The Bookseller of Kabul Blurb

In this captivating portrayal of Sultan Khan’s family living in the war-torn region of Afghanistan, The Bookseller of Kabul provides insight to the daily struggles and triumphs of each family member’s personal life. While each member’s experiences differ, they all share the improbable goal of personal freedom. Leila hides a forbidden relationship, Mansur attempts to escape the dictations of his father, and Bibi Gul copes with the long lonely days without her children. From Afghanistan’s political regimes to the burden of the burka, this charismatic account will leave readers with a refreshed and knowledgeable perspective of the modern-day Afghan culture.

Journal Entry 4

            All in all we thought this was a great book and enjoyed reading it.  We thought it was very refreshing to here things from a new perspective, and it has opened our eyes to the world in a variety of new ways.  Many books try to depict the poverty of the Middle East and leave you feeling sad, and sympathetic.  However, in this book the author told us the story through the eyes of a family who is well respected and has enough money to live more than adequately, especially by Afghani standards.  It was also interesting that the author actually lived with this family and experienced some of the events of this book.  This is different from a boring memoir written by someone who has never actually met the people who they are writing about.

            Something that really surprised us in this section was when Tajmir came into the picture and his life is completely ruled by his mother.  Since he was a boy he has obeyed her every wish because otherwise she will hit him.  Now, he is a man and he still comes home and gives her his salary.  His mother then does as she pleases with it, leaving him some spending money to buy things with.  This would be odd even in our society, but in theirs it is particularly odd because of the role gender plays in Afghanistan’s daily life.  Throughout the book we have seen countless women be ruled, overruled, and abused by men simply because of their traditions of men making the decisions.  Men are wanted as children.  Men decide whom they will marry.  Men make the money.  Men have the power.  Now it appears the tables have turned and this man’s old mother completely rules his life even though he is the one paying the bills.  That was something that really surprised us in this section.   

            One assumption that I had coming into the book was that the main character would be a very poor old man who sold books.  This was wrong because Sultan is somewhat old, but he has a good amount of money.  One thing that I should have assumed coming in, but did not was that women are treated as second-class citizens in Afghanistan.  In this section especially this reoccurring theme is brought out.  Leila has had three suitors, or people who wish to marry her, for some time.  In this section a new young man comes along and falls in love with Leila.  He writes her love letters and tries to see her in any way he can.  Leila knows she should not accept the letters according to their traditions, but she reads them anyway and then tucks them away in her safe.  This young man find out that Leila needs to meet with the minister of education to get a job as a teacher (something she has always wanted), and he uses this as his way to get to talk to her at last.  Leila likes the young man because she knows that marrying him she will not remain simply a servant girl, which would be the case if she married her other suitors.  She also likes how he is kind enough to try to get her a teaching job although he fails at it when they deny her a teaching permit.  After a long day of trying to get the permit and just when she is starting to like him, her mother asks her something.  She asks is Leila will marry one of the other suitors who has a family of over 30 people.  Leila refuses to argue with her mother and in doing so throws away her chance at a happy life.  This important ending to the story shows the gender roles that are so evident in everyday life in Afghanistan.  Leila’s tragic story is similar to that of many other young Afghani women, many of whom the author talks about in the book. 

            This was a great book and we are all glad we chose to read it.  We learned a lot about a culture that we knew little about prior to reading this book, and we saw the struggle that people around the world go through on a daily basis just to meet their basic needs.  This is our last journal entry and we would encourage anyone who has not read it to read The Bookseller of Kabul.

            

Discussion Leader Luke Anderson 12/8/2010

Why did Tajmir stop working for the charity?

After 9/11 when journalists were streaming into Kabul and American magazine picked him up.  They offered to pay him in one day, what he was usually paid in two weeks.  Tajmir, thinking of his poor family, reluctantly accepted their job offering as an interpreter.  Tajmir is the sole provider for his family so when the better job came along he felt compelled to take it, even though he rather enjoying helping feed people with his old charity job.

Explain what is unusual about Tajmir’s home life.

