The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

[Pilgrim]

I've passed the Crime and Punishment and Suicide and Song chapters and it's disturbing though having read about drug barons recently in The Power of the Dog, I was braced. The fact is, it was similar for different reasons - both moved contraband and became obsessed with a young girl - the standard for women vs men is a sore point for me too, Kell.

[Betty27]

- the standard for women vs men is a sore point for me too, Kell.

 

And me! It makes me really angry actually. But I think you can guess that by now.

 

A slightly different point, when I read the chapter 'Suicide and Song' I was very saddened by the hopelessness in those poems. When I think of love poems which are about not being able to be with the one you love, they are typically characterised by the hope to be reunited at some point in the future, if only in death.

 

What I found interesting as well, was how openly against their husband the women in the poems are. I realise that they weren't intended for publication, but I would have thought that most women would be scared to say or sing the poems at all, in case someone would hear and tell their husband. A lot of the poems mentioned in the book were not just about their longing for the lover, but also their hatred for the husband.

[Pilgrim]

Betty, sorry I haven't responded to you, I'm moving slowly from the first page of this thread, except for responses, and up to chapter eight - thanks for noting it because it gives me a benchmark and I agree about the poems being a sad commentary on their situation. In fact, in discussing people turning people in...did I miss something or wasn't it Sharifa's daughter who passed on the love notes then snitched on Saliqa who was crying and beaten when the women were chatting in another room? I don't know the whole situation - just enough to be indignant.

[Betty27]

No need to apologise! Commenting on Ch 8 on the 3rd of the month was a bit early, so I thought I'd go back to an earlier chapter as I assume that I'm a bit ahead of most people as I actually started reading in January.

 

Yes, it was Sharifa's daughter Shabnam. Not impressed by her either; even though she's only mentioned twice I can imagine what kind of person she is. I got the impression that she likes getting everybody's attention which she doubtlessly did when telling on the couple.

[Freewheeling Andy]

Well, I think I'm still a way behind many of you, because I've been being lazy over recent days and not reading enough. 12 hours on a plane, plus more in airports and public transport, tomorrow, should sort me out.

 

Anyway, there's a couple of things on the down-trodden women I want to bring up. First, there's the writing style. There's something a bit clunky that I'm finding in a couple of places. There's commentary from Seierstad that's not really needed. She wants to say how utterly degrading and horrible the burqa (or some of the other treatment) is - and she's right. But she says it explicitly from time to time, and I think that's unnecessary.

 

The plain descriptions of what's going on tell you everything you need to know.

 

The second thing is that it's very easy to pass judgement on Sultan for his treatment of his women, but in comparison to what is normal in Afghanistan and has been for well over a decade, he's actually taking a fairly large leap in how liberal he is, how accomodating, and so on. He's a long, long way from perfect, but if you think about how he's acting in comparison to what is normal around him, I think he comes out as actually relatively progressive. (So far, about 8 chapters in).

[Betty27]

He's a long, long way from perfect, but if you think about how he's acting in comparison to what is normal around him, I think he comes out as actually relatively progressive. (So far, about 8 chapters in).

 

I know what you mean, and can't really disagree, but what I don't like about Sultan is his arbirtrary and highhanded way of deciding what his family members are allowed to or must do, in many cases disregarding their wishes.

 

Furthermore, in chapter 'The carpenter' he seems very tough and callous. Some might say he was justified, but considering the circumstances, I'm of the opinion that he was simply unkind and mean. Those who have read this far, will understand what I mean.

[Freewheeling Andy]

I finished this a couple of days ago. I enjoyed it, as a book, but it didn't really give me what I was expecting, or even wanting. I think I wanted more about the bookselling side, about the difficulties or otherwise of getting published, I wanted more of the Pakistan printworks and failed contracts with the Americans. I wasn't really expecting so much focus on family politics.

 

I still maintain that Sultan's not as bad as he at first appears, because of the context of his environment. I even think his heavy/high handed arbitrariness is generally in the context of wanting his family (and everyone else) to work hard to create the future rather than to rely on god and religion and help from outside; it's also about taking responsibility for your own problems rather than blaming them all on the Taleban or Soviets or Americans or whoever.

 

Clearly, he's mistaken in a large number of things, particularly (to my mind) how he restricts education of some of the children because he wants them to work.

 

I did feel that the whole book carried on with that clunkiness, too, in the writing; where Seierstad was trying to push the moral tone too hard in her "editorial" comments, when the content pushed the moral tone hard enough.

[Sugar]

Well, I did read it about a month ago. Enjoyed it and learned a lot from (for a start where Afghanistan actually is!).

 

I didn't like the lack of a character for Asne though. She was clearly there, and spoke with Sultan and his family, and I would have liked some anecdotes about the families reaction to her presence and outside the family reaction.

 

Where it read like a novel, I found it quite hard to remember I was reading something based in fact. I think it might have been marketed better in the way of a "historical novel" only with cultural differences rather than time ones!

 

It was an interesting read though - and I'm so pleased to have taken the time to finally read it. So thank you for influencing me even when I don't visit very often!

[maclsj]

I've just read this book this week (did a review here so don't want to repeat myself too much!) and have to say I really enjoyed it. It was very different from the other book I've read about Afghanistan, 'The Kabul Beauty School' by Deborah Rodriguez, but just as good. It's really interesting to compare the two books so if anyone fancies a challenge, try doing that

[Icecream]

I didn't like the lack of a character for Asne though. She was clearly there, and spoke with Sultan and his family, and I would have liked some anecdotes about the families reaction to her presence and outside the family reaction.

 

I thought that too, but it would have taken away from the culture description of the book.

 

I liked this book. It is a good cultural story as we can see by the comments on this threads about how cultures work. Like any culture this one has its good and bad points. I don't think that there is anything particularly wrong with a male head of family, or women having respect for their husbands, but there is a middle ground where the man is still the head, but the woman is not completely subject to him. There is definitely someting wrong with hiding women. Women should respect themselves and their families, but to be invisible is not always necessary, and is degrading. there is also something wrong with the total lack of freedom the children have, although some things i agree with.

 

I agree that Mansul is very lazy. Leila's character is to me a very good portrayal of what women should be. She does her tasks without complaint, is respectful and never the opposite. She finds time for a little freedom but is always there for her family. She may not find love or be married, but maybe one day she will. She does not really care for it, but it should be allowed to happen.