Introduction

The Bookseller of Kabul, written by Åsne Seierstad, takes place in the heart of Afghanistan. Seierstad moved in with a wealthy book merchant and his family and wrote about the experience in a unique way. Instead of writing about the family in the form of a narrative, she dedicates a chapter or two to each member of the family and acts as an omniscient, third-party observer. Seierstad never uses the word "I," but tells a piece of each member's life as though it was a story, and embeds a deeper message as well. In each chapter, the struggles and oppression women face are subtly highlighted. It seems that Seierstad didn't write The Bookseller to give a voice to all Afghans, but to the women of the country who don't have one of their own.

Johanna: I am nineteen years old and have lived my whole life in the Midwest of the United States and have little experience with other cultures. I hoped this book would give me greater insight into Afghan culture, which is so different from the one I have known. In my junior year of high school my AP Language class read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which takes place mainly in Afghanistan and also tells the story of a family facing struggles. After reading that and being briefly introduced to the culture, I chose this book because I had a small knowledge of the lifestyle and wanted to expand it.

Mike: Mike is a white American who as interested in learning about the culture in Afghanistan. He knows ahead of time that his country is at war in Afghanistan, and he has heard snippets about the culture there, but he is craving more details when choosing to read this book. Mike feels that it will be interesting to learn about the culture in Afghanistan with this book being a valuable source of information.

Andrew: My name is Andrew Paffel and I am 19 year old middle class Caucasian male. I have had very little previous experience with the Afghani people. The only knowledge I have about Afghani people comes from the media and bias discussions about 9/11. My bias have affected how I have read the book but are slowly being broken down as I progress through the chapters. 

Justin: Justin is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Having grown up an area that contains a higher level of racial diversity, I have had more exposure to other cultures than the rest of the group. Besides living in an urban area, I live in Katharine Thomas hall with many international students and have also been overseas twice. I chose to read The Bookseller of Kabul to broaden my knowledge of Afghan culture and possibly compare the book's values with what I have experienced in his life. I have gone to school with people from Afghanistan, and I know that the media has created a negative stereotype for people from the Middle East. I am always interested in learning about other cultural perspectives, and so I will read this book with more cultural experience and understanding.

Bookseller of Kabul: December 12, 2010

While reading the Bookseller of Kabul, we learned a lot about Afghan society.  Åsne Seierstad goes in depth about their culture, religion, political system, history, landscape, and education.  She shows the Afghans to be deeply rooted in their traditions, and although they are now free from the Taliban rule they are still strict under the beliefs they had.  The Afghan society seems like it is trying to modernize, but many are hypocrites in their own homes.  An example of this is shown with Sultan and his liberal thinking about women in government positions, but when it comes to his family he wants to be fully in charge of everything.  The political shape of the country is changing, but it deeply based off of Muslim beliefs and American backed ideals.  Although they are not as oppressive as the Taliban, the new government does not clearly differentiate church from the state.  The system of power is also set up on the connections that you have.  It is hard to move up in power, and if you get into a conflict with someone with more respect or admiration from the citizens, you are in bad luck.  This is shown between Sultan and the carpenter.  Even though the carpenter is not proven guilty, he ends up going to jail for 3 years because of Sultan’s authority.  The history of Afghanistan is quite lengthy and complicated.  Early times had Afghanistan as a prominent society, with religious tolerance and educated people.  Other than this, the country has been put through many wars and switching of powers.  No government has been stable in the 20^th century, even the USSR could not keep their grip on Kabul.  Women are oppressed and do not have much freedom in Afghanistan.  The only thing they can keep private would be the little box they can lock belongings up in.  Men are shown to be spoiled in their actions, and with women they are especially controlling and disrespectful.  Seierstad does even create an excuse Sultan, claiming that the only model of a father he has is his own.  It is easy to see that the sons, specifically Mansur, are likely to turn out like Sultan himself.  Seierstad does seem to have some bias when she is talking about males, as she seems like more of a modern thinker. The whole book went into all of the aspects of Afghan society, when we really only assumed it would tell the story of one family in Kabul in the beginning.


A huge problem that our group had with the authors authority is that she left Afghanistan before she could see the endings that happened in the epilogue.  Although it is nice to give conclusion to the story, the ending she writes could be completely made up.  The book is basically a memoir, as Seierstad writes about her experiences with each of the characters and it is open to her interpretation.  The ending is just troublesome because she only speaks to Sultan, when in reality the story is based on the entire family.  Although Seierstad does have a first-hand experience with the Khan family, she does paint the characters as she wants and also does include some of her judgments and opinions.  The last part of the epilogue shows this, as she hears that Sonya is pregnant and is asked to pray for a boy.  Seierstad exclaims, “what if it’s a girl!” and answers that it will be “another little catastrophe in the Khan family” immediately after (288).  Although we have learned the value of women in Afghanistan, how can we be so sure that it is not the same as a typical American family just wishing for a baby boy?  We like that the author did address the question of what happened with the family, but it is hard to assume that she actually has all perspectives throughout the story.


