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.