His mother was strict with him since he was a boy.  She always hit him hard when he disobeyed her.  He always came straight home from school when he was a child and was rarely allowed to play with the other children or leave the house outside of school.  Even now that he is a man Tajmir still comes home from work and hands his salary over to his mother who dispenses him out some spending money.  This is weird because in all the other relationships between men and women in this book the man has the power.

Why is the fighting in the region that Bob and Tajmir visit?

Those who oppose president Karzai have taken over this region and everything goes according to their rules.  They are led by Padsha Khan who seems only to desire power for the sake of having it.  In this area those who have weapons make the rules.  Mustafa supports Karzai and is leading a rebellion against the Khan clan.  He and his men are holding up in an old police station that is heavily fortified. 

Why is Bob really interested in traveling to this region?

Bob is an American journalist who writes for an American magazine.  He goes to this region to find out what is happening between the warlords.  But what he is really interested in is the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, or one of Bin Laden’s senior officers.  He hopes that these people will be able to help him, but, as they find out, some of the men do not even know what Osama Bin Laden looks like.    

  

Melissa Stalowski: Summarizer 12/8/2010

In the final section of The Bookseller of Kabul, Tajmir and an American journalist travel throughout Afghanistan in search of information on Osama bin Laden. The author starts off the chapter by listing what Americans have done in Afghanistan in search for Osama bin Laden. Throughout the section, the author portrays the United States' involvement in Afghanistan in a negative way as she lists that their operatins have interrogated the Afghans, blown up their land, and killed innocent civilians. Tajmir and the American journalist, Bob, meet with opposing parties throughout Afghanistan and the American journalist reports his findings back to the United States. Back in Kabul, Leila continues to receive love letters from Karim. The author speaks of Karim as a character that could free Leila from her home life. Leila's home is compared to a prison and marrying Karim is an act that could free her from that prison and provide her with multiple opportunities. However, the family finds out about the romance and Leila is unable to marry Karim. At the very end of the book, Sultan's family has broken up and half of the family has moved in with Sultan's brother. Emphasizing the constant struggle that every member of Sultan's family faces every day in Afghanistan, the author ends the book with the line "Another little catasrophe in the Khan family" (288).

Abby Husfeldt: Vocabulary Builder/Article Finder 12/8/2010

Vocab

Taleb (249): A member of the Taliban

Vociferous (253): Crying out noisily

Kalashnikovs (252): A type of machine gun made in the U.S.S.R.

Constable (258): An officer of the peace, having police and minor judicial functions, usually in a small town, rural district, etc.

Spurious (258): not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit

Fawning (258): To seek notice or favor by servile demeanor.

Reconnaissance (262): A search made for useful military information in the field.

Gesticulate (265): To make or use gestures, esp. In an animated or excited manner with or instead of speech.

 Article Finder

         Here is an article from November 29 of this year that goes along with the section of the book that we read this week.  In the chapter titled My Mother Osama, it discusses the hunt for Osama and other al-Qaida leaders.  This article, Close Calls for al-Qaeda's No. 2, from Time magazine discusses the updates on the possible whereabouts of Bin Laden and his right hand Ayman al-Zawahiri.  The article pays close attention to the CIA’s attempts to capture the two men and also other forces as well that are looking for them.  In The Bookseller, Tajmir is working closely with a group that is in search of Bin Laden and others such as Zawahiri who are associated with al-Qaida.  I thought that this article would be an interesting connector between the book and current events.

Graphic Organizer: Heather Sandberg 12/8/10

I made Leila the center of this graphic organizer because she seemed to be the main focus in the last section of the book.  Each of the men listed above have asked her Leila's hand in marriage and she has turned them all down.  I thought this would be beneficial because there are so many mens' names being thrown around in these chapters, so I figured I would make it clear as to who her suitors were.  Karim is at the top because he has gone to every length to have Leila and in the end he still failed along with the other three men.  This gives a good representation of many women's lives in Afghanistan because most women have many suitors before they or their family agree on any one man.

