Bookseller of Kabul ( Asne Seierstad)

This book reads like a novel, but is apparently based on the real life experiences of a bookseller in Kabul who defied the fundamentalist authorities for twenty years. Defiance does not make the bookseller perfect - there are still many dark places in his house. Set against the backdrop of a decaying city, we follow the family through the trials of travel, treachery, family squabbles, book-selling and murder. The story brings to life the fight that still remains in people controlled by a hostile authority, but also the people who seek to benefit from this regime knowing they are untouchable.

The story brings alive the city with the stench of decay, the smells of cooking and the sweat of over-dressed bodies. The family try to maintain some normal family and business relationships in abnormal times, but everything is controlled. The regime control most choices, but the book-seller himself runs the family as a mere offshoot of his business. This is compelling reading. Many other journalists also reported the lone bookseller in Kabul following the fall of the Taliban, so this may be the true story. If so, this version is unlikely to endear the author to the characters who are exposed with all too human frailties.