Before reading The Bookseller of Kabul, we assumed that the culture we would read about was going to be very different from our own. We also thought that the book would mainly focus upon Sultan and his bookstore. However, the story accounts in detail the experiences of Sultan’s individual family members in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We also thought that the story would have the author as one of the main characters, narrating the story from her point of view. Instead, the author decided to narrate the story as if each family member was telling it from their own point of view. This writing technique was a suitable choice for the book because the author was required to report more information than she would if she was narrating the story about her personal experience. It forced the reader to step into the shoes of each character and be submerged in their everyday lives.
So far in the book, we can assume that the ideal audience is for anyone who does not have basic knowledge about the Islamic culture. The book can be used as pleasure reading for the people of that culture, but it can be used as a learning tool into the culture also. The audience is geared toward a more mature and adult age group.
One of the things that have surprised us thus far in the book would be the treatment of women in their culture. We had some common knowledge about the limited opportunities offered to women, but we were surprised to learn that the rules are much stricter. A woman is at full mercy to a man, whether it be her father, husband, or other male relative. One example of the strict rules for women is when Saliqa sent and received notes from a young boy and went to a park to meet with him. A family member saw the two at the park and as a result, Saliqa was brutally beaten by her uncle. As stated in the discussion, a similar “crime” committed in the United States would simply be considered typical teenage behavior.
Women’s role in Afghanistan is a focal point in The Bookseller of Kabul and the information provided about it is the most important thing that we have learned thus far. In the first section, the author discusses a typical Afghan proposal and marriage. By showing the emotions of the woman who needs to accept the proposal, the author teaches that a woman has little freedom in her marriage and life. For example, the husband’s family chooses who he will marry, while the bride cannot pick who she marries. The bride’s parents are the ones who accept the proposal based on the bride price, and she cannot show emotion or her opinion in the proposal. The lack of freedom that the Afghan women have in their marriages and lives make us appreciate the freedom that we do have. For the most part, we are able to choose who we date and marry. Typically in the United States, if a man asks a woman to marry him, she has the ability to accept or decline. While family approval is valued, the family’s input is not as extreme as in typical Afghan marriages.
The section titled “Suicide and Song” was particularly sad to read and forced us as readers to sympathize with women of Afghanistan. When we think of love, we think of passion, intimacy, and romance between two people. To be loved is something that everyone desires. However, the author refers to a woman’s desire for true love as a taboo in Afghan culture. The section states that for a woman to love is a serious crime and that love has little to do with romance. As a result, Afghan women will kill themselves or set themselves on fire as a way to escape their lonely and abusive lives.
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