Introduction

The writers of this blog are four college students at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. Lauren, Julia, Rachel, and Sarah all took interest in and chose to read the novel The Bookseller of Kabul for their English class. Through this blog, the writers dig deep into the novel and the culture being discussed. Here are a few excerpts from each of the writers of this blog, detailing their interest in the book along with their knowledge and potential biases towards the subject.

Lauren: “I chose to read the book, The Bookseller of Kabul, for many reasons. First, I love reading books about family life from different cultures. Because this book is not only about Sultan, but also about his family, I found it especially interesting. I also wanted to read the book because of the tie to the Islamic faith. My roommate is Muslim and I hear many stories about how differently she is treated from her brothers. This book will provide more knowledge of the treatment of women. It will be especially different because of the fact that they are in an Islamic country, and not here in the United States. This culture intrigues me and was the main reason that I wanted to read this book. Learning about different cultures is an important part of any person’s life because it teaches acceptance and tolerance.”

Julia: “I chose to read this novel because of my ongoing curiosity of different cultures of the world. I would like to better understand and acquire an accurate depiction of the cultures of the Middle East. Through a personal friend from Saudi Arabia and my sister’s boyfriend who was additionally from Saudi Arabia, I have learned some information about their cultures and have found their customs and lifestyle very interesting. In addition, I have learned quite a bit about the Islamic religion through my close friend, my sister who spent last summer in Morocco, which is predominantly Islamic, and her boyfriend, along with our Muslim family friends from India. I feel that I am pretty open to Muslims and the Middle Eastern cultures; however, I must admit that I did come into reading this book with some prejudice against their treatment of women. This most likely alters the way I read the book, in the fact that I may focus more and look down upon the treatment of the women. Other than that, I do not believe I hold any other biases towards the culture. I hold an open mind, ready to be informed and gain a new perspective on this fascinating culture!”

Rachel: “I chose to read this book because I enjoy learning about the Middle East culture. I previously read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" which both take place in Afghanistan/Middle East. I am intrigued by how different this culture is to the one we live here in the United States. There is so much more freedom especially for women in the United States. In "A Thousand Splendid Suns" I really learned how poorly women were treated especially after the Taliban took control. The males in the family already had all the control of the family, but women could still work outside of the home and get an education. Women also did not have to wear their burkas at all times, unless instructed by the husband to do so. Once the rise of the Taliban, women no longer had these privileges. This will be my primary bias; I will harshly judge how the males treat the women within their family. Other than my judgment towards the males, I do not plan to have other biases toward the subculture; I plan to absorb the information because I want to learn more about this particular culture.”

Sarah: “I chose The Bookseller of Kabul because I found it to be the most interesting out of all of the other books we had to choose from. The [present day] Middle East is one place that I know the least about because I have never really learned anything about that area in history, or any other class. I have learned about the pilgrimage to Mecca and the many other things that have happened during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, but have never been told about the recent events that have happened in that area. I did assume that there would be a lot of ties to the treatment of women, but that gave me one more reason to choose this book. Another reason I chose this book specifically was due to the fact that it is about a bookseller. I myself really enjoy reading books, so when I picked this one I assumed that the bookseller, Sultan, would enjoy this simple pleasure as well.”