Missions Resources - Bibliography
The Bookseller of Kabul
Authors: Åsne Seierstad, Trans. Ingrid Christophersen
ISBN: 0316159417
Publisher: Back Bay
Number of pages: 283
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary:
Two things make Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad’s The Bookseller of Kabul remarkable: the depth of insight into an Afghan family and the literary style with which that insight is communicated. The combination makes for a powerful impression that deeply informs. You will never forget the book. Its characters and issues ring true. How someone, without much local language, was able to achieve this level of understanding in three short months is most remarkable.
At the same time, however, The Bookseller of Kabul subtly leads the reader into harshly judging the society and the family who are both so intimately portrayed. Careful reading shows that Seierstad has an agenda buried behind surface-level pretense at objectivity. Seierstad seems to believe, as do some others in her profession, that reporting can be entirely objective.
In the foreword Seierstad explains how she came to be invited into 'Sultan’s' home, who the various family members were and that her purpose was to write a book. I found myself going back to those pages several times in order to understand the relationships of people suddenly being introduced later in the story. The book, however, is written as if Seierstad is an unseen ghost hearing and observing all; from the inner thoughts of family members to events that took place as far away as Pakistan. Yet nowhere does she appear in the story. The only hint that her presence might have been an influence comes in the forward, when she acknowledges that at times she had never been as angry in all her life as she was during those months she stayed with Sultan’s family. It is not hard to guess that much of that anger is with reference to the treatment of women.
The Bookseller of Kabul is filled with fascinating descriptions that convey values. Young Ali’s trip to the saint in Mazar in search of personal purity in some ways sounds like a young hormone-driven teen age boy anywhere in the world. Three women in a trip to the bazaar under the burqah in order to shop for an upcoming wedding was one of my favorite chapters. How do they keep track of each other in the crowded market? By their shoes. The literary style sweeps you along. There is also the darker side. The teenaged second wife Sultan takes against the express wishes of his family. The family wife and mother kept in exile in Peshawar, Pakistan. Theft and the jailed thief has the reader screaming to Sultan for mercy to be shown to the family that is left impoverished by their sole bread winner. And more. The Bookseller of Kabul will captivate and hold you. But the true story does not end with the book.
I have been told that from people who know the family in Kabul, that ‘Sultan’ and his family were horrified at the outcome of their hospitality. For them the book was a betrayal. They knew one would be written – but not like that! They are not able to hide behind a simple name change because Sultan’s profession makes him stand out. There is only one such person in Kabul. In the end Seierstad applied her depth of insight into her career, rather than into the relationships she forged in Afghanistan. For Seierstad, being a journalist was more important than being a friend. Was the break up of the family recorded at the very end of the book partially a result of Seierstad’s participation in the family life? One can only speculate – but it certainly is a possibility.
Åsne Seierstad gives no indication about her personal faith. I am struck by how few Christian missionaries I know come to this level of understanding about faith, culture and practice among those very different from them. I wish there were more, many more. But I also know there are some who do understand culture and people this deeply. I recall an orientation lecture by a German missionary in Pakistan at our language school who gave us tips on how to step into a relational society so as to be able to speak the Gospel in truth. He was this good or better. And what is more, his deep and intimate relationships were not exchanged for a book that a voyeuristic West could devour.
Jim Tebbe
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