Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Seierstad is a Norwegian reporter who becomes a virtual member of the family of Sultan Khan the bookseller of the title. Hidden behind the anonymity of the burqa, she is privy to many intimate details of the 2002 post Taliban Afghanistan. Although Khan is to be commended for hiding numerous illegal books, his determination to support free thinking does not necessarily extend to the female members of his family. Her story verifies much of what we have come to believe is the worst of the fundamentalist government and at the same time provides a window to an often surprising attempt to maintain life as usual in a ravaged war torn country.
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Seierstad's intimate portrait of an atypical family in Kabul, Afghanistan evokes a myriad of emotions. The reader, at times, feels caught between admiration for Sultan the bookseller who defends women's rights, and Sultan the tyrannical leader of his family who takes a different stance when it comes to the women in his household. I was left with a feeling of frustration and anger towards him and felt that his passion for books and knowledge was the most important thing in his life.
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