For more than twenty years, Sultan Khan has defied the authorities, whether communist or Taliban, to supply books to the people of Kabul. He has been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned, and has watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Yet he has persisted in his passion for books, shedding light in one of the world's darkest places. This is the intimate portrait of a man of principle and of his family - two wives, five children, and many relatives sharing a small four-room apartment in this war-ravaged city. As they endure the extraordinary trials and tensions of Afghanistan's upheavals, they also still try to live ordinary lives, with work, relaxation, shopping, cooking, marriages, rivalries, and shared joys. Most of all, this is an intimate portrait of family life under Islam. Even after the Taliban's collapse, the women in Khan's family must submit to arranged marriages, polygamous husbands, and crippling limitations on their ability to travel, learn, and communicate with others. Seierstad lived with Khan's family for months, experiencing first-hand Afghani life as few outsiders have seen it. Stepping back from the page, she allows the Khans to speak for themselves, giving us a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and of a country of great cultural riches and extreme contradictions.

I have somewhat ambivalent feelings towards this book. Although the title led me to believe I was going to read about a bookseller the truth is that very little if any part of the story is dedicated to that. Sultan Khan is a bookseller but he could have any other job that for the story it would be just the same.

Then I was interested in learning about a different culture and a different country but if things are just as Seierstad presents them with civil and human rights being denied even amongst family members I think this is a reality truly too difficult to contemplate. Women are nothing and are mostly treated as slaves or objects and even the men in the family have to obey blindly to the head of the family or break off with him and leave the house. The head of the family is Sultan Khan for whom I ended having a strong dislike. I can accept and understand different ways and a different culture but it seemed to me Sultan Khan was the only content person, everyone else disliked the situation they were in and how they were expected to live their lifes. I think she could have used a different perspective when telling the story, this way I ended up not knowing why certain traditions are important and I think they are presented in a less than favourable light.

The author mentions she spent 3 months with the family to write this book. I would have been interested in knowing how she dealt with such a different reality from what is certainly used to and how did the family, in particular the women, reacted to her what she certainly has told them about life in Europe. None of that appears in the book as the author totally removed herself of the story...

Grade: C

I can't help but feel that if Edward Said had written Orientalism today he would have dedicated an entire chapter to this book.

بائع الكتب في كابول
للصحفية و المراسلة النرويجية ( آسني سييرستاد )

خلافًا لما يتوقعه القارئ بناءًا على العنوان من إنصات لبيواغرفية بائع الكتب .. فالكتاب عبارة عن حالة توثيق شاملة لبيوغرافية المجتمع الأفغاني و إقتفاء لعاداته وتقاليده و رصد للتغييرات التي تنطوي عليها بلد مهمش و متكتم كأفغانستان ذو الأكثرية المسلمة الذي تعاقبت فيه الأنظمة و تناقلت السلطة في فترة متقاربة من نظام لنظام مما أدى لتدني مستوى معيشي على كل الأصعدة ، و بيوغرافية الفرد جزء لا يتجزأ من بيوغرافية المجتمع لذلك أعجبتني المناصفة اللامتوقعة التي استفاضت في ذكرها سييرستاد .

بطبيعة الحال البيوغرافيا تحتاج قاعدة أرشيفية صلبة وموثوقة لذلك أعتمدت سييرستاد على أحتكاكها المباشر و معايشتها اليومية _ لمدة ثلاث أشهر_ لعائلة بائع الكتب العصامي الليبرالي سلطان خان و ما عاناه شخصيًا في سبيل الإرتقاء و التمسك بصنعته هذه لحدٍّ بلغ الضرب والسجن و تخريب الممتلكات و محاولة قمع الحرية الثقافية و الفكرية .

و رغم أن سلطان يدرج لقب الليبرالية بأسمه في الكتاب لكنه كالناظر من علٍ لمبادئ الليبرالية دون تطبيق فعلي ، فهو لا يؤمن لأولاده أبسط الحقوق كالتعليم بل يستغلهم لتزيد أرباح تجارته و تزدهر دون حسبان لمستقبلهم ، يصعب فعلًا تخيل رجل مثقف و واسع الاطلاع و مستميت في سبيل الحفاظ على مكتبته يتعامل مع اولاده بهذا الأسلوب و مع أهله بنزق و تذبذب و تناقض ليكون اول خصوم ذاته ، إذ تلا هذه التعرية لباطن حياة هذه العائلة تزعزع جلي كما قرأت ذات مرة مما ترتب عليه إنفصال سلطان خان عن عائلته و التشهير بخصووصياتهم ، و سلطان خان هو الاسم المستعار للشخصية الحقيقية ل " شاه محمد ريس" و هو كما أوضحت الصحفية شخصية غنية عن التعريف في مجتمعة وتحاشيها لذكر اسمه الصريح لم يجدي كما يبدو ، و انتقادًا منه وسخطًا على ما أسماه بتزييف الحقائق استدعى الصحفية أمام القضاء و قد قام بتأليف كتاب أسماه ( كان يا ما كان بائع الكتب في كابول ) فنّد من خلاله كل ما سبق و ذكرته الصحفية في كتابها .