Discussion Leader: Heather Sandberg 12/6/10

1. Why does 12 yr. old Aimal have to suffer twelve hour days working when the family is a middle class family?
A: Aimal has to work at the shop because it is the son's duty to carry on the family tradition of a store they own.  He is only twelve, but the head of the household ( the father or oldest son) wants the younger boys to get used to working at a very young age.  His shop is in a shabby war-torn hotel and I didn't quite understand it at first, but i think the reason it is located there is so that he can say he goes to work, but doesn't have to deal with the hectic customers all day.  The hotel doesn't get many customers and therefore Aimal only has to deal with occasional journalists and the janitors.

2. Why do children and young adults in the Afghan community beg their parents to let them go to school instead of make money at an easy job?
A: Children in this community in the book really want to become educated because they realize that more people succeed if they can read, write, and exchange money without being ripped off.  The kids and young adults in the family would rather go to school than work and carry on their families shops because they are under control of the head man in the family.  These children have no freedom with how they want to live their lives if they are forced to work in the stores because they are told exactly what to do with it.

3. Why did Sultan get so upset over the stolen postcards when he knew how much the carpenter truely needed the money for his family?
A: Sultan got so angry that some postcards were stolen out of his shop because he had worked so hard to get it all started.  He felt like he had to uphold his family's honor by punishing the man who stole from the shop.  I think that Sultan wanted to show his authority to everyone by not letting the carpenter go without getting in trouble because he wanted to make sure that they all knew who was in charge.  Sultan didn't understand how much the man truely needed money in order to keep his family from starving nor did he really care.  All he cared about was getting his postcards back, which makes him a greedy person.

4. What does Sultan mean when he tells Mansur, "Don't be soft Mansur; don't you start to buckle," ?
A: Sultan says this twice in this section and then the author makes it recurrent in Mansur's thoughts so it must be an important quote to remember.  I think it is stated multiple times because Sultan wants to test Mansur to see if he can handle being the head of the store one day.  Mansur knows that his father watches his every move and therefore, he goes along with everything Sultan says even though he might not agree with it all.  Mansur doesn't want to let Sultan down and Sultan wants to make sure that he is one day leaving the shop to someone who can show no mercy and run it right.

Luke Anderson Summarizer 12/6/2010

Luke Anderson

            The first chapter of this section follows Sultan’s youngest son, Aimal.  He is a shopkeeper in one of Kabul’s hotels.  Unfortunately, he hates his jobs and spends the majority of his day dreaming of getting an education.  The next chapter is about how some postcards get stolen from one of Sultan’s shops.  Sultan is keen to know if the thief was stealing the cards to give to some one else.  By the end of the section it gets to the point where the man who stole from Sultan can either go to jail for 6 years, or tell the police who he sold the cards to.  Eventually, when he is at the central jail, he tell the police that he was asked to steal the postcards by a shopkeeper who used to buy them from Sultan, but always complained about the prices.  The section ended with the police apprehending the shopkeeper and getting back Sultan's stolen merchandise.  This section is used by the author to explain how quickly your luck can change when you own a shop in Afghanistan if you don't keep your eyes open.  It also illustrates the level of poverty of some people who are forced to steal, when they were brought up to be morally good people.          

Abby Husfeldt: Graphic Organizer 12/6/10

~This week I decided to create a Family Tree of the family that we are following in the book.  It is important that we understand and follow the family throughout the book.  It sometimes gets quite confusing.  Visuals help us follow storylines better so that is another reason I decided to create a family tree.  The women in the family are labled in a pink color and the men are labled in black.  I have also added characters who are no longer living, but were still mentioned in the book.

Melissa Stalowski: Vocabulary Builder 12/6/2010

1) Futile (adj): useless, vain (page 208)
2) Monstrosity (n): an evil (page 208)
3) Steppes (n): plains of Southeast Europe or Asia, having few trees (page 209)
4) Sallow (adj): sickly, pale-yellowish complexion (page 210)
5) Charlatan (n): fraud (page 211)
6) Teeming (adj): swarming (page 212)
7) Bemoan (v): to lament (page 219)
8) Enigmatically (adv): perplexing or baffling (page 221)
9) Sanctimonious (adj): pretending to be holy (page 225)
10) Virulent (adj): extremely poisonous or infectious (page 227)

Journal #3 12/3/10

So far, in The Bookseller of Kabul, we have all quite happily enjoyed the book.  The book is different from most other books that we have read.  The author, Seierstad, does a phenomenal job with her writing techniques to keep us interested throughout each section.

