Shortly after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, journalist Asne Seierstad went to Afghanistan. There she met Shah Mohammad Rais (called Sultan Khan in the book), a well-known and successful bookseller in Kabul. Intending to observe and record the customs and traditions of the Afghan people, Seierstad lived with the Rais family for several months and provides an intimate look at the lives of the family members. She attends a family wedding, makes a religious pilgrimage with one of Rais' sons, observes a marriage arrangement, and experiments with wearing a burkha. Most striking to Seierstad is the oppression that Afghan women are forced to live under, even after the end of the Taliban. A young girl is beaten for speaking with a boy. A young bride is murdered by her own family for an alleged affair. Rais, who initially seems to be very liberal, becomes the stereotypical Middle Eastern man when he takes a second, younger wife. As the head of his family, he rules with authority and his wives, sister and other female relatives must defer to his rule in all things. Not surprisingly, Rais is unhappy with Seierstad's portrayal of him. He claims that the book has ruined his life and he has sent his family away from Afghanistan for fear of being attacked by those who are offended by the portrayal of Afghans. He has threatened legal action against Seierstad, although I don't believe any suits have been filed yet. In response, Rais has published his own version of the story, titled Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookseller from Kabul.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations. After reading books like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the fanaticism of the Taliban and the treatment of the women didn't surprise me, so there was no feeling of shock. None of the family members are very likable, including the women, so I didn't really care about any of them. There are some interesting bits about the ease of crossing the Pakistani border, preparations for a typical Afghan wedding and Rais' book business. But basically I just didn't feel like I was getting anything new from this.
1 comment:
I didn't like this book either, because I thought the author was biased and that she tried to capitalize on western fears about Muslim and Middle-eastern culture in order to sell books. I wanted to find a book that would actually give me a glimpse into this culture, but instead I felt like I was getting an uninformed opinion. For a woman who stayed with the family for months, this sure could have been written better and with less personal motive.
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