أحاطت سييرستاد بأسلوبها السردي الممتع بالعديد من الظواهر في المجتمع الأفغاني و سلطت الضوء عليها بشكل جميل أبرزها كان طوبيا المساواة الإنسانية و النسوية اللاموعودة على ما يبدو على أرض أفغانستان رغم نبرة التفاؤل المستقلبية التي أوحت بها الكاتبة ، فما يعانيه المجتمع بشكل عام و ماتعانيه المرأة في أفغانستان بشكل خاص من تعنت الرجل و تهميش وتبعية يحتاج جهود جبارة ليتزحزح ولا زال السؤال يطرح ويكرر نفسه كيف لهذه الدولة العالمثالثية أن تتحرر من قيودها ؟


( أقدم الشيوعيون على إحراق كتبي، ثم جاء المجاهدون بعد ذلك لتخريب المكتبة ونهبها، وأخيرًا أكملت جماعة طالبان إحراق ما تبقى مرة جديدة)
سلطان خان

A hard book to take and I did find some of the angles covered a tad bit implausible, from an investigative POV. Who in their right mind is going to tell this white western woman okayed by Sultan anything as disparate (and desperate) as their feelings about him. Yes, I am a little suspect of Seierstad's methods here but there is no doubt that the behaviours exposed are pretty true to life in Afghanistan at the moment.

This was interesting, because it is written by a journalist who actually lived with the family of the bookseller of kabul, but you never feel as if she is there while the events she describes are occuring.  The story jumps around at times, but was overall an interesting portrayal of life in Afghanistan post- 9/11 and post-Taliban rule.

إني حائرة في تقييم هذا العمل .. و بمجمله إنه رائع و لكن لي وقفات معه .. لقد اعطاني لمحة اجمل عن افغانستان .. مما اعطته لي وسائل اﻹعلام .. لقد اوحى لي بأنه بلد العنقاء يحاول الإنبعاث من الرماد .. و لكن ما يحول دون تحقيق ذلك .. ارثهم العقيم و تقاليدهم الجائرة .. فبدل أن تبنى الاسرة على اساس المحبة و التي هي اللبنة اﻷولى للمجتمع .. فإنهم يبنونها على المصالح و رأي الفرد الاكبر اﻷغبر .. ببساطة هم يعيشون زمن اجدادهم و اسلافهم ..
لقد احزنني وضع البلد .. و في بعض المرات اضحكني .. و إن قلبي ينفطر اكثر على ليلى .. ضحية من ضحايا التقاليد الغبية .. اما اﻵخرون فأعتقد انهم يعيشون حياتهم و هكذا الوضع طبيعي عندهم ..
و بخصوص سلطان فإني متحيرة في أمره .. هل هو جيد ام سيء ؟؟ .. حسنا انه خليط .. "من كل بستان زهرة" .. احسبه متعقل بالرغم من أن لديه اسلوب غير متعقل في بعض الأمور ..

امضيت ربما أسبوعين و نيف و أنا أقرؤه .. لقد كانت رحلة جميلة إلى افغانستان .. متشوقة أنا لرحلتي القادمة الجميلة .. فما هي يا ترى ؟؟ !!!! :)

n  We shared many good times, but I have rarely been so angry as I was with the Khan family, and I have rarely quarrelled so much as I did there. Nor have I had the urge to hit anyone as much as I did there. The same thing was continually provoking me: the manner in which men treated women.n

That's it. That's the book.

Heart wrenching and magnificent!
Reads like a fiction.

I'm at awe at all the brutality and emotions people of Afghanistan (esp women) had to bear through!
The bookseller's background, his family life, profession, experiences, and day to day life are captured pretty well.

Not sure how much of it is real. I hope not all of it is factual :( - though its a non-fiction written by a journalist!

