The Bookseller of Kabul

Asne Seierstad traveled to Afghanistan in 2001, covering the war. While there, she met an interesting bookseller and decided that she wanted to write a book about him and his family. With his permission, Seierstad followed Sultan Khan and his family, hearing all kinds of stories and experiencing drama of a level typically found in soap operas. From that, she compiled many of these stories and experiences into a book: The Bookseller of Kabul.

Seierstad weaves these stories together into a pseudo-narrative. At times story, at other times brief history lesson, Bookseller doesn't flow as nicely as other memoirs/narrative non-fiction books that I have read. Each chapter works on its own, but there's some jumping and some odd transitions between chapters. 

On the whole, though, I found the stories in the book fascinating. Through this story you get an inside look into life in post-Taliban Afghanistan. The people and their views are very interesting. Seierstad was able to paint a vivid depiction of Afghanistan's culture, as well as the many tensions that exist in the society. You see arranged marriages that succeed and some that fail, how the justice system works, how women are treated at home and in public, and what daily life is like for the average "middle class" citizen.

The Bookseller of Kabul was an easy yet compelling read. If you like casually learning about other cultures, I would highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

51/100 books...still very ahead of schedule