very good read on Afghanistan July 30, 2008
Benoy N. Shah (London)
This was the 4th book I had read about Afghanistan, after The Swallows of Kabul and Khaled Hosseini's two classic bestsellers. The difference is that this is a non-fiction book.
The author is a Norwegian journalist who lives with an Afghani family for a few months and observes their daily lives and interactions. The head of the household in which she resides is the owner of the bookstore. The book highlights the male dominated Afghani culture, and the author frequently relates her anger (and even disgust) at the inevitable but sad destinies of most women in Afghanistan. No matter how educated or ambitious, many are forced to settle for a role as housewife and essentially servant to the men of the house. Step out of line...and expect a beating.
A real insight into a culture very, very different from ours... an interesting read.
Never take books for granted May 12, 2008
R. Nicholson-morton (Alicante, Spain)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Asne was privileged to live with the `Khan' Afghan family in Kabul and was able to mingle with both men and women, probably because she was a westerner and knew no better. As a successful journalist Asne had spent six weeks with the commandos of the Northern Alliance - in the desert, the mountains, the valleys and the steppes, following their offensive against the Taliban.
What makes this book so interesting is that Asne has dared to describe thoughts and feelings of the family members - based on what they told her. This creates an immediacy and intimacy many similar books lack. We can definitely feel the frustrations of the men and the women - especially the downtrodden women!
Afghanistan in the 1970s was `westernised' in many ways, with luxurious hotels, electricity and running water in the towns and cities. (Since the fall of the Taliban, that's not the case now - it's a derelict city, filthy and crammed but not defeated). Women didn't have to wear the burka and could be seen in public without a veil; they could work and helped the economy keep afloat. Unfortunately, three years of drought and a catastrophic famine in 1973 led to a coup against the ruling monarchy. The new regime was more repressive and proved incompetent. The Soviet invasion in 1979 was supposed to stabilise the area but had the opposite effect. Egypt, China, Pakistan and the US armed the rebels fighting the Soviets and war raged for almost ten years, devastating the country. Into the vacuum left by the departing Soviets came the Taliban. White flags - Taliban's holy colour - flew over the mosques. The war was over - a new war was about to start, a war that would trample all joy under foot. Art and culture were anathema to these religious bigots.
It was against the backdrop of this regime that Sultan Khan tried to save parts of Afghanistan's culture - books about the history and geography and the people, including poetry. We take books for granted in our country, we have more than enough clogging up charity shops - yet in Afghanistan - and in other restrictive regimes such as the now-defunct Soviet Union - books were rare and therefore treasured, passed from hand to hand until they fell apart. Sultan risked imprisonment and worse by secretly buying and selling books.
Then of course the terrorist attack on 11 September changed everything. The Taliban were ousted and for once in almost a generation it was felt that people could return to normality - if the warring power-hungry tribal leaders would let them.
Sultan was able to open his book shops. The books are Sultan's life and his livelihood. He employs his sons in his shops too. The women stayed at home, providing for the men.
So since the fall of the Taliban, things have improved, but not greatly, it seems. A woman's lot is better, but not by much, in Afghanistan. Some women have abandoned the restrictive burka. Asne describes the archaic clothing - it pinches the head and causes headaches; it's difficult to see anything through the cloth grille; you're enclosed, little air gets in and you continually perspire; and you must walk with care because you can't see your feet. How liberated the women feel when they get home and take off the burka!
In Afghanistan a woman's longing for love is taboo. Young people have no right to meet, to love or to choose. Young women are above all objects to be bartered or sold because marriage is a contract between families or within families. Some women protested with suicide and song and Asne quotes from a book of poems: one asks Gods to make her a stone in the next life, rather than a woman.
It's the men's attitude to their women that really annoyed Asne. To all appearances there's no sex life in Afghanistan. Women hide behind the burka. Men and women who do not belong to the same family mustn't sit together in the same room. They must not talk to each other or eat together. But human nature can't be deprived; under the surface all is seething. In spite of running the risk of the death penalty, in Afghanistan too people have lovers and mistresses.
Asne has an observant eye and her fascination with everything she witnessed comes across, infusing the book with wonderful dialogue. Besides writing about weddings and journeys, relations and family squabbles, she also tells the stories of some female family members and how they face up to the bullying and hypocrisy of their men-folk. Especially poignant is Leila's story - frustrated in love, she is used as a virtual slave by her family. Asne's writing is fine and often moving: `... her crushed heart she leaves behind. Soon it blends with the dust... That evening she will sweep it up and throw it out...'
There's no happy ending. Let's hope the country will one day find one.
A captivating read. March 15, 2008
NickieB (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book in a day, hardly moving from my sunbed on holiday. It's an amazing insight into life in Afghanistan. As a female, I was totally horrified by the sad existance the women lead. They truly are seen as 2nd class citizens! The author lived with the Khan family and you get a birds eye view of real Afghan life behind closed doors. If you enjoyed the Kite Runner then this is worth reading.
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