The Afghans

Three Lives Through War, Love, and Revolt

By: Åsne Seierstad

Narrated by: Laila Pyne

Bloomsbury presents The Afghans by Åsne Seierstad, read by Laila Pyne.

A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"An astonishing feat of writing and reporting and one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation." —Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity

“A valuable addition to the canon of literature on the country . . . [Seierstad] manages to achieve a rare intimacy." —New York Times Book Review

From the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, an expansive, deeply felt portrait of Afghanistan, examining the human cost of wars fought, lost, and won.

From Soviet occupation to the rise of the Taliban, from the outbreak of the War on Terror to its disastrous fallout, The Afghans is an extraordinary journey told over the course of three lives. Since she was a girl, Jamila fought tirelessly for her education. At 25, strengthened by the Quran and supported by the flow of international aid that accompanied U.S. invasion, she set off on a campaign to lead Afghanistan to a better future. Meanwhile, teenager Bashir joined the Taliban, eager to kill infidels in a holy war he would one day lead. In their crosshairs, Ariana grew up with hopes of becoming a lawyer—only to have them dashed in 2021 as the U.S. military pulled out and the Taliban retook Kabul, shuttered schools, and wiped the country clean of Western influence.

Taking us through the Taliban’s first year in power, The Afghans is an essential contribution to the American reckoning with our longest war and a profound work of empathy for three people shaped by a ruinous battle for the soul of their nation.©2023 Åsne Seierstad (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

“A valuable addition to the canon of literature on the country . . . Seierstad writes compellingly, with an eye for the details and dialogue that make her subjects come to life. She manages to achieve a rare intimacy, something that is tough in a book about Afghanistan, a place where outsiders are seldom allowed inside homes and most men don’t speak the names of their wives publicly.”

Ambitious . . . absorbing . . . Burrowing into both Afghan family life and the country’s convoluted politics, the book follows three people over several decades, culminating in the dramatic first year of the Taliban restoration . . . Seierstad’s short, punchy sentences, ably translated by Seán Kinsella, draw readers into the narrative.

Deeply researched and empathetically reported, this volume is a monumental modern history of a country about which most Westerners know little.

A moving history . . . Indelible portraits of people struggling to survive in a war-torn land.

Deeply researched and empathetically reported, this volume is a monumental modern history of a country about which most Westerners know little.

A gripping, richly textured account of Afghanistan’s ordeal that humanizes all sides.

Seierstad chronicles years of war and the rise and resurgence of the Taliban through the intimate, affecting portraits of three lives lived in history’s shadow.

An astonishing feat of writing and reporting and one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation. On each page, as she follows these three lives with empathy and care, Asne Seierstad is working at the very pinnacle of her prodigious powers, and, in her compelling story-telling, demanding we do not look away.

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.

Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation.

The best most clear story

The best book I ever read. It was clear well written so full of amazing details and stories.

Amazing insight

Âsne Seierstad yet again provides us with an inside look at a torn country. Although it is sometimes hard to keep up with the characters in audiobook format, their stories are each very interesting. I enjoyed hearing different sides to the struggles faced in Afghanistan.

My favorite part was the end where she tells how she interviewed the characters to piece together the story. I’m a bit jealous of that part. What an experience!