^I hope that was what the post was supposed to be.
Welcome to AP Language and Comp 2011
Lots of reading, writing, and discussion to do...
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Bookseller of Kabul Thoughts
I've already finished the book, so I'll try not to spoil anything. I like how it's sort of a window into the life of the family; Seierstad just drops the reader into the family and builds up the background as she goes along. It feels like you're observing along with her. I also like how she doesn't try and inject her opinions into the book. Sometimes she'll throw in some of her own opinions, usually in separate sections or one short chapter; it's probably hard to write a book and keep it totally impartial. For the most part she just reports the facts about the family and lets the reader think for his or herself. It's a little weird to read a nonfiction book that, because the narrator isn't in it, feels like a novel, and form opinions about characters that are actually real people somewhere. It probably wasn't something I'd have read if it weren't required for class, but I enjoyed it once I got into it.
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Yea I agree with pretty much everything that your saying, but I think that she drops a lot of her own opinions and biases into the book. From some of the rhetoric tools she uses, I think she is sympathetic for Afghan women. I get this sympathetic feel because often Asne strips women of their independence and/or personality by referring to them simply as "the Burka". This monotony shows that women don't really "own" themselves. Through her rhetoric I also think that she might not favor America too much. She constantly uses hyperbole to show what America has done to Afghanistan. I remember one page where Asne says something like, "America just bombs and blows up whatever mountain they so please." Obviously this is not true, America's strikes in the mountains of Afghanistan are precise and purposeful. But by using the hyperbole, Asne makes Americans look like a bunch of brutes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten that into the book yet; but so far I'm enjoying it. It's an interesting way to learn about the turmoil in Afghanistan because I've always been kind of confused about it. Seierstad writes about the conflicting groups in an understandable way that is not overwhelming. I also like how she gives background of the typical culture in Afghanistan while writing a story. I don't know the characters that well yet but look forward to reading more of the book.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this book. I've always heard about how bad it is over there and how the country has been ravaged again and again and this book provides valuable insight. Seierstad acts as the eyes of a foreigner in the Afghan land and it really adds an interesting viewpoint to a not very well known culture (well for me at least). As John said I believe the author uses words to display afghan elements. One example is burka. The author refers to women at multiple points throughout the book as burka. I think she does this to show the imprisonment of women and how they feel that next to being a wife they are just a piece of clothing. I'm more than halfway done with the book and really look forward to finishing it as fast as I can. Its a nice change of pace from the other kinds of books we read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten very far (really not far at all), so I didn't read any of your posts since I don't want to ruin it.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to me like she wants to present an accurate depiction of an Afghan family. So far, I think she's trying, but she can't help that she's Western, and then she can't help but let her Western qualities inform everything she sees. She describes everything in the way it relates to Western ideas: for example, she has described little more about the women than their lack of liberation. When introducing Sultan Khan's new bride, the bride's age precedes any other detail, even her name. Seierstad can't help that she is from an area of the world that's more liberal, and has different ideas, than Afghanistan, so while I think she's really attempting to depict an actual scene, she has the opposite of rose-colored glasses. Obviously the situation in Afghanistan is far from ideal, but everything she has mentioned so far is in direct relation to its Western counterpoint; she hasn't described anything that doesn't directly conflict with her/my/our idea of propriety. Still, I'm not at all far in, so she has plenty of time to head in a less biased direction.
I actually agree with most of what has been said previously...particularly with Devon's post. I feel as though Seierstad is really trying to provide an accurate and unbiased account of events, but I can also sense a great deal of opinion in her narration. There is a balance that I believe she is trying to seek between alien description/depiction of a situation in a foreign country while also trying to not impart Western ideals on the story. A lot of the descriptions that are provided in the opening chapters are comparisons with what Seierstad is accustomed to. So far, I have found this book to be very interesting and a lot more enjoyable than I may have originally thought. With many of the plot points, it is definitely evident that the narrator is attempting to keep her opinions absent from the story. In moments such as the introduction of Sultan Khan's new bride and descriptions of daily conditions, I am thankful to Seierstad for allowing the reader to form his or her own opinions and make original interpretations of the text. Overall, I am really enjoying the book and and somewhat surprised at how successful this style of writing is. The perspective of this nonfiction book being told as a novel has been very interesting to read. I always find it fascinating to read about the Middle East as it provides images of the region that are not rife with political propaganda, etc. I cannot wait to see how this story continues to unfold.
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