ranahabib's review against another edition
4.0
I can’t decide between an 8.5/10 or a 9/10.
I actually really enjoyed the book for the most part but there were some chapters that were rather boring. Also
i questioned how she knew certain things. For example, it’s implied that Sultan’s son, Mansur, has sex with a younger girl who’s poor. And then he feels shameful about it. If he was so ashamed by it, why would he share that with her? Especially if the subject of sex is so taboo. Just something to think about!
I actually really enjoyed the book for the most part but there were some chapters that were rather boring. Also
i questioned how she knew certain things. For example, it’s implied that Sultan’s son, Mansur, has sex with a younger girl who’s poor. And then he feels shameful about it. If he was so ashamed by it, why would he share that with her? Especially if the subject of sex is so taboo. Just something to think about!
mm676's review against another edition
3.0
A unique insight into the intertwined lives of a family in a very different culture to the Western world. Males dominate this world, but women live very complex lives underneath the burkas. Fascinating at times and very thought provoking.
wwatts1734's review against another edition
3.0
In the spring of 2002, in the aftermath of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Asne Seierstad decided to visit Kabul and live for a few months with an Afghan family of booksellers. The entire premise of this book is the evaluation of one culture against the standards of another culture. Ms Seierstad, a native of a liberal Western culture, went to Afghanistan to evaluate a traditional Muslim culture. Of course the result is going to be judgement and condescension. This is always the result of such endeavors, or so it seems. But Seierstad has some interesting things to say in this book that should not be missed.
For starters, Seierstad pointed out the brutal condition of life for Afghan women. It is hard for Westerners to understand what women in the Taliban culture live like. While it may be a cultural judgement to decide that women should or should not be allowed to work outside of the home, it is a matter of human rights whether women should or should not be prisoners in their own home, without a right to education and who can be killed if they step out of line and dishonor the family. Seierstad points out the latter while making comments about the former. If she had stuck to the human rights aspect rather than the cultural judgement aspect, then this would have been a much better book. Alas, she could not resist the temptation.
It is true throughout the world that societies that live in poverty have different standards about raising families and education than do more affluent cultures. It is true that in Afghanistan kids are denied access to an advanced education, but that is also true in places like Paraguay, Burkina Faso and Myanmar. It really is a shame when an author who has benefited from living in an affluent society goes to an impoverished society and passes judgement on them. Poverty is its own class of oppressor, and the best thing that we in the West can go for an impoverished nation is to help them develop their industry and agriculture and to trade with them so that they can develop markets. It does not help when we write books making fun of their poverty.
Overall this is a worthwhile book to read as long as the reader understands that this book falls within the genre of the "enlightened Western journalist passing judgment on the backward Third World culture".
For starters, Seierstad pointed out the brutal condition of life for Afghan women. It is hard for Westerners to understand what women in the Taliban culture live like. While it may be a cultural judgement to decide that women should or should not be allowed to work outside of the home, it is a matter of human rights whether women should or should not be prisoners in their own home, without a right to education and who can be killed if they step out of line and dishonor the family. Seierstad points out the latter while making comments about the former. If she had stuck to the human rights aspect rather than the cultural judgement aspect, then this would have been a much better book. Alas, she could not resist the temptation.
It is true throughout the world that societies that live in poverty have different standards about raising families and education than do more affluent cultures. It is true that in Afghanistan kids are denied access to an advanced education, but that is also true in places like Paraguay, Burkina Faso and Myanmar. It really is a shame when an author who has benefited from living in an affluent society goes to an impoverished society and passes judgement on them. Poverty is its own class of oppressor, and the best thing that we in the West can go for an impoverished nation is to help them develop their industry and agriculture and to trade with them so that they can develop markets. It does not help when we write books making fun of their poverty.
Overall this is a worthwhile book to read as long as the reader understands that this book falls within the genre of the "enlightened Western journalist passing judgment on the backward Third World culture".
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul in a bittersweet way - it was interesting, I learnt a lot and I liked the writing, and my heart aches for the people of Afghanistan. I can never know whether Seierstad has given us a balanced look at the bookseller and his family, but I did find myself both sympathising with and raging against many of the characters. The family situation is so delicate and complicated, there is no simple fix for the challenges they face. The oppression of women is terrifying.