So far I cannot say that I like The Bookseller of Kabul. The story is supposed to be a portrait of life in Afghanistan but I feel as though the story is somewhat tainted by Seierstad's point of view. While I was reading I couldn't help but feel that the story is heavily Americanized in order to make Afghan culture interpretable by Western readers. The truth is that their culture does not translate in exact terms into something that we can understand. The way that the author portrays their lifestyle also comes off as biased towards our Western prejudices. She almost forces us to appreciate certain aspects of their society and to dislike other aspects rather than allowing us to form our own opinions. The way that she portrays certain actions and events is designed to relate her opinion to us the reader but at times it comes off as forceful.
Fun Fact: Sultan Khan, Shah Muhammad Rais in real life, sued Seierstad and she was found guilty of defamation and “negligent journalistic practices".
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0729/1224275692778.html
Welcome to AP Language and Comp 2011
Lots of reading, writing, and discussion to do...
Well you certainly make a compelling argument... I couldn't agree more with your observations. The author definitely seems to be writing from a Western Point of view, perhaps consciously to appeal to a Western Audience. This disinterests me, whereas both The Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns were much more engaging and informative. I much prefer the historical novels which give a personal account to history, a good addition to the traditional history textbook.
ReplyDeleteJordan, I agree with you when you say, "She almost forces us to appreciate certain aspects of their society." Although she says in the beginning of the book that she says she is going to try to be impartial, I feel as if she is not. Like you said, she "forces" certain thoughts/ideas into our heads to focus on certain things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of these posts. While it is quite interesting to read from this point of view, I have to agree with Jordan and Steve when they say that the book is forcing the reader to appreciate certain aspects of their society. As Krishna said, while the personal accounts in Hosseini's novels provided great points of view, they also gave the reader a lot of cultural background without forcing it. I feel as though, in Bookseller, this culture is being forced upon us.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with all of you guys. Although I don't think she is being impartial, I don't think she forces her ideas on us. To be honest when you say she is forcing Western views on us, isn't she forcing our views. She is writing for a Western audience, that to be honest, will have the same opinions of womens rights as she does (at least I hope all of her readers would). What examples of her forcing opinions are there?
ReplyDeleteI personally think she is doing a respectable job with balancing many points of views. Unlike 1000 Splendid Suns or Kite Runner, Seierstad is documenting people with different political opinions in countries that still don't know what they want. Hosseini writes from a more personal and localized view with definite political opinions. Because Seierstad does not live in Afghanistan or Pakistan she writes on the opinions around her and these opinions are fragmented. And yes, I do agree with the fact that she mentions her personal opinion but I hardly think that it hurts the book, it simply adds to the chaos, confusion, and choices the reader faces. This mayhem is what makes the book interesting and challenging.