First published 2003
As war rages in Afghanistan, a courageous bookseller defies the authorities to bring literature to his people. But his private life is no less fraught, as his strict Muslim beliefs clash with the changing roles of the women in his family. An outsider's intimate portrait of a household in crisis, striving to reconcile tradition and progress.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, biography-memoir, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: culture-clash, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Afghanistan, Kabul
Period: 21st-century
288 pages · Paperback · Little Brown (a&C)