The ideal audience for this book would be students.  We think that students studying English, journalism, Middle Eastern studies, and also current events would be benefited by reading this book.  It does give good discussion, good overview of Afghan culture and society, and an interesting perspective into a family in Kabul.  The stories that Seierstad writes about in the book do have many points of view, and she sometimes only focuses on her own, which can be problematic.  Seierstad did get sued by the Khan family for slandering, which would be an interesting aspect to look act.  This controversy could also help spur sales, although it may not help her credibility.

Justin's Graphic Organizer #2 (pages 267-288)

This organization is based off the last chapter, "A Broken Heart".  The chapter is based on the love affair that Leila is going through, as she wants it so badly but she knows she has no say in the issue.  She wants to marry Karim because he would let her study, and she would no longer be unappreciated.  Leila already has 3 other offers from relatives, which are the choices that Sultan approves of.  To end with this chapter shows the hopelessness of Afghan women, as many have accepted their fate as servants that will be forgotten.

Andrew Discussion leader (256-276)

1.      Was it right for Sultans family to reject Karim?

From an Afghan prospective it was right for Sultans family to reject Karim. Karim was not related and was from a small family. He was also a poor man who had little to provide. From an American prospective it was wrong to reject Karim. They loved each other and Leila wanted the marriage to happen.

        2. Was it the right decision for the part of the family to split off from Sultan?

The decision for Bibi, Gul, Yunus, Leila and Bulbula to leave Sultans household was the correct one. Sultan was too powerful and disrespectful to the rest of the family. Also the family was too big to get along smoothly.

3.Was it worth it for Leila to accept the letters?

Leila had both positive and negative consequences of accepting the letters. The letters from Karim put joy in her life and Karim gave her choices she never had before. However, accepting the letters was against her religion so it caused her fear that they would be found.

4.      How was the book?

It was interesting to lean about a different culture from a source other than the news. It was also a positive experience because we learned what Afghanistan is like. However, the book was frustrating at times because of the negative aspects of the society.

Summarizer, Mike, pg. 267-288

Leila receives love letters from Karim. In Afghani culture that is forbidden, so Leila is at a loss of what to do. She wants to be with Karim only because it would offer an escape from living in the situation that she currently lives in; Sultan's house as a hard working woman who receives little credit for her work. Karim tries to meet her and propose to her, but these attempts are unsuccessful largely because he is unrelated to Leila. Leila tries to get a teaching job, but fails in the process. The vast majority of the people in Sultan's house leave because they are tired of living under his rule.

The section was written by first explaining how Leila wanted to escape Sultan's house. Then her opportunity to escape by marrying Karim was described. Then her own and Karim's attempts to marry were described. Then the fact that the idea would be a failure was lastly described. Then came the Epilogue, in which the story was wrapped up in just a few pages with the author saying what happened to the Khan family shortly after the events that took place in the last chapter, including the departure of many people from Sultan's house.

Vocab pgs: 267-288 (Johanna)

Shrapnel: fragments from mine explosions or any other type of shell (projectile).

Divulge: to disclose or reveal something private, secret, or previously unknown.

Kinship: having a close relationship or family ties with others.

Indignation: strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, or insulting; righteous anger.

Fundamentalist: strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles.

Authoritarian: exercising complete control over the will of another or of others.

Parity: equality in amount, status, or character.

Creed: any system, doctrine, or formula of a certain religious belief.

Lucrative: profitable or moneymaking.

Technocrats: a theory and movement prominent around 1932, advocating control of industrial resources, reform of financial institutions, and reorganization of the social system, based on the findings of technologists and engineers.

Discussion Leader, Mike, pg. 214-267

1. What do you feel about the treatment of Jalaluddin?

We are extremely angered by the way that Sultan treated Jalauddin. It seems that Sultan simply can’t let anything go.  Jalauddin’s children are starving, and we all agreed that if our children were starving we might have stole too, and his punishment of a prison sentence and relentless beatings from his father are not right.

2. What do you think of the people in power in Afghanistan; eg. the war lords?

They seem power hungry, like all they want is power. They don’t seem to care about the general population, and they seem illiterate.

3. Do you think Sultan has any bit of goodness in his heart?

He seems like he is very literate and open minded when it comes to literature, and he did say at one point he did say that he was going to donate books to the library, which is respectable. However, when it comes to his family life he seems like a terrible person. It seems that too much of his “goodness” is put towards books, and not towards people.

4. What do you think of Tajmir's mother?

She seems like another Sultan. She seems cruel, mean, and overbearing on the child’s life.