One of her techniques that she incorporates within her writing is slipping in historical information about Islam and Afghanistan.  Her storylines seem to fall perfectly with her information.  The way that she does this is terrific because it does not seem like we are reading a history book or learning a boring lesson.  Extra information that has been fused into the stories of the characters, which adds more in depth understanding of the characters and more generally the people of Afghanistan or of Muslim religion.  At some points, we agreed that the history aspects get a little long, but overall it provides great background to the story. 

Seierstad also does a great job at the descriptions in the book.  Her words draw the readers in wanting more with each page.  One example of this is written on page 176 where she writes, “She has been brought up to serve, and she has become a servant, ordered around by everyone.  With every new order, respect for her diminishes.  If anyone is in a bad mood, Leila suffers.”  Not only does this passage make you want to keep reading on, but it also makes you feel for the character Leila.  The character Leila sees herself as a servant, a slave to everyone’s wishes.  The rest of her story is found in the chapters of The Smell of Dust and An Attempt where the reader is able to experience the hidden emotions of a woman in their culture.  Seierstad writes with this creative spark with all of her characters and she does a good job with it.

Not only does she write creatively, but her writing is also not written at too difficult of a level.  This helps draw all different types of audience members to read this book.  This ease also helps you fly through the book while enjoying it nonetheless. 

            One thing that has surprised us so far in the book was how she has written the book as a full story.  The synopsis at the back of the book makes it seem like the main focus of the story will be about Sultan and how he is able to run his bookstore and run his family at the same time.  However, Seierstad has chosen to dedicate a few chapters to each individual character.  She does this in such a way that it is not disorienting but very interesting.  By focusing on a character for a specific amount of time helps the reader see different aspects of their culture and how the family lives their life on a daily basis.  We believe that she did not want the book to look like it was only in the eyes of Sultan, and also not only in the eyes of Seierstad herself.  By keeping her identity secret and putting the perspective on the others in the family was very creative.  It helps the focus be upon the family and their struggles or delights.  

            Relating this book to class discussion is not very difficult because one of the main things that is focused on in this book is the roles/characteristics of males and females.  How we, as Americans, perceive these aspects in each other is very different to the characters in the book.  The cultural barrier creates these differences.  Americans see females as sexual characters in the media.  In Afghanistan, if there are woman presented in multiple media forms then those items are blackened out.  Women are supposed to keep themselves hidden under their burkas where only close relatives are able to see.  While men are seen differently in the two cultures, they also have some similar characteristics as well.  Americans tend to see men as strong and loyal but the similarities in the two cultures with men involve being protective.  We are able to see in The Bookseller that men are very protective of their family and the women in the family.  The men make sure that they are well provided with money to run the family and also keep the woman safe by wearing their burkas (even if we (Americans) see burkas as evil tools). 

            We cannot wait to keep reading!

Abby Husfeldt: Summarizer 12/3/10

          At the beginning of this section starts with story or perspective of Leila.  The chapter, The Smell of Dust, deals all with Leila’s jobs around the house.  The chapter goes on to tell how Leila is treated by her other family members, especially her nephews (who are only a few years younger than she is).  She is not treated with respect at all from any of the males in the family.  However, Leila is seen as a good woman around the house.  She is very good at the chores around the house, which included cooking.  The next chapter also follows Leila story when she wants to become a teacher so she attempts to take an English class.  It turns out that the class had boys attending and she would have to reveal her face, which she did not want to do and her family disagreed with.  She ultimately ended up not attending class anymore.  To follow with more stories involving school, the next chapter follows Fazil.  Fazil has a hard time remembering his Islam history in school.  He does try really hard and knows the information, but when he is picked on, he gets so nervous he forgets the information.

