The Bookseller of Kabul

This book is not about a bookseller, nor is it about books, but rather about life in Afghanistan from the perspective of one family headed by a bookseller. It cuts through ordinary life, the mundane, the things that keeps everyday life going on. It is the portrayal of ordinary life that makes the book a worth read - no heroes, just everyday people.

I enjoy reading about different customs and cultures. This book was more than I expected. Although one cannot assume the story was of a typical family in Kabul, the author does make us believe many are similar. The details in the book were just enough to visualize and the story flow was well written. I was shocked, and yet not too much, by both the physical and mental abuse of women. So glad I live in a country where this type of suppression is not tolerated. I already passed the book on to someone else to read.

This was an interesting look at the lives of people in Afghanistan during and after the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban rule in the 1990s. One scene that has stayed with me is when the women in the burqas have to know what shoes each is wearing so they don't lose each other.