Kabul bookseller

Author: Nasrin Alizada
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: A global bestseller with over 2 million copies sold One of the best-selling books in Nordic history Ranked on the UK Sunday Times Best Seller List for 2004 Top-selling book listed on the UK Sunday Times and US New York Times Best Seller Lists Named on the annual bestseller lists of multiple countries, including the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, and South Korea Awarded the Best Book of the Year by the American Booksellers Association, the British Booksellers Association, and the French Booksellers Association Honored with over a dozen international awards and rights sold in nearly 40 countries A work created at the right time, in the right place, and for the right audience Overnight, this book about the long-silent and mysterious culture of Afghanistan, shrouded in mystery for millennia, became a focal point of global attention. —The Guardian, UK Directly captures the hidden lives of the Afghan people, skilled at letting the characters speak for themselves, telling real stories unseen in news reports. —The Times, UK A shocking international bestseller that will surely become one of the most brilliant books depicting life in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. Written by Norway’s renowned war journalist and author Nasrin Alizada, this international bestseller is comparable to "The Kite Runner." Sultan is a bookseller in Kabul. For more than 30 years, he has provided his fellow countrymen with precious spiritual sustenance, but fate has always been against him. First, supporters of the Soviet Union burned his books, then the Mujahideen organizations mercilessly looted and plundered them, and finally, the Taliban destroyed everything he owned. One after another of the dictators destroyed his beloved culture and art with impunity, while Sultan cautiously guarded everything, filled with despair and sorrow. This is a book that delves into the depths of the human heart, rich and vibrant. Set against the backdrop of spring after the fall of the Taliban, the narrative radiates from the joys and sorrows of Sultan’s family, vividly portraying the changes in Afghanistan’s politics, economy, culture, social life, and customs over the past few decades. After its publication, the book quickly became a global phenomenon. In the Nordic region, it is one of the best-selling books of all time, with current global sales exceeding 2 million copies. This is a book that delves into the depths of the human heart, rich and vibrant. Sultan is a bookseller in Kabul. For more than 30 years, he has provided his fellow countrymen with precious spiritual sustenance, but fate has always been against him. First, supporters of the Soviet Union burned his books, then the Mujahideen organizations mercilessly looted and plundered them, and finally, the Taliban destroyed everything he owned. One after another of the dictators destroyed his beloved culture and art with impunity, while Sultan cautiously guarded everything, filled with despair and sorrow. After the September 11 attacks, with the influx of many Westerners, Sultan’s business saw unprecedented opportunities. However, the shadows of decades past still lingered, even for the seemingly liberal Sultan, who stubbornly maintained a patriarchal autocracy within his family. His reasoning was simple: If even the head of the household could not command absolute obedience, how could there be an orderly society? Thus, Sultan began his "self-directed performance": he defied his family’s opposition to insist on marrying a 16-year-old girl as his second wife; he adhered to the logic of "those who obey prosper, those who defy perish," and planned to expel his younger brother Wali from the family; he kept his three sons tied to his bookstore for 12 hours a day, cutting them off from the beauty of childhood and the radiance of youth; he "concerned" himself with the marriage prospects of every woman in the family, turning everything into a transaction of family interests, leaving their flower-like youth only with loneliness and longing. The book is authentic and vivid, filled with the steam of sweat, the smell of grease, and the dust of the Bokari, drawing readers into the mysterious land shrouded in veils. Under the author’s meticulous and even writing, the joys and sorrows, joys and sorrows of Sultan’s family are vividly brought to life, reflecting the changes in Afghan social life over the past few decades. As readers are deeply captivated and moved, they can also see through the confusion and helplessness that permeates the book, revealing the richness of human nature, and feeling the warmth of life radiating from within.