‘As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating’ Daily Telegraph
‘Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book’ Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
In this compelling, intimate and thought-provoking new book from the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, Åsne Seierstad introduces us to three unforgettable people living under the Taliban today.
There is Jamila, a women’s rights activist who fought polio as a child and got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander who grew up eager to avenge the martyrdom of a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who had nearly graduated when the Taliban regained power in 2021 and now is barred from her university campus and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.
The stories of these three Afghans encompass love, loss, revolt and war as well as the everyday rhythms of family life. Through them, we experience and come to understand what it is to live under the Taliban, and where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.
‘Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close’ CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat
‘Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation’ Luke Harding
‘Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book’ Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
In this compelling, intimate and thought-provoking new book from the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, Åsne Seierstad introduces us to three unforgettable people living under the Taliban today.
There is Jamila, a women’s rights activist who fought polio as a child and got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander who grew up eager to avenge the martyrdom of a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who had nearly graduated when the Taliban regained power in 2021 and now is barred from her university campus and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.
The stories of these three Afghans encompass love, loss, revolt and war as well as the everyday rhythms of family life. Through them, we experience and come to understand what it is to live under the Taliban, and where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.
‘Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close’ CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat
‘Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation’ Luke Harding
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Reviews
Seierstad is masterful . . . her book is world class
Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. While others were desperately fleeing Afghanistan, Seierstad traveled there alone to see the impact of the Taliban victory. This is an important, heartbreaking book about the limits of military power, religious fundamentalism, America's broken promises, and the profound betrayal of Afghan women
Enthralling and heart-breaking
Gripping . . . Seierstad succeeds in transforming the demonised stereotype - a Taliban terrorist - into a living, comprehensible human being
A heartbreaking account
As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating. It's also a deft history of the country since the 1960s, charting its journey from hippy hang-out to Soviet satellite state, jihadist battleground, and finally, failed nation-building project
The Afghans is not simply an addictively engrossing read, but is also a work of real importance as we come to terms with Afghanistan's recent past and the return of the Taliban. This is a deeply human piece of writing which approaches the war through the eyes of the Afghans, men and women, who lived it, who made impossible choices at difficult moments, and who continue to live with the consequences. Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close