THE BOOKSELLER OF KABUL - Author: Asne Seierstad (2002)

Norwegian author Asne Seierstad’s controversial book on life in Afghanistan’s capital city is a thought provoking, warts-and-all story that puts you firmly in the dust-caked, war torn city of Kabul.

Journalist Seierstad wrote the book after staying with an Afghanistani family for four months. The title refers to the father of the family, Sultan Khan. He is a bookseller by trade and has encountered numerous problems with the daily running of his store. Afghanistan is a country where censorship is heavily enforced on literature, music and movies.

When the Taliban were in power the country was under very strict laws. To keep a bookstore on the go was nigh on impossible. Similar to Ray Bradbury’s sci-fi novel “Farenheit 451”, books were burned for fear of them influencing society. Khan had his stock sometimes turned into ashes before his very eyes to teach him a lesson.

The book is not only about Sultan but his wife and children too. His family is a middle class one by Afghanistan standards but compared to most of the western world they are quite poor. Life in Kabul is a daily struggle for most people living there. With the threat of an explosion or suicide attack never too far away, the population learn to take each day as it comes.

Men are the dominant force in Afghanistan society and women are treated as lower class citizens there. Males make the important decisions in their families and women are more or less told what to do. Sections of the book focus more on the female point of view and these parts are extremely engrossing. Hidden behind black veils and long dresses, women are for the most part hidden from view and their voices are rarely heard.

Seierstad keeps the narrative very simple and the book has a nice flow to it. The language used is never over complicated and the drama never feels forced. The author gives the Kabul family room to breathe and express themselves without ever being too opinionated herself. She allows us to come to our own conclusions.

Sultan Khan and members of his family were not impressed when they read the finished book. Seierstad was accused of exaggeration and using recorded dialogue out of context. Whatever the honesty of the author and the ethics involved in writing the book it still packs an emotional punch and once read is not soon forgotten.