May 11

The Bookseller of Kabul
By Asne Sierstad

Norwegian journalist Asne Seirstad has won awards for her coverage of war-ravaged regions and here she provides an insider's look into an Afghan family and life in war-torn Afghanistan.  She actually moves into the home of Sultan Khan, a bookseller in Kabul, for several months in 2003.  The home is small (only 4 rooms) and the family is large (two wives, five children, and multiple other relatives), but they open their home to Asne and share their lives.  As a bookseller, Khan has been threatened time and again by the Taliban, who have burned his books, interrogated, and even arrested him.  Seirstad notes that life is awful for women, who must submit to men's authority in everything - but then life in Afghanistan is not a whole lot better for men.  We have read about life in the Taliban in newspapers and in novels (e.g., 1000 Splendid Suns, April 20th) and this book bears out the horrors and hardships, but perhaps what makes this story so unique is that a family was willing to welcome a foreign journalist into their home and hearth - and her ability to share their life.