أتناول في هذه المراجعة كتابا يوثق حياة أسرة أفغانية على مدى عقود من الزمن. مؤلفة الكتاب صحفية نرويجية قررت أن تعيش ضيفة على بائع كتب أفغاني وأسرته ومن خلال تعايشها مع أفراد أسرته تسرد قصص متعددة لكل فرد من الرجال والنساء. كما تنقل المؤلفة صورا من عادات وتقاليد الأسرة الأفغانية وتوثق تأثير الحياة السياسية والدينية والاجتماعية على قدر الإنسان الأفغاني. وتعتبر أفغانستان من الدول التي تعاقبت عليها أزمات وحروب طاحنة منذ سبعينيات القرن الماضي إلى يومنا الحاضر. فبعد سقوط الملكية واستيلاء الشيوعيين على السلطة تهيأت الأجواء للغزو السوفيتي. ومنها انطلقت شرارة قتال المجاهدين ضد المحتل أولا، وضد بعضهم البعض لاحقا في حرب أهلية طاحنة. ثم اجتمع الفرقاء ضد طالبان والاحتلال الأمريكي ولاتزال تلك الدولة الجبلية الوعرة تعاني الأمرين من الجهل والفقر والصراعات القبلية والعرقية. الكتاب مفيد وغني بالتفاصيل الدقيقة حول مجتمع أفغانستان.

In keeping in line with my Afghanistan kick, I discovered this book online and got it from the library.

The premise of the book is this: Its non-fiction, written in novel form. Basically, this author (female from Norway) lived with a family for a period of time and interviewed them about their family. So you get the honest workings and day to day life of this family. The are really far from normal. They are all literate(rare for Afghanistan), as the father is a bookseller, and some of them have been educated abroad and some speak English. But even though they are more privileged than most in Afghanistan, they still face hard times. Dealing with the Taliban who banned all books and anything art or culture related...this father was actually imprisoned at times.

Its just so sad to me how this country was destroyed by the Taliban. Not that the war with Russia was good, but the Taliban destroyed museums and artifacts. Thousands of years of history and culture...decimated within months. You can't replace that stuff.

Sua Majestade O Islamismo


A queda dos Taliban no Afeganistão surtiu alguma abertura no que toca à condição da mulher.
As raparigas regressaram às escolas, e à mulher foi legalmente concedido, o direito ao trabalho.
Contudo, a lei familiar prevalece. A família é um micro-mundo com leis próprias, e se um pater familiae entender que é mais vantajoso vender as filhas (há homens abastados no Afeganistão que pagam avultadas quantias para casar com jovens adolescentes) para casamento, ou simplesmente usá-las como escravas domésticas, adeus escola, adeus carreira, adeus trabalho!...

É assim e não há volta a dar!

É pois um Afeganistão misógino, que a autora nos apresenta!
E fá-lo, socorrendo-se duma família criteriosamente escolhida para o efeito — a família dum homem culto, um guardião dos livros e defensor dos direitos das mulheres. Este respeitável patriarca que supostamente teria um perfil progressista, na prática revela-se um tirano intragável, tratando as mulheres como escravas e impedindo os filhos de estudar.
Ilustra de forma exímia o abismo afegão, que separa uma teoria com alguns laivos de progressismo, duma prática tradicionalista milenar e retrógrada!

Embora já com leis a favorecê-las, as mulheres afegãs continuam com um estatuto muito inferior ao dos homens, a ponto de serem alvo de atos de misoginia criminosa.
Entre outros, a autora narra um episódio chocante em que uma mulher é sufocada até à morte pelos próprios irmãos, como punição por se encontrar furtivamente com o amante.
Enfim!... As leis mudam, mas o tradicionalismo cruel e asfixiante sobrepõe-se!
Sua Majestade o Islamismo, prossegue incólume com o seu reinado intemporal!...


"O Livreiro de Cabul" é um romance-reportagem escrito por uma correspondente de guerra norueguesa que envergou a burca para melhor narrar a história.
Merece um 4 acoplado a uma longa fila de "+"!!!

This was a different kind of book. my very first non-fiction.
I loved the characters. Sultan Khan who's the bookseller is a hard working very strict man who has a heart of stone. the author talks about him and his family's life. which consist of his 2 wives, children, mother, and sisters. they live in a four-room tiny apartment.
I enjoyed reading about their lives even though I was so frustrated with Sultan at times. I felt so sorry for the women of Afghanistan. I was so angry with the amount of misogyny in this book and disgusted at a how a 28-year man insists on marrying a 13-year-old girl.
to some degree, the traditions of Afghanistan resembles that in Saudi but even me, who's lived all her life in Saudi, is astonished by the amount of misogyny.
I hated that there was no real ending the characters who I could relate to on some level.
I need closure. but can one get closure with non-fiction?