The Bookseller of Kabul

The Bookseller of Kabul – Åsne Seierstad

In the spring of 2002, shortly after the fall of the Taliban, Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad moved in with a family in Kabul, Afghanistan, and lived with them for several months. The head of the household was a bookseller who had defied successive regimes, from the communists to the Taliban, to keep books available to the people of Kabul, risking arrest and seeing his books burned.

The Bookseller of Kabul is Seierstad’s account of the family’s daily life. She describes the bookseller, a proud and determined man devoted to literature and learning, who nevertheless ruled his household with strict authority. Through the experiences of his wives, sisters, sons and other relatives, she portrays the realities of life for an Afghan family, particularly for women, whose lives were shaped by tradition, restrictions and the expectations of men.

The book covers subjects such as arranged marriage, the bookseller’s decision to take a second, much younger wife, the frustrations of his sons, who were made to work in his shops instead of attending school, and the hopes and disappointments of the women of the household. Seierstad also describes the city of Kabul as it began to recover from years of war.

The book became an international bestseller and offers a vivid portrait of a society in transition. However, it was also controversial: the bookseller on whom it was based objected strongly to his family’s portrayal and took legal action, and the book’s approach has been debated.

The Bookseller of Kabul is a thought-provoking read for those interested in Afghanistan, journalism and the lives of women in traditional societies, best approached with awareness of these debates.