Customer Reviews
There's a rat in my kitchen, what am I gonna do? - By: A. J. Judge, 18 Sep 2008 
This account of an Afghan middle class familyin the period immediately after the fall of the Taliban gives some acute & depressing insights into the routine & unthinking oppression that is the lot of many Afghan women. The bookseller - head of a large family - dragoons his sons into working long hoursin his various bookshops & 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 languishin Pakistan for years, cut off from her sons & daughters, until Sultan relents & allows her to return to Kabul. Sultan's younger sister is reduced to the role of a domestic servant, & her desire to teach is thwarted. The treatment of the male members of Sultan's family, despite them being allowed more freedomin Afghan society, is also callous & tyrannical.
It is easy to understand why the booksellerin 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, writtenin 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 womenin 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 - & 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 figurein 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 conductin producing the book, it did provide a poignant account of the suffering & unhappiness that some Afghan women must endure at the hands of their men folk.
Review by Tony Judge, author of Sirocco Express (ISBN: 978-1409204466 )
An interesting portrayal of life in Kabul at the beginning of the 21st century - By: Helen Simpson, 02 Sep 2008 Seirstad begins the book with a forewordin praise of Sultan Khan, the bookseller she meetsin Kabul. I (or the reader) is maybe expecting a warm account of family life amongst the unsettled timesin Kabul during 2002, & after the terrorist attacksin America. Alongside that, a little history of Afghanistan & the political environment that saw soldiers burning his booksin the street.
However...what we get is a disturbing account of everyday life for that particular family & 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 & 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 remainin contact with some members of your family, the womenin 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 & unfair life to which she wakes every day "...to the sound of 'Allahu akhbar' - 'God is great'. A new day which smells & 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 writtenin novel form, you are always aware that the peoplein the story, albeit with changed names, are very real.
Another very good read on Afghanistan - By: Benoy N. Shah, 30 Jul 2008 
This was the 4th book I had read about Afghanistan, after The Swallows of Kabul & 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 & observes their daily lives & interactions. The head of the householdin which she resides is the owner of the bookstore. The book highlights the male dominated Afghani culture, & the author frequently relates her anger (and even disgust) at the inevitable but sad destinies of most womenin Afghanistan. No matter how educated or ambitious, many are forced to settle for a role as housewife & 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 - By: R. Nicholson-morton, 12 May 2008 Asne was privileged to live with the `Khan' Afghan familyin Kabul & was able to mingle with both men & women, probably because she was a westerner & 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 & the steppes, following their offensive against the Taliban.
What makes this book so interesting is that Asne has dared to describe thoughts & feelings of the family members - based on what they told her. This creates an immediacy & intimacy many similar books lack. We can definitely feel the frustrations of the men & the women - especially the downtrodden women!
Afghanistanin the 1970s was `westernised'in many ways, with luxurious hotels, electricity & running waterin the towns & cities. (Since the fall of the Taliban, that's not the case now - it's a derelict city, filthy & crammed but not defeated). Women didn't have to wear the burka & could be seenin public without a veil; they could work & helped the economy keep afloat. Unfortunately, three years of drought & a catastrophic faminein 1973 led to a coup against the ruling monarchy. The new regime was more repressive & proved incompetent. The Soviet invasionin 1979 was supposed to stabilise the area but had the opposite effect. Egypt, China, Pakistan & the US armed the rebels fighting the Soviets & 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 & 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 & geography & the people, including poetry. We take books for grantedin our country, we have more than enough clogging up charity shops - yetin Afghanistan - &in other restrictive regimes such as the now-defunct Soviet Union - books were rare & therefore treasured, passed from hand to hand until they fell apart. Sultan risked imprisonment & worse by secretly buying & selling books.
Then of course the terrorist attack on 11 September changed everything. The Taliban were ousted & for oncein 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 & his livelihood. He employs his sonsin 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 & causes headaches; it's difficult to see anything through the cloth grille; you're enclosed, little air getsin & you continually perspire; & you must walk with care because you can't see your feet. How liberated the women feel when they get home & 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 & song & Asne quotes from a book of poems: one asks Gods to make her a stonein 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 lifein Afghanistan. Women hide behind the burka. Men & women who do not belong to the same family mustn't sit togetherin 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 & mistresses.
Asne has an observant eye & her fascination with everything she witnessed comes across, infusing the book with wonderful dialogue. Besides writing about weddings & journeys, relations & family squabbles, she also tells the stories of some female family members & how they face up to the bullying & hypocrisy of their men-folk. Especially poignant is Leila's story - frustratedin love, she is used as a virtual slave by her family. Asne's writing is fine & often moving: `... her crushed heart she leaves behind. Soon it blends with the dust... That evening she will sweep it up & throw it out...'
There's no happy ending. Let's hope the country will one day find one.
A captivating read. - By: NickieB, 15 Mar 2008 I read this bookin a day, hardly moving from my sunbed on holiday. It's an amazing insight into lifein 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 & you get a birds eye view of real Afghan life behind closed doors. If you enjoyed the Kite Runner then this is worth reading.
