El año 2002, cuando los talibanes se retiraron de Afganistán, la joven y respetada periodista y experta en conflictos internacionales, Åsne Seierstad, se trasladó a la capital del país para poder experimentar de primera mano la situación de la sociedad afgana en esta época convulsa. Se alojó en casa de la familia del librero Sultan Khan, lo que le permitió vivir muy de cerca la cotidianeidad de una familia afgana, el mundo íntimo de las mujeres y la camaradería de los hombres, en el seno de un pueblo dividido entre la tradición y la modernidad.

Un relato sobre la dignidad, el coraje y el amor por los libros en uno de los testimonios más conmovedores sobre la sociedad afgana ( )

Khan's story as a harassed and imprisoned bookseller in Afghanistan's capital is both harrowing and compelling. The story of his wives and their relationship to each other and their husband is just as compelling, often mirroring the relationship of the country to its citizens. ( )

The most depressing book about the area that I have read. Most of the characters have little to no redeeming qualities or likeablity. The bookseller was the least likeable of all. The ones that were likeable and you wanted to root for you realize have no chance for happiness or an existance other than servitude and repression.
The book didn't flow very well either. At times I wasn't sure if I was reading a book or a collection of magazine articles. The author represents the people and events as actual but I was reminded through this that most of the stories had to be told to her second or third hand. When she goes into the head of the characters and explores their thoughts and feelings you know that she must be taking liberties. You know that such things would never be discussed to such detail and depth as she describes with a foreigner, a writer, and a woman of all things.
( )

This books gives insight to an area of the world that many of us could not see otherwise. For me, it was a dark read, but not without hope. The author wrote with a dispassionate voice, as a reporter must, but now and then her dismay at some of the events she witnessed came through. ( )

Disappointed. Maybe it's my own fault as I went into it with expectations. I thought that it was going to follow the life of the *Bookseller* of Kabul (silly, I know) and I also thought it would be told in a straightforward novel style (based on true events, of course). I was wrong on both counts and because of this I found it very slow going.

I felt that it was not an exceptionally deep or probing look into life in Afghanistan. True or not, the tales seemed almost clichéd and they were superficial enough that it was difficult to care about 90% of the characters. The men were mainly written as overbearing, chauvinist tyrants and the women as scared and weak willed even after the 'liberation' of the country.

The episodic manner in which the book is written became frustrating and did a disservice to the characters. It made it virtually impossible to feel connected or invested in any of them. And that's a big problem for me when I'm reading a book.

The fact that the author chose to omit her own part in the story is also a questionable decision. Clearly her presence had some influence over the family and how they behaved and to write the story otherwise felt false to me.

In the end, though, it came down to two things... First, I felt a distinct apathy for the outcome of the vast majority of the 'characters' in the book and second, I was wholly unimpressed with the writing. It was just... Boring. ( )