The Bookseller of Kabul
by Asne Seierstad
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Book Summary Information
Author: Asne SeierstadEdition: Paperback
Published: 2004-10-26
ISBN: 0316159417
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of The Bookseller of Kabul
Book Review: A Glimpse in the Life of an Afghani Family
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the depiction of a real Afghani family written by a journalist that wound up in bookstore and developed a "friendship" with the store's owner. The journalist decided that it would be interesting to live with a family in Afghanistan and this bookseller opened his home to her. Previously, I used the word "friendship" lightly because as the depiction progresses, the reader gains insight into that traditional role of the male head of the family, and the journalist does not portray the bookseller in the best light.
The bookseller, Sultan, is the ruler of his family and also reigns over his siblings as well. His wife, Sharifa, is a good wife, but has gotten on in years, so Sultan decides to take a young 2nd wife. I found that most of the book underscores the struggle and surrender of women in this culture. As told by the author, women could not leave their homes except to visit relatives. Women hide when company comes over because they cannot be seen by any man who is not within the family. Girls are raped, powerless. If they scream, then the act would be seen and the girl would be ruined, a disgrace. One woman tries to seek freedom by enrolling in school, only to find that she must ask for permission, which she will never receive, so she remains a slave to her family.
The book is written during the transition after Taliban control. The Taliban destroyed Sultan's books time and time again and even through him in jail because of his illegal books. (Any book with pictures of living creatures was considered a violation.) One admirable trait in Sultan I must say is that although he may not have agreed with the message in many of his books, he thought that people should have access to others' ideas.
I found this book very insightful, an eye-opener. It is a book that I am very glad to have experienced. It gave me a glimpse of a life much different than my own.
Summary of The Bookseller of Kabul
For more than twenty years, Sultan Khan has defied the authorities, whether communist or Taliban, to supply books to the people of Kabul. He has been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned, and has watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Yet he has persisted in his passion for books, shedding light in one of the world's darkest places. This is the intimate portrait of a man of principle and of his family - two wives, five children, and many relatives sharing a small four-room apartment in this war-ravaged city. As they endure the extraordinary trials and tensions of Afghanistan's upheavals, they also still try to live ordinary lives, with work, relaxation, shopping, cooking, marriages, rivalries, and shared joys. Most of all, this is an intimate portrait of family life under Islam. Even after the Taliban's collapse, the women in Khan's family must submit to arranged marriages, polygamous husbands, and crippling limitations on their ability to travel, learn, and communicate with others. Seierstad lived with Khan's family for months, experiencing first-hand Afghani life as few outsiders have seen it. Stepping back from the page, she allows the Khans to speak for themselves, giving us a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and of a country of great cultural riches and extreme contradictions.General Books
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