Bookseller of Kabul vs. The Kite Runner

We chose to read Bookseller of Kabul because we read The Kite Runner last year and enjoyed it a lot. Annie found Bookseller of Kabul to be far inferior. I enjoyed the contrast though....

The Kite Runner is essentially the story of men. It is the story of secrets and the huge influence they can have.

Bookseller of Kabul is about women. Although the bookseller, Sultan, is the sun around which the story and the characters orbit, it's really the tales of the women that are the core of this book.

Disgruntled Reader

A Handful of Books
Just finished The Bookseller of Kabul. I'm not sorry that I read it, but I did not like the book. It felt like I was reading a thesis, on a topic that overwhelms and confuses me.
I enjoyed all of the dialogue. And I really liked the youngest daughter, the grandma, and the interpreter.

Bookseller of Kabul

I loved The Kite Runner. It gave me an insider's look at life in a very foreign land, and allowed me to see that people there are not all that "foreign." The end disappointed me, but that was my only complaint.
So I was excited about The Bookseller of Kabul and started it with high expectations. It's been about a month now, and I still haven't finished the book. There are too many characters! The feminist angle irritates me. I wish that she had focused on one or two people, the youngest daughter, perhaps.
I will finish the book, then write more. Maybe by then it will all come together.

Uh-oh, controversy already

As you may have noticed, our book selection for February is Million Little Pieces. Vicki suggested this book after seeing the author on Oprah. Now she is MAD. Hmm...

January 2006: Bookseller of Kabul

Our book for January 2006 is The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. We all read The Kite Runner in 2005, so this is a nice follow-up.