            The author, Asne Seierstad, did a great job while describing Leila’s situation including her specific chores, teaching pursuits, and the cleaning scene.  The imagery and dialogue that the author uses is so vivid that you are able to connect with the character and became the most memorable parts of this section.  The part where the author explains that Leila is the first to wake up to complete her chores in the morning for the rest of the family and the last to go to bed, and still does not deserve any respect from the males in the family.  It is hard to read that and not feel bad for Leila and all of her hard work that she does for everyone else.  Then, when she wants to go to school, she is dedicated enough to say that she would have to wake up even earlier to get her chores done and go to school but then in the end she is unable to pursue her dreams is very sad.  The author did a phenomenal job at connecting the audience with the characters and their stories.

Vocab Finder: Heather Sandberg 12/3/10

picturesque- visually charming or quaint (p.163)
hammam- a communal bath house (p.164)
prattles- to talki na foolish or simple minded way (p.165)
peevish- showing annoyance, irritation, or a bad mood (p.169)
pewter- a container or utinsel made out of tin (p.177)
loutish- awkward, clumsy, or boorish (182)
coagulated- to change from fluid to a thickened mass (p.190)
plods- to walk heavily or move laboriously (p.192)
latrines- a toilet or something used as a toilet as a trench in the earth in a camp or bivouac area (p.198)
depicting- to represent by or as if by painting; portray (p.190)

Melissa Stalowski: Discussion Leader 12/3/2010

1) How is Leila's work valued compared to the work that Sultan and her male relatives do?
A: Leila's work day starts at the break of dawn and ends late at night. Her work is primarily domestic and it is primarily her responsibility to manage Sultan's household. Her responsibilities include cleaning, cooking, and washing. Without the work that Leila does, Sultan's house would be a mess and people would not have good food to eat. However, Leila's work is not highly valued by her male relatives, who treat her poorly and can command her to do anything and she will need to comply. Although she has the longest work day of them all, Leila's work is considered petty when compared to the work her male relatives do. The males who bring home money for their families are considered as harder workers who have the harder jobs.

2) On page 167, the author writes: "The smell of dust never leaves the flat. She never gets rid of it, it has settled on her movements, her body, her thoughts." What can dust be a symbol of in Leila's life?
A: Leila carries around the unspoken burden that comes with being an Afghan woman, which can be represented by the dust. No matter how hard she tries to educate herself or to improve her situation, she will always be an Afghan woman. Her responsibility to her family will always remain, even if she tries to gain more opportunities for herself, because she is the youngest girl of the family. Similar to the dust that fills the household, the burden and limitations of being an Afghan woman will never go away for Leila.

3) What are the educational opportunities for women in Kabul, as presented in The Bookseller of Kabul?
A: When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, education for women was banned. Because many women were not accustomed to receiving a formal education during the rule of the Taliban, many did not seek education after the fall of the Taliban. Education for women is available in Afghanistan now, but the quality of the schools is questionable. Also, many classes are now co-ed and girls and boys are in the same classes, making it uncomfortable and looked down upon. When Leila goes to register for school, the classrooms are in run-down buildings with bullet holes through the walls. She is in a class with boys and is so uncomfortable that she cannot focus on her education and only wants to leave.

4) What is the role of religion in the educational system in Afghanistan? How does it differ from the role of religion in the educational system in the United States?
A: In the schools that we have seen so far in The Bookseller of Kabul, Islam has been a major part of the education children receive in the classroom. The teachings of Islam take up the majority of the lessons. When Fazil does not remember the answers to the questions his teacher asks about Islam, his hands are beaten with a ruler. Thus, Islam is a highly valued part of education in Afghanistan. In the United States, unless one attends a private school, religion is barely taught in the schools. It is possible that religion is not taught in the classrooms because the United States is so religiously diverse, as opposed to in Afghanistan, where Islam is the sole dominant religion.

Luke Anderson Graphic Organizer 12/3/2010

Luke Anderson

Leila is in a difficult position as a member of the Khan family.  She is only a young teenager and she is forced to do all of the housework.  Sonya is Sultan’s new wife and Leila’s mother is too old so she is forced to do all of the heavy chores.  She must cook and then her meals are unsatisfying to the men who continuously complain about them.  And she must sweep the house several times a day because of all the dust and nothing ever stays clean.  All in all she seems to have the roughest life in the Khan family thus far.