Gwangju International Center

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, caught my eye in the biography area of the GIC Library and it did not disappoint. The book follows the daily lives of an Afghani family- a middle class bookseller and his relatives who live in the same household. What makes this book stand out is the author’s perspective. While in Kabul in 2001, Asne met the bookseller, found him interesting, and moved in with his family for 3 months, to try to understand their lives. She gathered stories from the bookseller’s family, and as a Western woman was allowed privy to the lives of both the men and women in the family.

 

The stories in the book are often frustrating. Contradictions abound. The bookseller would spout liberal views, but his treatment of the woman of his family was very conservative. He was not very likeable to me, but throughout the book, there was a lot of explaining of how he came to be the way he was. I found the stories of the woman to be the most interesting. They covered a range of ages and situations - marriage, work, school, and clothing, among other topics. They were very personal and honest. While the book is mainly about the details of the family’s lives, the changing politics of Afghanistan is always in the background. 

 

Some details of the book, such as burqa wearing, were expected, but many more were often surprising, which I believe come from the author’s unique position. The Bookseller of Kabul is a fascinating and intimidate peek into a world that outsiders rarely see.