Kabul Disco, Book 1: How I Managed Not to be Abducted in Afghanistan

The English language edition of Kabul Disco isn't the easiest to find if you're trying to avoid Amazon (thanks to the fact that it was published by Harper Collins in India and wasn't widely distributed through the US...good luck finding it in a public library...) but it is so worth the effort of tracking down!

With dark, sarcastic, and self-deprecating humor, Kabul Disco tells the story of Nicolas, a down-on-his-luck French illustrator and comic book artist who, out of desperation, takes a job with an quasi-NGO in Kabul, Afghanistan in the early 2000s. The cast of characters include opportunists, misanthropes, do-gooders, and a random Republican from Florida.

Fortunately, Nicolas is a good-hearted soul, who despite bumbling about in his show more new cultural environment, doesn't take himself too seriously even as he tries to fit in with his bosses, colleagues, house-mates, and the people of Kabul. But don't assume this story is just a comedy of errors; it also provides some solid background historical details about a country the western world has minimal exposure to outside of the major news outlets - you're guaranteed to learn something even as you're laughing. show less

Recommended by a pal—this probably would have never shown up on my radar otherwise.
Based on the author’s experience as a comic book artist and graphic designer in Afghanistan in 2005, this was an interesting look at the country through a French expat’s eyes. I liked Wild’s observational humor, and the artwork was really good.
Even though my own experience living abroad was quite different—I taught English in Bogotá in 1994—there were elements of the narrative that resonated and made me nostalgic. Living in another country has such surreal moments, and Wild captured that several times in the midst of his larger story.
I was glad he included the excerpts at the end from his first assignment, a comic book series designed to show more teach lessons about the country’s constitution. It was neat to see.
I was left a bit unsatisfied by his abrupt ending, and also because there was no real explanation why he stayed on with Zendagui Media when they started doing propaganda art for the Afghan army. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable with it, but he still stayed, presumably because he wanted to lengthen his stay.
If you’re a fan of autobiographical graphic novels and travel narratives, you should take this one for a spin. show less

Kabul Disco Vol. 2: How I Did Not Become An Opium Addict In Afghanistan, continues the story of Nicolas Wild, a French comic book artist and graphic designer who takes a position with a "communications and community building" enterprise in Kabul when viable employment opportunities at home dry up. While Kabul Disco Vol. 1 is funny and explores the "stranger in a strange land" concept (with generous doses of self-deprecating humor), Vol. 2 is about Nicolas renewing his contract with Zendagui and willingly choosing to make Kabul is home. The harsh and hard realities of a country in crisis and struggling with the forces of modernity are skillfully explored through both the narrative and the illustrations. Nicolas, in this story, begins to show more see Afghanistan as more than quaint tea-drinking customs and unfamiliar clothes, and he begins to look deeper at the motives of the many NGOs and government agencies often stepping over one another in the name of "progress."

This book ends with a very sweet full color section that shows shows of Nicolas' design work and photos of his colleagues featured in the story. Supposedly a Volume 3 is in the works? I'd certainly look forward to finding that - even though it means a special order as these books are published by Harper Collin India and not widely available in the United States - what's up with that? show less

With few options available to him, Nicolas Wild decided to accept a job offer to travel from France to Afghanistan and work for a private company making educational cartoons explaining the new Afghan constitution. Somewhere in the middle, the job swings around to creating recruitment propaganda for the Afghan army.

Wild treats life in a war zone as a lark -- tossing off a string of vaguely interesting anecdotes about the vaguely colorful people he encounters -- until he finds himself locked down at home and work due to a kidnapping and concerns about impending attacks. Even then though, his tone remains more "check out this weird trip I took," with the impact of of his time in Afghanistan leaving him seemingly unchanged from the first show more page to the last. show less

BD très drôle qui nous montre l’Afghanistan autrement