The Bookseller Of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, Ingrid Christophersen (2004, Paperback, Reprint)

One more reason to be glad to be an AMERICAN woman...it was a terrific read, very sad story. No woman living in a free country should take it for granted, and should read this story. Conditions are so primitive, attitudes are ancient, they have a long way to go to even get near our enlightened society.

I bought this book because it had been chosen for reading and discussion by my book club. It was painful to read at times, because it was an insider-view of life as a woman in Afghanistan and that part of the world! Although in some ways the subjects were from a wealthier and more enlightened family, they were still trapped by the cruel hands of being limited by gender, birth order, and traditions. The control over and despair of women is so terrible. Men of the family who are not lucky enough to be the eldest son have limited choices too. It made me realize how very fortunate we are to live in the United States. It should be required reading for all of us during these troubled times.

On time and as expected............................................................................................................................

I thought the book offered a very interesting and initimate look into the afghan culture by focusing on the stories that existed within one particular family. Specifically, the social structure and daily obstacles each member of the family faces. This book explored the various problems of each family member and how they related to each other. I became vary attached to all the members of this family, and was sorry when the book had to end.

I picked this book up after reading the non-fiction book "Three Cups of Tea" about an American man who's life journey led him to dedicate his life to building schools in Aghanistan and Pakistan. I wanted a better understanding of the culture and it's various social structures, and I got just that with "The Bookseller of Kabul."

starting this book I thought back to the social anthropolgy books of various cultures we use to have to read and do thesis on. The author is good and I can see her dilema of not throttling either the father or oldest son. It would have been teeth grinding at the least to be put in her position. This is a pretty good disertation of how many obstacles have to be overcome to intergrate old tribal customs the trama of 3 decades of on going war and progresssing into the beautiful culture and society that Afghans can be.